I need you, I need you, I need you

chapter 22- groovy love

August 26th, 2019
Rachel's p/v
Darry woke up with a splitting migraine so I sent him back to bed. He protested but I wasn't gonna take no for an answer. Now I have to leave extra early for the bus.

I'm proud of today's fit. White shirt with angels on them, black pants, white slip on vans, and my black mini bag. I have my hair in a low ponytail. Mary better be wearing a crop top or something.

I'm sitting on the bench waiting for the bus to take me to hell. To my right there's a boy and to my left there's a girl. The boy is wearing a white t-shirt, black pants, white/gray vans, maroon beanie, and a black Jansport backpack. He has his feet on his skateboard. I can't see the design but like every skateboard is cool so I'm sure the design is neat.

The girl on the left to me is wearing a pear green dress with swirly flower stitching all over it, oversized dark blue denim jacket, orange tote bag, black socks, and white high top converse. She doesn't have a skateboard, but she does have a book on her lap. She's not reading the book though. The cover is gold with a tree in the middle and red apples on the ground. Nice.

Maybe I should say something to break the silence. I love talking, but not when it feels forced. What if they aren't in the mood to talk? It's worth a shot.
"Do you guys know what time the bus comes?"
The boy looks at his watch. "Around 8 minutes."
"Cool, thanks."
"I like your shirt. Angels."
"Thank you. I like your skateboard."
"Hey, thanks man. I actually stole it."
I give him a funny look. "Psssh sure."
"No really I did! The old man never saw me coming. Luckily, my buddy Eric drove away super quick. His middle name is sonic for a reason."
"That happened to my buddy Eric too except he got caught. Not all Erics are blessed with luck."
"Please tell me your name is Eric."
I laugh. "My name is Rachel Sandoval. Sorry to disappoint."
"I'm Aiden Ludlow. We can't all be Eric's I suppose."
"Such a shame. What grade are you in?"
"I am a junior. You?"
"I'm a sophomore."
"Cool. Your brother is Darry, right?"
"Yup. You know him?"
"He's in journalism with me. We're not friends, but we talk in class. He's told me about you but I wasn't sure if you were his sister."
"Well now you know. Almost everyone recognizes me as his little sister."
"I feel your pain. My older sister is in college and every time she invites people over they refer to me as 'Kayla's little brother'. It's so annoying."
"Your sister didn't tell them your name?"
"They did but it seems like my name is forgettable."
"Aw, I'm sorry. It sucks living in their shadow."
"Exactly," Aiden leans back, "what about you star girl? Any siblings you wanna rant about?"
The girl doesn't respond. She has earbuds in and her eyes closed. I know she's listening to music because her phone is on due to a notification that popped up. Tyler, The Creator. Good taste.
"Do me a favor and pull out an earbud."
"No way! You do it."
Aiden stretches his arm in front of me as I lean back. He pulls out her left earbud.
"What the fuck? Can I help you?"
Oooooh he's in trouble.
"Yeah, I'll take a McLovin."
"What do you really want dude?"
"Your voice." Aiden smiles.
"What?"
"What."
"What did you say?
"What."
"No, before that."
"Oh, I said I want your voice."
"My voice?"
"I also want your name."
"Nina Sanchez."
"Hi Nina. My name is Aiden."
"Hi Aiden."
"I like you already. So what brings you here?"
"School." Nina says in a monotone voice.
"Nice nice. How are you?"
"Ok."
"Can you reply with more words?"
"How about I write you a 500 word essay?"
"Make it 505. Take it or leave it."
Nina snickers. "Sure."
"I want to get to know you guys more. Let share our interests. Who wants to go first?"
"Since you came up with the idea how about you go."
"I'm honored to go first, Rachel. Hmm let's see, I'm into photography, writing, skating, and drawing."

The bus stops at the curve. We form a line, Aiden being first.
"Let's sit in the back." Aiden says. We follow him to the back of the bus after we pay.
"Now, where were we? Oh yeah, it's your turn Rachel."
"I'm into singing and dancing."
"Are you in show choir?" Aiden asks.
"Mhm."
"Nice."
"I guess that means I go next. I'm into fashion, drawing, photography, and skating."
"I need to see your board dude."
"Left it at home but I promise I'll bring it tomorrow."
"We're best friends now. You too, Rachel. Too bad you don't skate."
"You guys can teach me! I always wanted to skate."
"That should be fun. Wait Nina, are you a sophomore?"
"Yup."
"Damn so I'm older than you guys. You know, I normally drive to school but my mom's boyfriend took my car to work today. Totally unfair."
"I always take the bus to school. I was kinda shocked to see you guys at the bus stop because I'm usually the only person there."
"Yeah, my brother drives me to school."
"Do your parents work early?"
"I just live with my brother."
"Wait, you live with just your brother?" Aiden asks.
"Um, yeah."
"Sorry about my reaction. I've just never heard of something like that."
"It's ok. I don't take offense to it."
"You guys must be really close huh. My younger brother and I ignore each other's existence."
"More or less." I say.
"Looks like we have rough relationships with our siblings. If I had a alcohol on me I'd serve us some."
I laugh. "And I'd cheer to that."