Thoughts Ch 2

I subconsciously return my walls to their position as I walk to the door. I get halfway down the hallway before the door opens and my two best friends in the world walk through the door.

“We got impatient so we let ourselves in.” Sadie says, “I hope you have food, Andy’s starving.”

The headphones on Andy’s head stay firmly in place as he bobs his head in tune to the music blaring in his ears. He nods in confirmation of Sadie’s statement and heads for the kitchen.

“The popcorn’s where it always is. You guys want to watch a movie?” I hug Sadie quickly and pull her into the kitchen. Andy is already rummaging in the cabinets looking for the air popper. I walk past him, pull it out and plug it in.

After grabbing a bag of chips and dip from the fridge Andy plops himself down on the stool next to Sadie.

“So what kind of movie are we watching?” He asks. “Better not be another chick flick.”

“What’s wrong with romance movies Parker?” Sadie sneers, still vehemently against usage of the word chick.

“Nothing’s wrong with them Sade, it’s just that we watched one last time and I feel like I might need to hand over my man card if I watch another too soon.”

Sadie leans back, her eyes flashing with mischief. “I think we should vote.”

“You’ll lose Sade, I’m not in the mood for a sappy movie tonight, how about an action flick.” I laugh

“Yes! In your face!” Andy exclaims.

“You got lucky Parker.” Sadie is the only person who refers to Andy by his last name, but then again she calls everyone by their last name. The unfortunate result of having a football coach for a father.

Mr. Black is the high school football coach and the main reason Jefferson High remains undefeated for the last 8 years. Sadie is his only child. After his wife died having Sadie he spent every waking minute with her. Sadie grew up at tailgate parties and barbecues, the son that Mr. Black didn’t know he needed. He was constantly trying to get her to behave more girly but she insisted on being the son he never had. Sadie Black is a black belt in Jujutsu and varsity lacrosse captain. She also manages to have perfect grades and is in the running for valedictorian this coming year.

Andy could not be farther from Sadie on the social scale. His grades are in the toilet, barely passing. It’s not that he isn’t smart, because he is, he told me once that he has an IQ score of 154. He’s just incredibly lazy, something that infuriates Sadie to no end. His parents barely notice him, his dad is a financial advisor and his mother is a socialite. In other words, he has a platinum credit card that gets him whatever he wants. The only person other than Sadie and me who takes care of Andy is Jones, the Parker family’s butler.

Jones is the Reed family’s ‘master of the house,’ the title he prefers over butler. Jones practically raised Andy. He was at every basketball game, and when we all realized Andy was hopeless at sports he attended every debate and Mathlete tournament. He is constantly on Andy’s case about his grades but we all knew that Andy’s lack of interest in his grades is his way of getting back at his parents for their lack of interest in him.

The one thing Andy shows real passion and promise in is computers. Not super spy hacking, though he is pretty great at that too, but the hardware. He can pull any electronic apart and put it back together and make it do whatever he wants. He built a set of headphones that connect to the Pandora and music apps on his phone, and he somehow made it possible for him to listen to the radio through them, using his cell as a control. His bedroom is a mess of wires and pieces of computers that he’s ordered off the internet. Andy has no idea what he wants to major in in college but we all know that he’s going to end up building super computers for NASA or something someday.

I run upstairs to go change while Sadie and Andy argue about whether to go classic butter on the popcorn or to add old bay seasoning. I smile at their never ending bickering as Cabo comes loping up the stairs behind me. I go to my room and throw on my comfiest sweats and my favorite blue sweater in place of my running shorts and tank top.

“Planning on taking a trip to the North Pole?” Sadie says as I come down the stairs.

“You know me, I’m always cold.” I reply.

“Seriously Sade; Felicity is like a snake, cold-blooded, I’m surprised she survived this winter.” Andy pipes up.

“You know Sharp, one of these days all those layers are going to get in the way. Some boy is going to try to kiss you and you won’t be able to move under your sweater and the three blankets between you.” Sadie laughs.

I scoff at the idea of any boy trying to kiss me.

“At least I’ll be warm.” I counter, rolling my eyes.

“Whatever.” Sadie smiles. “Let’s get this show on the road, I took the liberty of picking a non-chick flick movie.”

I grab 2 bowls and fill them with popcorn, one with butter the other with old bay. Andy grabs the latter and jogs into the living room, Cabo on his heels, begging for the popcorn he knows Andy will eventually fork over. We all collapse into our regular seats on the long, time-worn couch. Cabo collapses at my feet, ever present when there’s a chance someone might drop food. We all settle in as the movie starts.

120 minutes of explosions and head rattling gunshots later the credits roll and we all start to stir. Andy hops up and runs to the bathroom, the half-liter of soda he chugged halfway through finally getting to him. Sadie, half asleep stumbles up to my bedroom followed by a barely conscious Cabo. I put the popcorn bowls and cups in the sink and head up the stairs as well. When I get to my room Sadie is already collapsed in my bed and Andy is asleep in my window seat, his arm around a throw pillow in a vice grip. I smile at the both of them and slip my sweater over my head. I slide into bed beside Sadie and close my eyes.

One of the coolest things about what I can do is that when I’m asleep in the same room as another person my dreams merge with theirs, if only for a short time. As far as I can tell the other people have no memory of these slumbery intrusions. Tonight is no exception. As I drift to sleep I slip into Sadie’s mind. I spend most of the night in Sadie’s dream. She and I are warrior princesses, travelling the kingdom in search of a ‘hunky barbarian prince,’ her words, not mine. We fight dragons, attend balls and search for our prince charming. I leave Sadie’s mind when she find her prince, a ‘hunky’, shirtless barbarian version of her favorite pop star Dorian Michaels. Andy’s dreams aren’t quite as farfetched as Sadie’s. I spend a very short time exploring the outside of the International Space Station with him, my fear of heights overcoming my curiosity when I look down and see a marble sized earth beneath us. I accidentally intrude in Cabo’s head along the way. As always, Cabo is a wolf. He and my wolf-self run through the woods chasing rabbits and teasing bears. I quickly leave my wolf body behind in favor of my own dreams. A few heartbeats later I’m fast asleep, too exhausted to truly dream.