I faked a whimper. “Josh! You said you were
going to bed! Who is this?”
Josh said, “Huh?”
The girl said, “Who is this?”
“The other students around us were all
looking at us like it was a soap opera.”
And I kept playing it up, “Josh, you better
explain this! Who is she?!”
Josh, completely losing his cool, shoved me.
“Ashley, you’re being such a psycho!”
Then, he turned to the girl with a fake sweet
voice, “Honey, she’s my sister. She’s got
some issues, don’t pay her any attention.”
The girl, whose name I guessed was probably
“Honey“, looked over at me in shock.
L
“She’s your sister? No way.
I kept my composure, not saying a word.
I watched as even more busybodies gathered
around us.
Josh, clearly desperate to get out of this, looked like he was about to beg me. “Ashley,
just tell her I’m telling the truth!”
I just stood there and stared at him for what
seemed like forever.
Just as Josh was about to break down
completely, I burst into laughter.
“Bro, I was just playing a prank on you! Was
it good, or what?”
The crowd dispersed, clearly disappointed by
the anti–climatic ending.
Josh glared at me, practically spitting fire.
But when he noticed that Honey was smiling,
he backed off.
Josh, though, is not one to let things go.
I mentally started counting down.
<
5, 4, 3, 2…
Suddenly, Josh smiled wickedly at me.
“Well, sis, Honey is my girlfriend, and this is
her first time meeting you. It’s tradition for
you to buy her a welcome gift.”
He eyed a fancy fruit cake worth a small
fortune.
“Honey, didn’t you say you wanted that?”
“My sister has cash. She can get it for you.”
- 16.
Like I’d ever do that.
He thought he could trap me with a little bit
of moral pressure?
Please, I am the moral trap.
I watched Honey’s eyes go wide, looking at
that cake.
I pulled out a crumpled $20 from my pocket.
I knew that Josh was trying to embarrass me,
and if I didn’t play along, he knew I would
<
cave and overspend.
Because that cake was definitely at least $50.
But I smiled, grabbed my stomach in fake
pain.
Josh’s face fell, not expecting that.
“Bro, I only have $20 left. You can have it.‘
The next second, Josh scoffed, “Sis, you’re
being so cheap, you can’t even afford a
single piece of cake.”
But he took the cash anyway.
Then, I pretended to wipe away a tear.
With a dramatic sigh, “It’s okay, you can have
- it. I guess I’ll have to skip buying tampons this
month, I’ll just dig some old newspaper out of
the trash tonight.”
Everyone around us was stunned.
- 17.
Honey gasped, “Josh, you’re actually going to
take money from your sister for that? You’re
<
so messed up!”
Josh said quickly, “Honey, it’s not like that.
She’s totally acting.”
“Acting? Like you can actually fake a period? Josh, I’m so disappointed in you!”
I mean, my sister has money.”
“Of course she has money! Girls have to
spend a lot every month!”
For some weird reason, when Honey stood up
for me, I felt touched.
Josh is a jerk, for sure.
But at least he’s got a good eye for people.
She can’t get sucked into his horrible life.
Just like that, Josh was getting some serious
stink eye from everyone within earshot.
And then Honey, being the kind person she
was, went to the store and bought me a pack
of tampons.
She turned to Josh and said, “We’re done,
never talk to me again.”
<
Now, Josh was looking at me with an even
greater fury.
