Snow White-the rest of 8+ch. 9

Mandi turns to me and asks, “Hey tweakus, what are you doing this weekend?”1

I give the question some thought and then answer, “I dunno.  Probably not a whole lot.  How about you?”2

She shrugs and says, “Same old shit I do every weekend; sit around on my ass.”3

We sit there together for a while until my bus comes.  Christal, Sarah C, Mimi and I all get on, waving goodbye to Mandi.  4

“Bye pink princess!” I practically scream.5

“Bye stub-stub!” she replies back.  I try not to cringe at that nickname.  6

I sit in silence on the bus, watching the familiar town I’ve lived in practically all my life pass by through the bus window.7

CHAPTER 98

The next day I go over to my nephew Zac’s house.  Him, Mike and I all hang out and I watch them play video games.  It’s not as boring as it may sound, surprisingly.  We talk, and then when Zac leaves the room, Mike hands me a note.9

“This is for Snow White.  Do you know her really well?” he says to me.10

I open my mouth to speak, and then shut it, thinking.  Then, I answer him.11

“Yeah, I know her pretty well,” I say12

“Why doesn’t she want me to know who she is?” he asks me, sounding perplexed.13

“She’s just not ready for you to know who she really is yet.  She’s worried, and she wants you to get to know her through the notes first,” I say, knowing that I’ve finally told him a complete bit of truth.14

I know that Mike is dying to know what this Snow White girl in question looks like. He’s asked me before about her, and each time I just say stuff that leaves him hanging.  Part of me feels bad, but I can’t rat Mandi out.  15

In each note, Mandi gives him a hint to what she looks like.  She’s said that she has pale skin, blue eyes, light pink lips, and so on.  Her and I work on how the note reads so that when she describes herself it sounds poetic and pretty.  16

Zac comes back, and the two boys are absorbed within their game. I walk out of the room and pick up the phone, dialing Mandi’s number.  17

“Hello?” she says as she picks up.  18

“Hey, I have something for you,” I tell her.19

Right away she knows it’s a note, and we start to negotiate a time and place to meet so I can give the note to her20

“All right, call me back in five, let me go talk to Zac and Mike about it first,” I tell her.  She agrees and we hang up.21

“Zac,” I call.  “I think I’m going to head over to Mandi’s house.”22

“Why?” he questions me.  Neither him nor Matt is very fond of Mandi sometimes.  Secretly though, I think that Matt thinks she’s ok.  He likes her music taste, which is actually a lot like mine.  We both are rocker chicks.23

“Because she lives around here, and she wants someone to hang out with.  She’s my friend.”24

He rolls his eyes and nods.  Mike looks at me curiously and I wonder if he’s suspecting.25

I head out the door, but my sister, Randi calls out to me.  My sister is 20 years older than me, which explains why I have nephews and nieces.26

“Where are you going?” she asks.27

“I’m going to Mandi’s house.  I’ll probably be back,” I say to her.28

She seems okay with this answer and dismisses me.29

I walk down the white painted wooden steps and out into the chilly pre-spring air.  I suck in a deep lungful and wonder how long Mandi can play this sharade with Mike.30