Chapter 6: Chapter 6
We met her last year.
"Okay, this is odd. Why aren't you saying anything? Both hungry?" asked Sander.
"No," Isabel and I answered in unison. We both looked at each other.
"Aren't you going to say hi to each other like what normal people would do when they first met?" said Ashley.
One moment she was looking at me, then at Isabel, at Sander, and back at me again.
I held out a hand to Isabel and casually said. "Pleased to meet you, Isabel."
And for the first time since we met, she smiled. The genuine smile that made her eyes beam too, "You look like the picture of someone at the lost and found I saw the other day. Weird."
After hearing that old joke from her, I finally accepted that it was silly.
"Is that so? Why would I be lost?"
"Have you guys met before?" Ashley asked, her face was painted with curiosity.
"No," was Isabel's reply. She avoided my gaze.
And I promptly agreed, "We haven't met before."
There was no way to discern why Isabel denied that we knew each other. I could have said I knew her, but I pretended I didn't. Denying that we were acquainted was beyond reproach.
As the famous adage says, the truth isn't always kind.
ʘ
Thereafter, Ashley was silent on our ride home. She never played any Drake's song, nor brought up the idea of seeing her friend, Isabel, some other time. We had decided to eat at Sander's house, the girls took the responsibility of preparing the food, and of course with the help of Isabel's son, Archie.
With that kid in Sander's house, we were able to keep an exuberant atmosphere until the rest of the afternoon. While his mom and Ashley were occupied with the food preparation, Sander was with them, saying things that might annoy my sister. I helped the kid to pack his toys, while we were doing that, Archie incessantly shared school stuff with me, the cartoon characters he liked, and that he was turning five next month. He had invited me to his birthday party without the knowledge of his mom. Although he'd talked about almost everything he could think of, he stuttered when he suddenly uttered, "I miss my dad,". He said that as if he was speaking to anyone but me.
One block away from our house, Ashley spoke, "I wasn't born yesterday, Aspen."
"You were born on June 13, 1996. I've not forgotten that, Ashely."
Without thinking, she said, "You like her, don't you? You knew her. This time you don't have to lie," she said as though she was speaking to nobody. Her eyes were fixed on the road, "I think she would approve of her. It's been a long time since you smiled like you won the lottery. Don't think of an excuse. I won't buy it anymore."
The steering wheel witnessed how I smiled like I won the lottery, just like Ashley's statement.
"You read me like an open book."
"You're not my favorite book. But you owe me a story. I'm all ears until midnight."
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Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone