My Sleeping Beauty - 1. Chapter 1

We had been friends way back before either of us remember. The only proof that we knew one another was tons of embarrassing pictures that our mothers liked to show. That was before his mother died a few years after Aras’s fifth birthday. The pictures were still there, but the stories that his mother knew weren’t. Now it was just his father and him and most of the time he spent his time over at my house. Both our parents were young. Phil couldn’t raise Aras with out taking up two jobs and that meant that Aras and I spent a lot of time together.

Now we were in high school. We had accomplished a lot together over the years. We didn’t have tons of friends, but we didn’t need them. It was always us and that’s how we liked it. We did pick up three friends along the way though. Jamie, Kelli, and Kerry. First they were just admirers. Nothing ever was serious with any of them, we couldn’t drive and everyone knew that no relationship was serious until you could make out in the backseat in your first car. I had dated Kelli in middle school and she was friends with Jamey. Her twin sister was Kerry and when Aras started dating her everyone thought it was cute. The fact that both of them looked alike right down to having identical small moles on their face below their left eyes.

Aras and I did have our fights like any normal friends. They just never lasted long. A few hours of silence between the two of us were too much. The longest we had been apart was when Aras’s mother died and his father wanted to keep Aras close to him. He really was a protective father, but I wanted to be close to him. We didn’t live next door to one another and getting his license also meant that he could come over even more than he already did. It was Monday and I was being taken to school by my mother and we were waiting on Aras to hurry up and get ready.

“Maybe Phil forgot to wake him up again?” Mom half asked half wondered. He really was late, but Aras liked to take a lot of time in getting ready.

“He’s probably just primping mom,” I responded laughing slightly.

“Well go hurry him up dear,” mom suggested and I got out of the car and started walking up his long sidewalk. When I got to the door it opened and there Aras was standing in the doorway looking at me.
“Ready to go?” I asked looking him over. He had started spiking his hair last year and I liked it. His strawberry blonde hair matched his mother’s, but he had Phil’s dark eyes.

“Yeah,” he answered he was smiling at me too. I hadn’t started spiking my hair. I liked my hair to be longer and my light brown hair looked good like that. Today I had it gelled into a messy look that Aras said he liked. It was only when my mom honked the horn that we knew the two of us had zoned out and we both started walking down the sidewalk after Aras closed his door and checking to make sure it was locked.

“How are you Aras?” Mom asked as we got into the back seat together.

“I’m alright,” he answered smiling at her. “You won’t have to do this after Wednesday.”

“Oh, have you been practicing?” Mom asked looking back; she hadn’t started the car yet.

“Yeah, dad’s been able to take me a lot,” Aras responded and mom took off her seat belt.

“Well I think you could drive to school,” mom said and Aras opened his door and got out of the car. I watched as mom and him passed one another and when they were both in the car Aras started the car. “Wait, what are you forgetting to do?”

“What do you mean?” Aras asked checking the gears and the mirrors.

“Your seatbelt,” mom answered and Aras rolled his eyes at me through the rearview mirror.

“Thanks Gail,” Aras said then he slowly backed out of his driveway and we were on our way to school.

We lived in the country and there were a lot of curvy roads. They were easy to practice driving on only because in the country there never was much traffic. That didn’t make it any easier knowing that my best friend was on the road. Given that I’ll be riding a lot with him in the next few years didn’t mean that I was ok with it yet. Mom looked calm enough though and she never had to grab the wheel, but I was thankful when we got to school.

“Well look at you Aras,” mom said when he shut off the car. She sounded proud of him. “You even know how to parallel park.”

“Yeah, trashcans help a lot,” he offered and then he got out of the car. I grabbed his bag and I handed it to him when I got to where he was standing on the sidewalk.

“You two have fun, see you after school,” mom said then she got in her car. She never kissed me goodbye when we were at school. She wasn’t like one of these mothers that demanded it even though it was one of the most embarrassing things to go through.

“Wait Gail, dad told me that he couldn’t pick us up after school,” Aras said and mom sighed. She had her window down and this was common. Phil was supposed to alternate days with my mom, but he hardly ever did it.

“Ok, that’s fine,” mom said smiling, “bye kids, love ya.” She started the car and we turned and walked into the school. It was a small school only about six hundred students and we had the smallest class of only a hundred and four.

“A few more days and your mom won’t have to do this,” he said frowning that tight smile. I knew he thought he was trouble for us. He’s thought that ever since his mom died. I’ve tried to tell him differently, but it’s never really mattered.

“How’s my guys?” Jamey asked appearing out of nowhere she was a lot shorter than the rest of us. She had the biggest attitude though and she’d actually be scary if she didn’t come up to our chest. She was a pretty girl though and she was older than me by a few months. She would be getting her license a week or two after Aras went for his.

“We’re fine,” I answered then I reached up and squeezed Aras’s shoulder.

“Where are the other two stooges?” Aras asked he draped his arm around Jamie and the three of us started walking down the hall.

“They called and the last thing I heard was,” Jamey started then let out a short laugh, “Kelli no that’s what I’m wearing today!”

“So this means we won’t see them til lunch,” I joked, the two of them thought a lot alike and that done more harm than good.

“Probably not,” Jamey responded then I stopped at the door where my first class was. I didn’t have any classes with any of them, but they all had classes together. I tried getting my schedule switched around, but I never could think of a good enough reason. My grades were just as good as theirs, but the old ass councilor never understood why people needed to be in the same class as their friends.

“See you guys after school,” I said then I entered my math class. The days were long for me and I missed out on a lot of gossip. I never had to take homework home. There weren’t any distractions and the only thing that passed the time before the call ended was to do the homework. I also didn’t go out for any sports or clubs either. I used to with Aras until his dad Phil took the second job. He couldn’t take Aras to and from the practices for basketball so Aras was kicked off the team. It was after he was kicked off the team that my mom started taking Aras to school. His mom Sara’s death really made things difficult for their family and sometimes Aras blamed his mom for it. Those times it was my mom that corrected him. She told him that it was no ones fault, just bad luck.

The rest of the day went just like the ones before. Nothing happened and I only saw glimpses of my friends. When I did I saw them talking together or walking to class. I didn’t like scheduling and hated when teachers were the ones to schedule them. When the last bell rang I left my class and went to the spot where I always met Aras and waited to be picked up. It was mom that made the most trips to pick us up. I would think that she would just come anyway and not ask Phil to pick us up. She was probably just giving him the chance to go out of his way for once.

“Hey bud,” Aras greeted at the part of the sidewalk we always stood on. It was away from the business of the busses coming and going. Mom never got here to pick us up right after school dismissed us. That didn’t bother me though as I always had someone waiting with me.

“Hi,” I responded and we patted fists.

“How was your day?” He asked and I rolled my eyes.

“I barely kept my eyes open listening to Mrs. Shay read,” I said and he smiled at me.

“I didn’t see them,” I offered watching him laugh.

“It wasn’t even anything worth fighting over,” he explained, “them two are just weird I don’t know what we saw in them.”

“Well that’s probably why it didn’t work out with them,” I said and he stopped and looked at me.

“Yeah, I guess,” he said then we both got quiet. Neither one of us were serious about our relationships with Kelli and Kerry. We both thought that we were both lucky that they didn’t bitch at us for dumping them like we did. “Can I tell you something?”

“Yeah,” I answered, “Of course you can.”

“Dad has been drinking again,” Aras whispered and I frowned. I knew he was about to say something bad. He always asked permission before he told me something that I wouldn’t like to hear.

“Like he was before?” I asked remembering how bad his dad’s drinking was. It was before he took the second job. He would come home drunk and Aras would take care of him by cooking dinner. Then Aras would have to be quiet in the mornings when his dad was hung over. It wasn’t something that Aras told me, Phil was arrested for driving drunk and it embarrassed him.

We lived in a small town and everyone knew about Phil’s drinking problem probably before Aras did. I know my mom was suspicious of it before he got into trouble. He had a second job now though and the drinking problem went away. He didn’t have time to go out or come home and get drunk.

“Yeah, like he was before,” he answered finally.

“Do you want to stay at our house then?” I asked and Aras smiled quickly then looked down at his feet. He looked like he was thinking about it, but I already knew the answer.

“No,” he said and I nodded my head.

“You know you’re not a problem for us Aras,” I started and Aras looked at me in a way that I didn’t care for at all.

“But you shouldn’t even have wonder about me thinking that Nik,” Aras huffed and I looked up and saw my mom turning onto the road that lead to school. “Just don’t worry about me alright.”

“It’s hard not to,” I said and Aras sighed. “Especially if your dad is doing that shit again.”

“Are you still coming over after I get back from my driver’s test?” Aras asked as mom pulled up.

“Yeah,” I answered and he looked relieved. I couldn’t tell mom that Phil could be drinking again or she’d not let me go to his house. It took a lot of explaining to get me back into his house the first time. She wouldn’t let me anymore. We got into the car and mom turned to look at us.

“How was school boys?” Mom asked smiling at us.

“Boring,” I answered rolling my eyes. “Even the teachers about fell asleep today.”

“School was fine Gail,” Aras responded and that’s how we normally answered her question. Aras liked school where as I hated it.

“Well one of these years they’ll let you two take the same classes at the same time,” Mom said always trying to give us hope. The only people that got to take classes together were the privileged. That privileged list only included the principal’s daughter and her friends.

“Can I drive home?” Aras asked just as mom started driving.

“I don’t know, there’s always a lot of traffic after school is over,” she answered stopping the car to think it over.

“Well you do know that if I get my license I’ll have to deal with this traffic,” he pointed out then offered mom a smile. It was my favorite smile of his, I don’t think anyone could say no to it. No matter what he was asking for. My mom was no exception and when she put the car in park and got out Aras opened the door and scooted out. Again I watched them switch places and when Aras and mom were seated and buckled in we started back home.

“So how are the girls?” Mom asked relaxing back into her seat. Aras was driving pretty smoothly even if all the older students were buzzing around in their cars. Spinning tires and passing where they weren’t supposed to. I was a nervous wreck. The security officer looked a little nervous as well. Aras and my mom though didn’t look troubled at all by it.

“The girls are fine,” I answered from the back seat.

“Yeah, Kerry and Kelli were late for school again,” Aras, added and my mom let out a small laugh.

“I don’t see how those two don’t get into any trouble,” mom sighed. The traffic evened out and calmed down after we were closer to home.

Not a lot of kids lived where Aras and I did. We lived on the other side of town; the school was in the middle of it. Most of the kids our age with licenses hung out at the old skating ring after school. It had been run down for a few years. The town was supposed to renovate it into a theatre, but the officials never had it done. Now it was just an empty building that was the spot where seniors got to hang out. They got drunk on weekends or after a big football game. Next year Aras, the girls, and I will be seniors and the keys will be handed down to our class to use for the year. It was one of the traditions that lasted over the years. The sports teams weren’t that good anymore and with the interstate built a few miles away it really killed this town.

“Don’t tell Gail,” he whispered and I nodded, “see you tomorrow,” I watched as mom waved bye to Aras. She got into the car and she didn’t say anything. I knew that she was mad when she turned to where she could see to back out of the driveway. I didn’t like to keep this secret from her. The last time it wasn’t bad. No body was hurt other than Aras. That was the part I didn’t like about keeping this secret really. The only person it did hurt was him. He wanted to keep it for now. Aras would tell her if it got bad I thought.

“Phil was probably just stopping in to give Aras a lesson before he left,” I said. I wanted to calm her down before she called Phil later to ask him what exactly he was doing. Phil and my mom went to school together too. Not many people mom’s age moved too far away from the place they were born. I could see myself getting out of here for college. I could also see myself coming back here afterwards. Knowing Phil as well as she did though meant that she could push him for answers. No one was better at getting answers than my mom.

“Maybe I should get your dad to talk to him,” she responded after we parked and sat in the driveway for a few seconds. I didn’t want to leave her in case she picked up her cell phone to start her interrogation.

“Well dad is Phil’s boss so he would know,” I started, “he hasn’t said anything out of the ordinary about Phil.”

“That’s right, but remember we were the last to know last time,” Mom countered then she opened her door and I followed her out of the car.

“Yeah, but last time Phil didn’t work for dad,” I pointed out and mom turned and raised an eyebrow.

“Do you know anything dear?” She asked and I looked at her before forcing a smile.

“You know Aras would be blushing if he knew you worried about him this much,” I dodged and she smiled briefly.

“You would tell me if anything was wrong,” she said then she unlocked the door. Dad always fixed dinner for us. It was always still hot when we got in and there would always be a dirty plate in the sink where he had already ate. Dad owned a convenient store. He was also a teacher, but not at the high school I went to.

“Does dad need help tonight?” I asked as we looked over the food. We were having spaghetti it was one of my dad’s favorite meals to cook so we had it often.

“No, you’re off the hook,” mom answered as we started fixing our plate.

“What did you do today?” I asked trying to make conversation to keep her mind from wondering back to Phil and catching him at home when he wasn’t supposed to be.

“I had to do a lot of editing,” mom answered, “for the news paper this time.”

“Oh,” I answered and mom laughed.

“Yeah, probably about as boring as your day,” she said then she looked down at her food. “Do you think Aras would want some of this?”

“Well I’m sure Phil cooked for him mom,” I answered I reached under the table and I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and placed it on the table.

“Well why don’t you call him and see,” mom said and I picked the phone back up and found his number in my call list and when it started ringing I started getting nervous. I didn’t want Phil to answer the phone. Mom would know he didn’t go to work then. It was probably a trick to get some kind of answer, but I couldn’t think of a way to get out of it.

“Hello,” Aras greeted answering the phone and I smiled.

“Hi,” I greeted, “mom was wondering if you wanted something to eat.” I looked up to see my mom. She looked slightly relieved and she had finally started eating.

“No, I cooked me something,” he answered.

“Oh, ok,” I answered noticing that Aras sounded a little upset. I didn’t think anything about it. He would tell me if something happened.

“Well I better go and eat while it’s still hot,” he said after a short pause.

“Ok man, see you tomorrow.” I offered and then I pushed the button ending the call. “See mom, nothing to worry about.”

“I wasn’t,” she defended wiping her mouth with her napkin. “I was just seeing if he was hungry or not.”

“He fixed himself something,” I said and she frowned briefly then she cleared her throat.

“You will tell me if anything is wrong right?” She asked resting her arms on the table.

“Yeah,” I answered shrugging, “there’s nothing wrong.”

“Promise?” Mom pushed and I rolled my eyes.

“Mom,” I groaned taking a bite of food. I was about to continue, but she held up her finger.

“Don’t talk with your mouth fool,” she corrected and I chewed carefully. When I swallowed and after I took a drink of milk I looked at her.

“Yes, I will tell you if there’s anything wrong with Phil and Aras,” I assured her even if it was a small lie.

“Ok good,” she responded, “I just don’t want Aras going through that again.”

“I know, I don’t either,” I agreed.

“Do you have any homework?” Mom asked changing the subject.

“No,” I answered.

“You never have homework,” she countered and I could tell she wanted me out of the room. She was going to figure Phil out tonight if it meant sneaking over to his house and stalking the man.

“That’s because I get it done during class,” I explained, “wanna see it?”

“No, I believe you,” she answered and then we both looked at one another. We could hear the breeze blowing the wind chimes mom had hanging by the front window. It was a light breeze, but the soothing sound didn’t do anything to lighten the mood in the kitchen. “I need to go finish that editing I have to do.”

“Alright,” I said standing when she did. I stretched then and grabbed both our plates and took them to the sink. I started putting dishes into the dishwasher then and when I got them all in there I started it. I peaked into the living room where mom was looking over something on her computer. I left her there satisfied that she wasn’t going to be nosey and walked up the stairs. I took a long shower thinking that my life couldn’t get any emptier, but that was all right too. I didn’t have to have sports or a girl friend. Aras was in my life and that satisfied me. I was glad that I found my best friend and was able to keep him that way over the years.

When I ended my shower I walked into my room with my towel around my waist. I rummaged through my drawers and found some boxer briefs and shorts. After putting them on I got into bed and looked at the clock. It was really too early to lie down and get ready for bed, but I didn’t want to do anything else. I really just wanted the next few days to go by faster so that Aras and I would finally get our freedom.

Tomorrow would be one of the rare better days to go to school. The school gives four award days during the year. Two in the fall semester and two in the spring semester and tomorrow was first award day of fall. That only lasted until lunch, but it meant that I could at least spend half the day with Aras, Kerry, Kelli, and Jamey.

I couldn’t remember when I fell asleep, but I woke up before my alarm went off. There was only one more day until Aras’s birthday and his chance to get his license. I took another long shower and after I was dressed I went to my computer to check my mail. I always had some funny letter from Jamey. She was the one that had the best sense of humor. I didn’t really talk to the girls out side of school. Aras did though he was a lot more outgoing than I was. The last thing I done was type a paper that I was due. I had written it in class and it was time to go when I was printing it out.

When I got down stairs I saw dad and mom talking in the kitchen. Dad was dressed and mom wasn’t so I knew that he would be dropping us off at school today. His high school was in the next county.

“Ready to go kid?” Dad asked noticing me at the bottom of the stairs.

“Yeah,” I answered then mom opened her purse.

“Here’s some lunch money,” she said then handed me a five-dollar bill. I only needed two dollars and when I looked up at her. “For Aras if Phil forgets.”

“Ok,” I said stuffing it into my pocket. We could get real jobs after Aras got his license. It would end our scavenging off our parents. We could finally just buy the stuff we wanted. “What are you doing today mom?”

“I have to send the edits back to the paper then my writer has stuff for me to edit also,” she answered, “why?”

“Oh, nothing,” I answered shrugging.

“Well let’s hit the road Nik,” dad said he grabbed his mug of coffee and I pulled my bag back over my shoulder and I followed him into the kitchen and out the front door.

“Did you talk to Phil any last night dad?” I asked as soon as we were in the car and started on the road.

“Yes I did,” he answered then glanced over at me. “Why?”

“No reason,” I answered and I knew that I was bad at sneaking around. “So he went into work?”

“No he called in sick,” dad answered then he took a sip of his coffee.

“Oh,” I said turning to look out the window. We were going towards Aras’s house and when we got there we saw Phil’s car in the drive again. Dad got out and into the passenger’s seat and only a few minutes later Aras was walking out of the front door. He smiled when he saw that my dad had switched places and he opened the back door briefly to throw is bag into it. After he was in the front seat he started dad’s large red suv. It was a lot different from my mom’s small blue car. Dad needed it to haul some of his crafts that he made in the back yard to sell in his store. They were mostly wooden rocking chairs and shelves, but they sold well and it gave dad a hobby that he liked. He didn’t have a lot of time to really work on them these days though. Not after Phil started working, the courts had ruled that he be supervised. That meant my dad had to do it. Aras didn’t look like he slept very well or he looked like he had just woke up before we came. His hair was still wet and the shirt he had on was wrinkled. He really looked like a mess and I started thinking that I made a bad decision in not telling my mom.

“Are you ok Aras?” Dad asked when Aras had a little trouble backing out of the driveway.

“This car is just huge Mitch,” Aras said then he sighed. “I don’t think I can drive it.”

“Well here, just stay calm,” dad said then he looked at Aras. “Look through all your mirrors to see if you can see out of them.” When Aras did he adjusted the rearview one a little. “Now if you look through my side window and can see the road then you’re alright.”

“I can,” Aras said then dad tightened up his seat belt.

“So put it back in reverse and smoothly start backing out of the driveway,” dad urged and when he started. “Now glance over to my mirror to make sure you’re not in the yard.”

“I’m not,” Aras, said I heard my dad let out a breath then. When we were at the end of the driveway Aras made sure it was clear then backed out. We ended up in the middle of the road and Dad started laughing when Aras rushed to get on his side of the road.

“Well your dad better not buy you one of these,” dad said and Aras let out a quiet giggle. He had to peak over the stirring wheel and I could tell he was nervous driving. I was thinking the entire time that we were going to wreck and was only relieved when we turned onto the road that led to school. When Aras got there and parked he looked more awake to me and I was relieved.

“Well how’d I do?” Aras asked turning to look at my dad.

“You did good Aras, really proud of you kid,” dad said then we all got out of the suv. Dad didn’t wait around he was going to be cutting it close getting to school on time.

“Tomorrow is the big day,” I said and Aras smiled at me.

“Yeah it is,” he agreed then we walked into the school. We saw Jamey and the twins in the hallway when we entered.
“Hey boys,” Kerry greeted as the three of them cornered us in the hallway. We had to be in the gym waiting for the busses to get her. We would be going to the local YMCA. The only thing we couldn’t do was swim and that was fine. I got enough swimming in during the summer.

“Hi Kerry,” I greeted and Aras gave them all a wave.

“Today is going to kick ass,” Kelli said looking exciting. “At least until lunch anyway.”

“Students get to the gym,” Mrs. Shay ordered and then ushered us from our spot in the hall. She followed us through the school to the gym and when we got in there we noticed that everyone from our class was sitting down on the bleachers. The gym was a roar with people talking and the teachers were standing around. The principal was also in here. The upper classmen had awards during the beginning of the day. The seniors just had a skip day; we had to take a trip. It was only a short drive the local YMCA since a lot of the sports were played there.

“Well you two decided to dress differently today,” I pointed out and they both smiled.

“Yeah, we didn’t want to spoil the morning,” Kelli said and Kerry rolled her eyes and Kelli saw her.

“And what was that for?” Kerry asked crossing her arms and I just sat back to watch them go at it again.

“Well you always seem to ruin my mood every sing day,” Kelli explained also crossing her arms. It was uncanny how identical they looked and a lot of guys noticed it too. They were off limits though. Their parents didn’t allow them to date after they found out about Aras and I. That wasn’t the reason we broke up though. It just didn’t feel right to me.

“I ruin your mood,” Kerry hissed, “You ruin my mood.”

“How can I ruin your mood?” Kelli asked raising her voice.

“By acting like such a bitch that’s why,” Kerry answered then stuck out her tongue.

“Well you both are ruining my mood,” Jamey butted in she squeezed in between them. “Scoot over, you two aren’t allowed to talk until we get to the center.”

“Fine,” they both answered at the same time. It only made them glare at one another and make faces behind Jamey’s back. At least they weren’t putting on a show for everybody. Deep down I knew they liked one another. They just never showed it. They were too much alike to get along I thought. A few minutes later Mrs. Shay instructed us to orderly exit the gym and she barely survived the rush through the exit out to the busses. Everyone wanted the back seats and by the time we got there we had the front seats on the last bus. I sat with Aras and Kelli as Jamey made them split up.

When we finally arrived there was another mad rush to get off the busses. Everyone was trying to get the most out of this award day I thought. The only thing I had planned was hanging out and doing whatever everyone else wanted to. I was just liking the fact that I got to spend some time with people I actually had a connection with for once. Even if the twin never stopped bitching at one another. It was still what I wanted to be part of. I just thought that them two would grow out of it over the years, but it only got worse and more childish.

When we all entered the center we looked around. A lot of the guys were already dividing up into two teams to play basketball. The back up quarterback had the rest of the junior football players and was passing a football in the corner of the center just out of the way of the basketball court. Someone had already snuck into the pool area and was already being dragged out of it soaking wet. He was dressed only in his boxers and then he was handed his clothes.

“Well look at these people,” Aras said sounding amused for the first time today. “I’m glad I’m not like that.”

“Well what do you wanna do?” I asked and everyone looked towards the vacant tennis courts.

“Wanna play three on two?” Aras asked and I shrugged.

“Yeah, it’d take all three of us to beat you two,” Kerry said then we all walked out to the first tennis court leaving the noise of everyone else. We could still hear them, but it wasn’t as deafening. You could still hear the squeaking of shoes skidding across the hardwood floor. We also heard one of the teachers telling another student to come down from the high dive.

“How much do you wanna bet that half of our class will have detention after this,” Jamey said as she handed us our rackets. Then we lined up on our side of the court.

“That’d be fun,” Kelli answered.

“It would probably put a stop to award days though,” I pointed out.

“Nah, they won’t do that,” Aras said, “They’ll just keep all the dumbasses at school.” Everyone laughed then Jamey started bouncing the ball preparing to serve. It would be the first time that I would be playing tennis. When she did the ball hit the net and we all started laughing all over again.

“Shut up!” Jamey squeaked blushing as she ran and picked up the tennis ball. Her long blonde hair was blowing in her face. She had dyed it that color a little while ago and her brown color was starting to show at her roots. Everyone seemed to like it better, but I liked her hair brown. She tried again and this time she got it over the net. Aras ran up and returned it too hard for Kerry to hit it.

“You so missed that Kerry,” Kelli hissed when Kerry went to chase the ball. It had hit the nets that encircled the court.

“Well I’m sorry Kelli,” she apologized in a harsh voice. “You hit the next one.” Jamey served and it went to my side this time and when I hit it Jamey returned it. We had a pretty good set going until the twins collided going after a ball that Aras had hit in between them.

“You two are hopeless,” Jamey, sighed looking as they started slapping one another still sitting on the ground. “Stop that.”

“She started it,” Kerry groaned then she started wrestling Kelli down on the green surface.

“You two collided no one started it,” I countered as Jamey tried to pull them two apart.

“Ow, damnit Kerry you’re hurting me,” Kelli screeched then rolled Kerry off her just to get on top of her and start pinching her. All I could do was laugh, but then Aras walked around the net and picked Kerry off of Kelli and sat her down behind him. Kerry reached around him and smacked Kelli on the arm and Aras looked lost as the two of them started using him as a small wall, but kept fighting.