Chapter 8: Games of Favors

“Why haven’t you unpacked yet?” My sister said alerting me to her presence. She has a way of sneaking up on me no one else seemed to be able to match.

I set my book down on the nightstand, “What?”

“Your clothes, even the new ones. They’re in your bags sitting on the dresser and your pack is filled with everything else you own. Why haven’t you unpacked yet?”

“Not one to waste time. I’m sure I’ll be shifted somewhere else soon. This way I don’t have to pack again and there isn’t any chance of me leaving something of value behind.”

“This is your home, turd. You aren’t going anywhere.”

“Sure. What the hell do you want anyway?”

”I need a favor.” And that had become the crux of our relationship of late. She would ask for a favor (usually a chore she didn’t want to do) and then suggest we play the ‘kissing game’ in return. I enjoyed the make out sessions, not going to lie. I wasn’t sure if it was because we weren’t raised together or something genetic based on the conversation, I’d overheard between her and GG, but I lacked whatever it was that would prevent me from seeing her as the attractive blonde she was.

“No.”

“C’mon, baby brother ... it’s important.”

“What?”

“I need you to dance.”

“Dance?”

“One of my leads dropped out, I need another male for the recital.”

“What makes you think I can do that?” I was curious if she’d been made aware of the quality of my education or that it had included Ballet before I’d been dragged back to the states.

“It doesn’t matter. I can teach you.”

“What’s it worth to you?”

“We could play the kissing game?”

“No deal.”

“What do you want? Money? Chores?”

“I’m tired of you leaving me in pain.”

“What?”

“Every time you want something we play the kissing game as you call it and you leave me high and dry and often in pain.”

She said with what I’m pretty sure was fake disgust, “I’m not going to fuck my brother.”

“There are other ways to relieve me. You want me to dance in your recital, I’ll do it, but if you arouse me, you finish me from now on.”

“You haven’t been relieving yourself?”

“I ... um ... haven’t figured out how.” My genius level IQ doesn’t apply to shit every kid can figure out for themselves for some fucking reason.

“God, you really must be uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to do that to you, I swear.”

“Do we have a deal?”

“I determine how you get relieved.”

“As long as I get relieved. I’ll agree to that.”

“Deal.”

“How will this work?”

“The recital is at the end of the month. You’ll have to do three routines. I’ll pick you up after school and take you to the studio and show you what you’re supposed to do.”

“Fine.”

“You need a ride to school?”

“I suppose ... Unless you want to pay off early? Cause I wouldn’t mind avoiding the drama today.”

“Nope.”

I gathered my belongings and accepted Mindy’s ride. I wasn’t lying, there would be drama today. I’d chosen two friends Scott and Alex, but Scott came with his brother and bitchy girlfriend as a package deal.

Beth was the source of todays drama. She’d fainted twice in my presence, since the incident on the stairs. I didn’t know here parents (and honestly hoped at the time I never would), so convincing them to take her to a psychologist wasn’t an option. My plan was to ensure she ate when she was in my presence at least. That was a guaranteed five meals a week (assuming she wasn’t purging, but I hadn’t seen any signs of that yet.)

Alex and I began joining her at her table. Scott and Daniel preferred to sit with the ‘jocks’ most of the time, however we were welcomed. The table consisted of the cheerleaders. I only knew them from Beth’s stories. Jill and Stacy were a couple and cousins to boot. They each had a beard that happened to make up the only other gay couple in the school I knew of. Jill was blonde with a smallish nose while Stacy was ginger with freckles. Angie was the oldest girl there. She had raven hair and glasses; she was the only senior on the squad. I assume that was Beth’s doing.

The other girl had black hair and was named Melissa. All of the cheerleaders had similar body types to Beth, though she was more slender than they were. They were all Athletic types of similar height, except Jill who was a foot taller than the others taller than I as well. Melissa seemed more naturally petite with a smallish frame despite the near evenness in height. There wasn’t a cheerleading coach of any type, and nobody had volunteered to act as supervisor as such, Beth ruled with an iron fist.

The other half of the table was owned by Maria Thomas. If Beth had a rival it was Maria. She was a tall leggy blonde with almost the same clout. The other spots on her half of the table consisted of Summer, Lexi, and a few hangers-on that seemed to change from week to week. Summer was un-affectionately known as the ‘other Beth.” Her name was Elizabeth Summer Hypes. I didn’t know the details but apparently during pre-school or first grade Beth had pitched such a fit about another girl having the same name as her she had been known as ‘Summer’ ever since.

My first day at the table began with Maria screaming, “What the fuck are they doing here?”

I watched Beth get angry at the challenge, but I was more than capable of defending myself so waived her off, “They established a rule that the tables have to have a minimum combined IQ of 100 times the number of people at the table. Alex and I are here to make up for you.”

The sniping continued for most of the meal. After eating the girls spread out on the tiny patch of grass in front of the school and I lay down rather than listen to the girl squeal.

I must have nodded off, cause I woke up to giggling. I kept my eyes closed. I figured out that Melissa was the one giggling. Jill said, “Jesus, put a book over it.”

Beth scoffed, “It’d take a dozen books to cover that.” I realized what they were talking about and sat up, hopefully hiding the problem.

After school I went with Mindy to the studio she taught at. It was little more than a hole in the wall. It had two rooms; a tiny reception area with three chairs and a curved desk and the studio. The studio was about forty feet long by 20 foot wide with mirrors along the wall and the requisite barre running along it.