Chapter 3: The Preparation

"Well, this is harder that I anticipated," I thought as Rachel headed into the shower. It had taken me a while to figure out exactly what Rachel wanted, and even longer to figure out how I was going to provide it. One thing that I realized is that I needed help. I went downstairs and outside, crossing the yard to my house next door. I went upstairs and knocked on my sister's door.

"Hey, J, what's up?" she asked.

"I need your help," I told her. "Can I talk to you?"

My sister is three years older than me. She went the local community college route, and was currently working as a hairdresser in a salon downtown, but she still lived at home.

"How can I help you, bro?" she asked. Michelle and I had always had a pretty good relationship, at least as much as a younger brother / older sister could. I annoyed her and she picked on me, but lately we've gotten along pretty well.

"Don't freak out, but I need your help with something personal. It's going to sound amazingly weird, but hear me out." I explained what Rachel had asked me. Then I explained what I wanted to do, and where she could help, both immediately and in the long term.

As I explained things to Michelle, she was alternately shocked and amused. When I was done explaining my plan, she looked at me and whistled. "Do you realize what you have here?" she asked.

"Yes," I said with a weak grin.

"You are the luckiest high school boy on the face of the planet!" she laughed.

"I could be, if all goes well," I said. "It could also blow up completely in my face."

"Give me ten minutes to make some calls," she told me, walking to her phone shaking her head.