Irrevocably Forever

“Ana?” Luke whined. “I need help.”

“Go find Mom,” I replied, completely focused on the bowl of cereal in front of me.

I stirred the corn flakes around in circles and watched the bright pink strawberries bob in the milk.

“I can’t reach my cereal,” Luke complained.

“Grow a few inches.” I said, not even looking up at him.

“Ana!” he yelled.

“Go get a chair and shut up,” I muttered.

“I’m gonna tell mom that you said shut up!” he said, crossing his arms.

“Go right ahead,” I was still staring at my cereal.

“Mom!” Luke hollered.

“What’s the matter now?” my mother’s voice said, closer than I’d expected.

I turned around in my chair and saw that she was standing in the kitchen doorway. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail but wisps of hair had fallen out and surrounded her face. She was dressed in pajama pants that were too short and a fuzzy pink robe that Luke had given her for Christmas a few years ago. On one foot she wore a leather slipper and the other was a bright green slipper with a dinosaur head that I recognized to be Luke’s.

All in all she looked like a mess.

“Ana told me to shut up!” Luke said, glaring at me accusingly.

“Ana, I’ve told you at least a hundred times that I don’t like you saying that,” my mother said. “And Luke, please just be quiet for a little while, it’s too early for this.”

I smirked at my brother.

He stuck his tongue out at me.

Suddenly my phone went off next to me, the chorus of Coffeeshop Soundtrack blasting obnoxiously from the speakers. I at it glanced and quickly opened it so it would stop, then stared at the screen.

”heyy its grace from yesterdy, u wanna hang 2day?” The text read.

”sure, where at?” I replied.

It only took a few minutes for her to answer.

”me and the fam r goin to the pool, u wanna meet us there at 11?”

“Hey, Ma?” I called.

“What?” she said from the other room.

“Can I go to the pool at eleven? I met a new friend yesterday and she’s going to be there.”

“Just be home by dinner time.”

”sounds good” I texted back to Grace.

***

The pool was one of the only places for kids to hang out at in town. There was also the local 7-11, but the owner absolutely hated having people loiter outside his store so you’d always end up getting kicked out and going to the pool anyway. It was located smack dab in the middle of town and it was always noisy. I’d always felt bad for the people who lived near it because the closing time was ten o’clock at night, but no one ever listened. They’d just leave and then come back to have a few beers and party until the cops came.

Today was especially hot so there was double the amount of little kids running around than usual. I walked my bike over to the bike rack and locked it up next to the other dozen bikes. I could already tell that today was going to be noisy.

“Ana!”

I looked up to see Grace waving at me, a small blonde girl hanging onto her other arm. I waved back and made my way over to them.

“Hi!” said the little girl. “Who are you?”

“I’m Ana,” I replied, smiling.

She was cute with her blonde hair and big blue eyes, standing there in her Dora bathing suit.

“I’m Emma,” she said proudly. “I have a twin.”

“Oh really? That’s cool.” I said.

Her smile grew wider.

"Em, why don’t you go play with Eric?” Grace suggested, trying to push the little girl away.

“I wanna play with you!” she wailed.

Grace rolled her eyes.

“Sorry,” she said to me. “This will only take a sec.”

She walked towards the row of beach chairs at the end of the pool where a guy of about seventeen was lying down, sunglasses on and drink in hand. Grace poked him hard in the side.

“Take Emma in the pool,” she demanded.

The guy swatted her arm away without even looking. “No.”

“Will,” Grace said, her tone warning.

“Grace,” he mimicked her tone.

“Fine,” Grace muttered.

She lifted Emma up into the air and then put her directly on the guy’s stomach. Emma began to cry and throw a fit because she wanted to go in the pool, but Grace just walked away.

“Ignore my stupid brother,” she said.

But it was hard to ignore him, I realized, as he sat up and tried to comfort the crying girl. He was tall and pale with bleach blonde hair. As he took off his sunglasses to glare at Grace, I saw that his eyes were the prettiest cross between gray and blue.

“Please stop staring at my brother, it’s weird and awkward.” Grace said as she took off her T-shirt and shorts.

“I wasn’t staring.” I said, quickly averting my gaze from him.

“Don’t even bother denying it,” she replied.

I decided it wasn’t worth arguing with her and stripped of my own shorts and shirt. I was putting them on a free beach chair with my towel when I heard someone approach us from behind.

“I’d sleep with one eye open tonight if I were you.” Grace’s brother said.

“Dad’ll kill you if you do anything.” Grace replied smugly. “Ana this is my brother Will, Will this is my new friend Ana.”

Will nodded at me before returning his gaze to his sister.

“Hey, it’s like the show Will and Grace!” I said. “Only your brother and sister, and…” I glanced at Will, suddenly skeptical.

“I’m not gay,” Will said defensively.

“We get that a lot. Now let’s go in the pool before the little kids take it over completely.” Grace said, grabbing my arm and waving goodbye to her brother sarcastically.

We went over to the deep end of the pool where there was the least amount of little kids and hung out by the ladder, watching some guys do tricks off the diving board.

“So where’d you guys move from?” I asked.

“Well we used to live about an hour away from here in a small town, you’ve probably never heard of it, but my dad’s a doctor and he got offered a better job at the hospital around here so we moved.” Grace replied, staring at one guy in particular. “He’s hot isn’t he?”

“Eh, I’d rate him a seven.” I shrugged.

“A seven? That’s it? Look at that tan, those muscles,” she swooned.

I rolled my eyes.

“That one over there’s at least a nine.” I pointed out another one, this one with light brown hair.

“I think you’re confused, that’s what a seven looks like.” Grace replied.

We spent the next hour rating the guys at the pool, usually disagreeing, and joking around. We soon got bored though and decided to tan in the beach chairs. I saw Emma wrapped in a bright yellow towel sitting on the ground next to Will, playing some sort of game that was making her laugh. Another girl was sitting in the chair Will had been lying on before, looking pissed off about something. A woman who could only be Grace’s mother was sitting on the chair next to the girl.

“Hey mom, this is Ana.” Grace said, grabbing the towel from the back of the other girl’s chair. “Ana, this is my mom and my sister Audrey.”

“Hi, Mrs….” my voice trailed off when I realized I didn’t know Grace’s last name.

“Dodson,” she supplied.

I smiled at her and then Audrey.

Audrey rolled her eyes and looked away, crossing her arms.

“She acts like this now and she’s not even active yet, if you know what I mean.” Grace muttered in my ear.

“Grace!” someone called from the pool.

We both turned and saw a little boy hanging onto the side of the pool in the shallow end just five feet from us. I assumed that this was the twin Emma had been talking about.

“What?” she asked.

“Grace, hey! Hi Grace. Grace. Grace, hey. Guess what, Grace? Hi!” the boy replied. “Grace, hey. Hey. Hi. Grace! Hi!”

“Oh my God,” Grace said.

She glanced over to see if her mom was watching and when she saw that she wasn’t, crossed quickly over to the edge of the pool and dunked the boy. He came up spluttering and glaring at her.

“You’re not nice!” he yelled.

“You’re annoying.”

“Eric, time to get out now. We’re leaving in a few minutes.” Mrs. Dodson called from her chair.

He glared at Grace one last time before climbing out of the pool and going over to get his towel.

“He’s cute,” I said.

“He’s an annoying little fucker.” Grace corrected me.

We both went over to get our clothes where we had left them. I glanced at my phone for the time as I pulled on my shorts again.

“I have to go too,” I said. “Do you want to hang out tomorrow?”

“Sorry,” Grace said as she pulled on her T-shirt. “I don’t make plans. What’s the point in planning for a future you’re not guaranteed?”

She waved as she walked away, leaving me to comprehend what she’d just said.