Wrists

One moment I was dropping my sister off at school, dying through my classes with a hot cup of black coffee, and heading to my car, and the next moment Elijah and May were piling into my car, fiddling with the radio and rolling up and down the windows. I regretted accepted Elijah’s offer to hang out with his sister and him at that instant, but I knew there was no turning back. I was stuck with them for the afternoon. And I didn’t know how much more I could handle of their crazy, outgoing personalities constantly clashing.

“You listen to too much pop,” Elijah argued, leaning forward from the back seats to change the radio station to an alternative rock one. “It’s going to rot your brain y’know.” His gruff voice bounced harshly against my eardrums. I could hardly pay attention to the road, and where I was going.

“I love pop!” May countered, slapping Elijah’s hand away. “Rock is the shit that rots your brain, dumb ass.” She switched the station back to the pop one, blasting the song while singing along. I dodged some locks of her blond hair that were about to slap against my face, and slowed the car down into a parking lot.

“Turn it off!” Elijah shouted over the beats, reaching for the radio again, only for his hand to be slapped away by his sister. I jammed the power button on the radio, turning it off entirely. They both looked at me, stunned.

“Where am I headed?” I asked, feeling slightly annoyed. “I can’t hear myself think with all of this shouting.”

Elijah laughed nervously. “Yeah. Sorry,” he cleared his throat and looked around at our surroundings. “Uh... you can just keeping going down this street, and take a left at the Mexican restaurant. If you keep going down that road, you’ll get to a sushi bar.”

“Sushi?” I asked slowly, gripping the steering wheel again. “Why?”

“Why not?” May tied her hair up in a high ponytail. It was so tight her face reminded me slightly of an alien. “Sushi makes the world go ‘round.” She leaned back in her seat and sighed peacefully. “I haven’t had sushi in a while. Have you tried sushi before, Graham?”

“Yeah,” I said as if it were obvious. “But I don’t really like sushi. I don’t like fish. Or white rice.”

“You don’t like sushi?” Elijah gasped in disbelief. “Where is your life?”

I shrugged at my hands. “I just don’t. I ‘dunno.”

May slapped Elijah’s arm. “Leave ‘em alone, Eli; some people just don’t like mainstream stuff.” Her eyes turned to me. “D’you like fried chicken?”

“...I guess.”

“They have fried chicken there.” May said matter-of-factly. Her eyes lit up. “So we can still go!”

Elijah looked at me, looking slightly worried, but I gave him a reassuring smile and pressed down on the accelerator. “I guess we’re going to the sushi bar?”

May cheered. “Yes! California rolls here I come!”

“Y’know those aren’t real sushi, right, May?” Elijah said from behind.

May rolled her eyes. “Sushi is sushi.”

“But it isn’t.”

“Shut up, Eli.”

I sighed. This was going to be a long day.