“Thanks, I could get used to this.” I pull the kitchenette chair out and have a seat while propping my feet on a nearby chair.
“Seriously… don’t.” He throws a stern look over his shoulder and returns back to removing the cold toppings from the sandwiches.
“You don’t have to be so mean, y’know?”
“Yeah?” He pops both subs into the toaster oven. “How does it taste?”
“How does what taste?”
“Your own medicine.”
I open my mouth in fake surprise and slap my knee dramatically. “You are hilarious!” I say cynically. He glances over his shoulder at me and wink. A slight shudder ripples throughout my entire body, and my breath hitches. It surprises me. A definite shock to the system.
Stop!
I tell my eyes as they roam the backside of Artist’s body. Not in a vulgar way. More of like an expedition. I never hear about him working out, yet his biceps that peeks from his shirt sleeve appear as if they were sculpted that way.
I’m not a muscle fanatic in any way, but Artist’s seemed perfectly placed. Just like his T-shirt. If I had to guess… I’d say it was a medium because it fits impeccably the way it clings and hugs certain places.
I’m jolted back into the present as my plate clings onto the table, and I have a clear vision of Artist’s abs right in front of my face. “Stop! What the hell are you doing?” I reach out, pulling his shirt back down to cover his midsection.
“Trying to give you a better view,” he says. “You were eye-raping me, right?”
“Was not!” I slam my fist onto the table and jump to my feet.
“Yeah, you were,” he says smugly. “You were so into me that you couldn’t even hear me talking to you, Echo.”
“What are you talking about? You didn’t say a word.”
“Echo is a word. Are you ready to eat are even more words.”
“You’re lying,” I say as I second guess myself. Had I been so engrossed into Artist that I was unaware of my surroundings? No way. I try to research my brain for any sound bytes of Artist’s voice I may have missed. Nothing. “I may have been elsewhere in my head, Artist. I have a lot going on, but it wasn’t because I was checking you out.” I tell a smidgeon of a lie and hopes he falls for it.
“No… yeah, I know you are. I was just joking around.” His face and voice take on a more serious tone as I fight a smirk trying to form at the corner of my lip.
5/Artist
“Stay with me.” Her words sound innocent and vulnerable. “I know you don’t owe me anything, and for the most part, we don’t get along… hate each other even… but, y’know just for the night.”
“We have school tomorrow.” I hand her a dish to dry as I search her face to figure out where all of this is coming from. I know she’s having some girlfriend issues now, but clearly, she has someone else she could call for a sleepover.
“Duh, I know. We can go together. You need a ride anyway, right?”
She got me there. No telling when I’d be able to get my bike fixed. “I don’t have any clothes, Echo.”
“Stop trying to come up with excuses. If you don’t wanna, just say that because obvi I can take you to pick up clothes for tomorrow.”
“And just be honest that you’re too afraid to be alone in this mansion because we both know you don’t give a damn about my attendance.” I chuckle as I see her squirm from the inside.
“I’m not afraid. This is my home, you idiot! My sanctuary—”
“Okay, great. Since I know you’re not afraid, then the answer is no. I’d rather be at home sleeping in my own comfortable bed.”
Her mouth hangs slightly open. “But school—”
“There are such things as rideshares. You know Uber or Lyft?” Then it hit me. “You probably don’t know. In other words, it’s like a poor man’s limo serv—”
“Shut the hell up, Artist!” She screams my ear off and startles me into silence. “I know what it is, but what I don’t understand is… why would you do that when you have me?”
I pry open the fridge to grab an ice-cold bottled water and stand there shocked for a moment. “Cool, when did you go grocery shopping?”
“I didn’t. Stop trying to change the subject.”
“I’m not, mind if I have a Dr. Pepper?” I hold it up over my shoulder to show her.
“Wait—where’d you get that?”
I don’t say a word.
I stand erect and give her a deadpan look as I shake my head at her stupid question. She couldn’t be serious. I move aside, leaving the fridge door ajar. I crack open my soda and take a huge swig. Apparently, her dad stacked up food for her. She’s gazing into the fridge like she has no idea how the food got there. “I guess we could use the time working on things for the play. You, Penny, and I.”
“Don’t remind me,” Echo says, rolling her eyes as she slams the fridge closed. “We can work on what we need to. I’m not working with her.”
“Why not?” I ask. “How come neither of you told me you were neighbors? Both of you acted as if you were strangers.”
“Just because we’re neighbors, you assume we aren’t strangers?”
“How long have you guys—”
“I don’t want to discuss her.”
“Why won’t you block him?” Every hour on the hour, Echo’s phone rings. She peeks at it and either let it ring until it stops or red buttons it.
“I have my reasons—and why are you so into my business in the first place?”
I hold my hands up like I’m surrendering. “I don’t give a damn about your business. If you want to be stupid, I can’t stop you.”
“Call me stupid again, and you can leave!” She throws her hand on her hips.
“How about I just leave.” It sounded like a question, but it wasn’t. I make my way to the door before he responds.
“Fine!”
“Fine.”
“Good!”
“Good.” I slam the front door before she says any more one-liners I feel compelled to repeat.
I shove my fist deep into my pockets and stroll off, trying to psych myself up for this long walk home. I don’t know why I let Echo get to me like that. It’s like she can only be taken in microdoses, and we’ve already been around each other since early this morning.
I get to Penny’s house and see her car in the driveway. Might as well stop and see how she’ doing since I haven’t heard from her in a while. I’m not really sure she wants to talk to me, let alone see me. I chance it anyway and knock on her front door. “Hi, um is Penny—”
“Penelope,” the older gentleman cuts me off and corrects me. “Her mother and I named her Penelope, not some worthless copper and zinc coin.” The man swirls his brown liquid around in his glass, sniffs it like he didn’t know what exactly he’s been drinking, and takes a sip.
Man, all these rich people are the same. Entitled, sarcastic, and just plain mean for no reason at all. He stands there, looking down on me like he could smell the poor seeping from my pores. Probably the same way I felt the richness seeping from his.
“Y’know what? Nevermind.” I mumble out. “I can just see her in school.” Seeing Penny certainly wasn’t worth going through all the rigamarole to get to her. I had no idea what I was going to say to her anyhow.
“Yes, you do that. I’ve already got my shotgun cocked and loaded and ready to go in the back.”
Woah, that escalated quickly. Backing away, I hold my hands up. I turn to leave, and someone stops me by grabbing hold of my bicep.
“He’s joking,” a soft, meek voice says. “Tell him you’re kidding, Kenny.”
“Apparently, I’m Kidding Kenny and not Kent.” I glance at the man’s outstretched hand, debating on if I should shake it or not. I do because if I didn’t, then I’d be considered the mean one.
“I’m Artist,” I say reluctantly, peering up into the guys face. “You must be Penn—Penelope’s dad?”
“What gave it away? Was it my—�
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“Probably your horrible dad jokes, Kenny.” The lady pulls me inside the house; rather, I wanted to come in or not. I’m guessing she was Penny’s mom. Not because she looked or acted like a mother because she didn’t. I got more or less sister vibes from her, but she didn’t refer to Penny’s dad as her father.
“Oh, I’m Darling. Penny’s mom btw.” Btw? Ah, I get it. She’s the cool, hip mom.
“I’m… um… Artist.” I stop on the steps, fumbling with my words as if I couldn’t multitask thinking and speaking simultaneously.
“Nice,” she says, dragging out the word. “Very creative…” I stare at her, wondering if her voice sounded more like the annoying nanny on the old school TV show or Marge Simpson. Maybe a bit of both. However, it was very animated and didn’t go with her looks at all.
“Thanks, Mrs.—” she cuts me off.
“Darling, it’s just Darling.” We get to the top of the stairs, and she directs me to the left and down a long hallway. I was almost amazed at how I was literally next door to Echo’s house. The two were constructed differently as night and day. I know in my neighborhood all the homes on my block are the same design. It’s no surprise at all when you go inside.
“Yes… ma’am,” I say. Her shoulders slump, and she sighs hard like she’s trying to magically forget what I’d just said.
“Penelope?” She says after knocking on the door and rolls her shoulders. We both stand in silence until she knocks again. “Pen?” She says again before easing the door open and walking inside. I stand in the doorway, not daring to step across the threshold unless invited to do so. “You have company,” Darling mouths silently as she towers above Penny, who has her AirPods in. No need for wasting vocals when she wasn’t gonna hear it anyway, right?
“What do you want?” Penny snatches the Pods from her ears as she bolts upright. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I’m contemplating answering her or just walking back the way I had come and just leave. I’m so sick of the attitudes of everyone.
“Now, Penelope. That is not the way to make friends or keep them.” Darling’s arms fold as she shakes her head in disappointment.
“Does it seem like I want this douche as a friend?”
Darling sighs and motions me to come in as she leaves out, closing the door behind her.
I stand by the door, refusing to walk any further because of the way Penny’s growling at me. “Hey,” I nod a greeting in her direction even though’s she’s rude as hell right now. She doesn’t say anything as if I’m not standing in her room. “Right. Well, when you decide to finally tell me what I did and why you’re punishing me—”
“It’s not you,” she says and then mumbles under her breath. “At least not completely.” I wanted to ask her what the hell that meant, but something tells me not to waste my time.
“Whatever your reasoning… we have work to get done.” It was a half-truth. I was not about to tell her I had been right next door with Echo until she got on my nerves. Surely she would think she was coming in second place. Most girls hate that. Maybe it was just best if I go home.
“Work to get done?” It pours from her mouth like curse words. “Is that what you and Echo have been doing all day? Or should I not ask?”
“Excuse me?” I’m startled and curious at the same time. “What are you talking about?” I ask for clarity because I didn’t want to be an ass and assume. Penny doesn’t say anything as if she said too much. “Penelope? Have you been snooping on me?”
“Please don’t flatter yourself.” She squishes her face and makes a gagging noise like she was vomiting.
“Then how did you—” she cuts me off by pulling her bedroom curtains back, revealing an obvious path directly into Echo’s room. “So, you were stalking me?”
“Absolutely,” Penny says, deadpanning me. “It all started when I was just a tiny star in the heavens…” she displays her arms above her head dramatically. “Before even reaching her womb, I spoke with her telepathically, begging even… that she’d give me this room.”
“Wait—you’ve been in this same exact room since you were born?” Penny nods, and on the one hand, I imagine the roots that have been grounded. I admire the experience or lack thereof when I compare it to the fact that I would have been lucky to live somewhere for more than five years at a time. Then again, maybe not. I’m not sure I’d want to look at the same surroundings for my entire life.
“So, what exactly did you want to work,” Penny says as she sashays over to me, a smile tugging at the sides of her lips.
“What?” My head turns and peeks at Penelope from the side. Was she trying to be playful? “Huh?”
“I’m joking with you, Art,” she lightly taps my forearm. “Did you come up with any ideas?”
“Actually, yeah I did—”
“You want to get that?” My attention is torn away from Penny when I grab my phone from my pocket.
“What?” I snarl into the phone as I turn my back to Penny like it’ll make her here me any less.
“Where the hell are you?” Echo practically screams into the phone.
“Why is it any business of yours where I am?” I spit back.
“Because I’ve been driving all around looking for you. I’ve even been to your house, Artist.”
“Why did you go to my house?” My eyes shoot to the top of my phone, checking the time. Thank God, my mom shouldn’t have been home.
“Lover’s quarrel, I’m guessing.” Penelope holds her hands up in surrender. “Maybe I should leave my room and give you guys some privacy?” She’s sarcastic, and I don’t blame her because it’s rude of me to carry on a phone conversation.
“I’ll call you—” I try to get off the phone with Echo, but she cuts me off.
“Are you serious,” Echo says after an exasperated breath. “I’ve been running around all over God knows where and you’ve been in Looserville the whole entire time?”
“What are you talking about?” She responds to me by hanging up the phone. I didn’t give a shit, and I wasn’t going to cry about it. I slide my phone back into my pocket and direct my attention back to Penny. “What’s the story here?” I wiggle my thumb back and forth, referring to her and Echo’s deep hatred for one another. If you have lived this close to one another, surely there would have been at one point.
“There is no story,” she shrugs like it wasn’t a big deal. Technically it shouldn’t be. I’m not sure why I’m interested at all by this mystery history between both of them.
“Don’t give me that!” I tell her my version of why I think they are lying, but she doesn’t confirm or deny.
Thank you for reading!
If you are loving this series so far, please leave me a positive review. I appreciate your support.
-Reighan
The Mean Girl and the Bad Boy #3: Echo and Artist Page 4
