Sidekick

by Natalie Whipple

  “I kind of hang out with Izzy’s friends…a lot. I, uh, watch anime with them.” Saying it out loud feels wrong, and I wait for him to laugh. He doesn’t. “They’re always at my house. If Keira ends up with them—which I’m sure she will if Izzy has anything to say about it—then it probably wouldn’t be weird if I invited you over.”

  He smiles slightly. “Really?”

  “At least she could get to know us.” I say “us” to see if he’ll pick up on my interest, but he just pats my shoulder once.

  “You’re the best, Russ.”

  I know he means it, even if it’s not true.

  Chapter Seven

  It’s one of those rare moments in our family—we’re all together. By some miracle, Dad’s flight schedule changed and he got to come see me play. Usually when he’s not flying, Mom schedules dinner dates and trips to Monterey, but he said he wanted to see my game instead. Even though I miss him sometimes, I get that he has to provide for us. And he loves to fly. I can respect that.

  Besides, he takes us on great summer vacations. Last summer we spent a month visiting the Polynesian islands—Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga. The year before that was Italy. Izzy is gunning for Japan this year, since the last time we went she was six.

  He glances at me in the rearview mirror, his smile crinkling the skin around his eyes. “Great game, Russ. You killed it out there.”

  “Thanks.” I smile back. I did rock tonight. Two touchdowns, tied with Garret. I always play better when Dad’s there, maybe because I want to make him proud, or maybe because I don’t want him to think he’s wasting time watching me lose.

  “Yeah, yeah. Whoop-de-doo.” Izzy folds her arms, still irritated that Mom made her go to something as normal as a football game. That, and she might be a little pissed about me inviting Garret to anime night. “You can run while holding a lemon ball. Congratulations.”

  “Isadora.” Mom’s voice is flat. Izzy rolls her eyes.

  They don’t exactly get along, though I’m not sure why. Both of them are decidedly eccentric. Izzy has her anime and Mom has her hobby habit. The last one was scrapbooking. Now she’s decided she’s going to be a seamstress. Whatever her new hobby, she spends most of her time in her office honing it. She comes out to cook dinner for us sometimes, but both of us are pretty self-sufficient at this point.

  I punch Izzy’s shoulder. “I’d like to see you play football, just once. See how good you are at it.”

  She tries not to smile. “I’d be better than you.”

  Dad laughs. “Izzy, don’t be silly. Russ’ll get a scholarship the way he plays.”

  That makes me squirm. Even if I do get a scholarship, it won’t be to Stanford or any other big school. And I’m not sure I want to play for some community college. I mean, I like sports—I really do—but they aren’t my life. I don’t picture myself in the NFL or anything close. I don’t picture myself anywhere.

  “Have you decided on where you’re applying yet?” Mom asks.

  I wince. With college application deadlines approaching, my parents ask this question with increasing frequency. “Not really.”

  “I’ll help you figure it out,” Dad says. “It can be kind of overwhelming.”

  “Yeah.” I gulp, wondering if I should just say I don’t want to go. But I can’t. They would give me that devastated parental look, like they somehow failed me because I don’t want higher education.

  The second we’re home we all spread out. Mom heads for her “sewing” room, while Dad goes to the kitchen. Izzy stomps up the stairs in front of me and slams her door as I pass. I take a shower.

  As I rummage through my carpet of clothes for a clean pair of pajamas, my mind wanders to the upcoming anime night. Keira and Izzy hit it off right away. Apparently, the new girl is cool enough to merit starting a full three episodes back from where we ended last week. It might also have to do with Trent missing out, but I think it’s mostly Keira. It’s certainly not in honor of Garret crashing the party.

  It’s hilarious to think that the most popular guy in school is ruining Izzy’s night.

  My door swings open, and I’m still in my boxers. I grab the first pair of bottoms I see and shove my legs into them. “Damn it, Iz. Try knocking?”

  “Why?” She stalks over and plops on my bed. “You think you can just barge into my life without asking.”

  “For the thousandth time, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know what else to do when he found out about it.” I grab a clean white shirt and tug it over my head. “Is it really that bad? You’ve known Garr forever; you know he’s not just some jock.”

  She pouts. “You really never told him?”

  “No.” I sit on the bed next to her. “Why?”

  She picks at her fingernails. “I just thought you’d told him, like, forever ago.”

  “Oh.” My gut twists as I watch her. Izzy’s not one for serious talks, but I can tell this time she’s dead serious—and hurt.

  “How could you not tell your best friend?” The last words are shaky. If she starts crying I don’t know what I’ll do.

  “Izzy…” I put my arm around her. “You get why, right?”

  “Because you’re embarrassed of us.”

  “No!” I pull back, stunned. “I-I…no. You guys are like my best friends besides Garret.”

  She glares at me. “Oh, I see. So we mean a lot to you, but you won’t admit to hanging out with us. That makes a lot of sense.”

  I glare back. “I stick up for you all the time.”

  “Yeah, in that popular, big brother kind of way, but you’d never actually admit you’re one of us.”

  My mouth hangs open, but the words won’t form. One of them? I am not one of them. I don’t wear weird clothes or style my hair like some hipster guitar player. Maybe I’m no Dallas Green, but I’m no Izzy, either. “I don’t really belong anywhere.”

  She frowns and leans her head on my shoulder. “Russell Arnold Pearson, don’t make me feel guilty for yelling at you.”

  “I’m not trying to.” I put my arm around her again. “I know it looks bad. I’m not saying I’m doing the right thing, but imagine how it would be if I did hang out with you at school. Garret would too, and then we wouldn’t be popular. Who would take our place? Dallas. He’d make our lives hell, and there’d be no one to stop him.”

  “So you’re ignoring me…for my own good?”

  I sigh. Honestly, I have no clue. I don’t know what I should be doing or what I want to be doing. All I know is that I’m sick of everything. I want to be done with high school and all the stupid games.

  She’s not convinced, but the doorbell saves me before she can dig any deeper. Izzy stands and points her finger. “He better not make stupid comments the whole night.”

  “I made sure he knows the no-talking policy.” I follow her out my door.

  “Get it, will you?” she asks. “I still have to get dressed.” She does look too normal for anime night. Mom wouldn’t let her wear her usual getup to the football game, just jeans and an orange Naruto T-shirt. She did manage to convince Mom the unicorn purse was a new fashion, though.

  “Sure.” I hurry down the stairs, unreasonably shaky, but it might be Keira and I have no idea if she’s still pissed or not. I look through the peephole and release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Hey, Daphne. Colin.”

  Colin salutes and heads for the living room. Daphne, on the other hand, just stands there, sizing me up. Her black hair is down and wild, and she’s wearing this funky green eyeliner I suspect glows in the dark. Purple lips today.

  “You coming in?” I ask.

  She steps inside. “What’s up?”

  “Not much. Won a football game, you know, the usual.” I shut the door behind her, but she doesn’t head for the living room.

  “So that’s why you’re smiling. You don’t smile much.”

  “You’re one to talk.” As long as I’ve known Daphne, she’s never been a smiler. Even in fifth grade she had this look that
made you wonder if she was plotting your death. She’s just not a peppy, upbeat kind of girl, and yet not emo or Goth either. She wears way too many bright colors. Daphne is just…Daphne.

  She smirks, but before she says anything the doorbell rings again. I open it, and Trent comes waltzing in. He gives a wave and continues forward, staring at his sketchbook like it’s a complex math problem.

  “As I was about to say, I do too smile, just not at poseurs who don’t deserve it,” Daphne says.

  I laugh. “Whatever. You’re smiling now, so you must have had a good day, too.”

  She nods. “Scheduled my black belt exam for December and kicked ass in practice.”

  “Awesome.”

  She looks down. “Yeah, I thought it might be cool if you—”

  The doorbell rings once more and we both startle. I grab the doorknob and pull. It’s Garret and Keira. Izzy said Keira’s Mom was driving her. Why are they together? Did Garret somehow find her number? Coincidence. It has to be.

  Chapter Eight

  “Here we are!” Keira steps through the door. I don’t know what it is about this girl in pajamas, but she looks freaking hot in her tight blue pants and a white tank that should be illegal.

  “Hey, Russ.” Garret follows her in.

  “Hey.” So they did come together. It’s been one week and he’s already got a foothold. I shut the door behind them and then shove my hands into my pockets along with my feelings.

  “Told you, right next door,” Garret says.

  Keira smiles, but there’s an edge to it. “I guess I really don’t know the difference between sky blue and sea green.”

  Garret chuckles. “Like I said, color blind.” He turns to me. “She thought my house was yours.”

  “Oh.” I try to hide my relief with a laugh. “They look pretty similar in the dark.”

  “Everything looks the same here, and it’s so…country. I miss Kyoto,” Keira says as she hooks her arm with mine. A lump forms in my throat. Not exactly what I was expecting when she came in with Garret, but I’m not complaining. “So are you gonna show me your place?”

  “Sure.” I take her through the downstairs, trying not to act as confused as I am. “This is the kitchen.”

  “Huge.” She runs her hand along the counter. “It’s like the size of our entire place in Japan. I’m still not used to how big stuff is in America, people included.”

  I put my elbows on the counter as she stares at the pictures on our fridge. “How did you end up there, anyway? Your mom obviously can’t be Japanese.”

  She smiles. “What gave it away? My utter whiteness?”

  I laugh. “Seriously, I’m curious.”

  The smile is gone. “My dad left her when she found out she was pregnant. She met a charming Japanese businessman online, and off she went. They were married in a month.”

  I raise my eyebrows. “That’s…fast.”

  “She’s kind of incapable of making a good decision.” She folds her arms, her confident exterior broken. “Can we not talk about this?”

  “Of course, sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  “Don’t worry about it.” She heads back to the living room, and I follow slightly behind. Here I thought she was all strong and tough, but now I get the sense that there’s a lot of crap she keeps hidden. It only makes me want to get to know her more, to understand what happened to make her look so broken. But I have a feeling it’s not something I should force out of her.

  Colin is sprawled out on the loveseat, cleaning his glasses. Trent sits in my recliner, drawing. And, to my surprise, Daphne and Garret are talking, both leaning on the wall and laughing. They stop when they see us.

  “Enjoy the tour?” Garret sits on the couch.

  “Immensely.” Keira plops down beside Garret, her smile faker than ever. “I’m willing to bet you jocks have never seen a stitch of anime in your lives.”

  “You’re really gonna hold that against us, huh.” Garret leans toward her. “It’s not exactly fair—I’m not judging you.”

  Keira rolls her eyes. “Oh, c’mon. You thought I was some Navy brat living in Okinawa the second I said Japan. Admit it.”

  He laughs. “Uh, no. Did you think I was some California surfer?”

  Garret’s about to go into full flirtation mode, which means I won’t get a word in if I don’t act now. I sit next to Keira before I chicken out. “You really can’t judge us. I watch anime all the time.”

  She scrunches her face. “No way.”

  “It’s true.” Daphne sits next to me. “It all started with Ultramon.”

  Everyone groans. Ultramon is one of those shows with a thousand different monsters that fight for no reason. Like Pokémon, Digimon, Bakugan, and all the other clones of the genre. They inevitably end up as card games—otherwise known as huge, worthless money sinks.

  But Izzy loved Ultramon, and she got Daphne into it, too. I just happened to be in the room doing homework, hoping Daphne would help me with math. Yeah, she was in seventh grade, but she’s a freaking math genius. Thought I may as well use it to my advantage. By the time Colin and Trent joined, they’d realized it was a lame kid show. So even though it’s the embarrassing origin of Izzy’s little anime group, we try not to remember that.

  “My brother Tucker loves Ultramon,” Garret says. “Is that what we’re watching?”

  “Hell, no!” Trent stares at him, incredulous.

  “What, is your brother seven?” Keira asks.

  “Actually, yeah, he is.” Garret slumps. “Okay, you’re right. I’ve never seen any anime.”

  Keira snorts, but pats his knee. “That’s all right, we’ll teach you how to actually be cool.” She turns to me. “Okay, Russ. Test time.”

  “What?” I can barely think with her pretty pink lips so close. “Test?”

  “Five favorite series. Go.”

  “Oh, ummm…” I hadn’t really thought of it before. And now that I’m running through all the series I’ve watched with Izzy, I’m starting to see why my sister thinks I belong with them. I haven’t been entirely honest with myself about my anime interests. “I loved Bleach, and Evangelion is a total classic. It’s kind of old, but Cowboy Bebop was awesome. Same with Escaflowne. Hmm, one more…I’m gonna go with Attack on Titan, though it’s obvious it’s amazing.”

  Keira breaks out this stunning smile.

  “What?”

  “You pass,” she says. “Old school taste, but good taste.”

  I picked some older shows just so she’d know I hadn’t only watched what’s currently popular. Still, her approval is the most rewarding thing in the world.

  Izzy’s feet pound down the stairs, and she appears in all her whacky glory. Today it’s a pair of Hello Kitty footie pajamas with a giant red bow on her head to match. She’s painted her nose yellow and drawn whiskers on her face. “Okay! Welcome, newbies!”

  She immediately launches into her summary of what happened in the episodes we watched last week, and her recitation rivals that of Haruhi Suzumiya herself. After she finishes, she grabs the timer on the table and turns it. “You have ten minutes to get snacks. No talking until we break to pee.”

  As Izzy bounds off to the kitchen, Keira blinks rapidly. “Wow, is she always such a drill sergeant?”

  “On anime night?” Trent says without looking up from his sketchbook. “Yes. And there are punishments for disobeying.”

  “If you talk during the episode, you have to fight Daphne,” Colin says.

  “And she will kick your ass.” I stand up, planning to grab at least two Strawberry Fantas and chips. My stomach growls. Maybe a Hot Pocket if I have time.

  “Seriously?” Keira sizes up Daphne, as if she doesn’t believe me.

  “Dead serious. It’s all the freaky Judo stuff, using your opponent’s momentum against them.”

  “Yes, that’s the exact name for it. Freaky Judo stuff.” Daphne smiles wickedly, and I know she’s about to embarrass me. “Actually…”

  “Daph…don’t say
it. I’ll tell Keira your last name if—”

  Her eyes flare with anger. “Russ, don’t make me kill you.”

  “Oh, here we go.” Colin grabs a pillow as a shield. Trent holds up his notebook.

  “Whoa. Is her last name really that bad?” Keira perks up. Either she’s oblivious to the tension in the room or it’s just making her all the more curious. “What is it?”

  Daphne’s arms flex. “None of your—”

  “Semens,” Garret says. “Daphne Semens.”

  The room goes deathly silent. I’d completely forgotten Garret doesn’t know the punishment for saying her last name out loud. All eyes are on Daphne. She glares at Garr. He is so dead.

  “Wow,” Keira finally says. “That’s rough.”

  For the smallest moment, Daphne looks like she’s about to cry. But then she hardens and punches my shoulder. It hurts. A lot.

  “Hey!” I rub the spot. “What was that for? I didn’t say it!”

  “You brought it up!” She shoves me. “Do I have to repeat what I did to you during the final episode of Inuyasha? I seem to remember you whimpering like a baby after I—”

  “Stop!” My face burns as I involuntarily wince at the memory. She’s referring to the one and only time I said her last name out loud—the night that ended with an icepack on my crotch. “Okay! Sorry! I’m man enough to admit you beat me up, so please spare the details.”

  She softens the littlest bit and doesn’t say more.

  “As you can see, Keira,” Colin says, his legs crossed tighter than necessary, “I strongly recommend not messing with Daphne.”

  Daphne folds her arms behind her head, totally satisfied with herself. “Yeah, I’m Izzy’s bouncer.”

  We settle in with our snacks just as Izzy’s timer goes off. That very second, she presses play and sits next to Colin. Then we watch, and watch. Except half the time I’m wondering if anything’s going to happen with Garret and Keira. So far, Garret hasn’t even dared rest his hand behind her on the couch. Maybe he’s off his game. He has to feel out of place here with The Dork Squad.