How far we came

"So," Dani starts, looking up. She snaps her book shut with a satisfying thud and places it on the restaurant table. "I've been thinking about something" With a sigh, I turn my head from the menu to look at her. Even Archer takes out his earbuds to listen to our 15 year old sister. "When are you not thinking?" Archer ask teasingly,leaning forward to look at Danielle. "A genuine question." Dani doesn't even look at Archer before replying "like literally anytime you are speaking. I swear that your voice kills my brain cells. I'm surprised I'm not brain dead after all these years of you flapping that huge mouth of yours." Dad whistles lowly, taking a sip from his water glass. "I think she got you there Archer. You do love the sound of you own voice." "Wonder where he got that from." Mom adds, shooting dad a playful look. Archer ignore them and leans to get closer to Dani. Sitting between them in the restaurant booth. I'm squished in the middle. "What do you mean by flapping? My lips don't flap. My lips are perfect, proportionly speaking. Scar, do my lips flap?" I turn my head to look at his face. To my amusement, his Grey eyes are riddle with actual concern over this topic. "Yeah,they kinda do" I lie,holding back a grin. "Like giant slugs." Archer scowls "you lying peice of ---" "Archer" Dad voice booms from across the table,cutting him off. I stick my toung out at my older brother,not caring how childish I look. Archer leans back in his seat and drag his hand down his face. "Mom do my lips flap?" "No, honey your lips don't flap" She replys to her oldest child who's currently acting like he is the youngest, telling him exactly what he wants to hear. Archer flashes me and Dani a satisfied I-told-you-so-look. I roll my eyes "She has to say that she is our mother." "I second that", Dad agrees " You all got your mom's lips so ofcourse they are perfect " Dani groans and Archer pretends to throw up as Mom leans to kiss dad's cheek. "Why do you guys have to be so gross and sappy?" Dani complains, shielding her eye from the small gesture of affection between our parents "you guys might give me migrane." Mom and Dad expression turns serious. "Dani I don't like when you joke about that." Mom says. I try to change the subject back. I shrug " I think Mom and DAD love is kind cute." Dani jabs me playfully in my arm. "Ofcourse you do they have a name for your kind,you know a 'hopeless romantic or ignorant fool' depending on who u ask." I shake my head, snapping my head to look at her . Without thinking I hrab her book from the table, flipping it over to see the cover. "lovers awakened by Jessica Wards? Dani you really one to talk." I laugh, Archer laughs with me, examining the cover photo of a man kissing the shoulder of a women. Dani doesn't even attempt to take the book back. "My reading choices doesn't mean anything. I can read the hunger game without wanting to live in Panem. I'm reading this purely for educational purpose." "Dani" Archer laughs, "Living in a dystopia society is not the same thing as wanting your back blown out. "Hey," Dad says from the front seat. " No one is getting their back blown out" "Except maybe Archer, he's a man whore." I add without thinking. Dani chokes back a laugh, but neither Mom or dad fing it funny at all. "Hey I don't get my back blown out" Archer say defensively. "If anything I am the one that does the blowing out tha backs of----" "Archer please spare us the-------details" Mom says desperately, obviously not enjoying hearing about Archer extracurricular activities. "Scarlett........ you are disgusting" Dani says holding back her own laugh. "I'm going to have to physically scrub my brain of that thought" "I don't think I appreciate hearing my sister talk about my back being blown out, so please scrub mine while you're at it." Archer says even though he was adding to the conversation. "OH you mean that walnut sized lump of that Grey matter that stays inside your skull? Yeah I can do that" Dani says. "Jees Nellie,why are you on your brothers case today? Dad asks dripping his arm behind mom's seat and leaning back,relaxed. "I think his face is just passing me off today" Dani answers "it's a sibling thing I guess" "My face is perfect. perfect lips perfect everything. I don't know what you are talking about." Archer grumbles more to himself than anyone. I'm surprised dad doesn't say anything he and Archer look almost identical and dad usually takes any opportunity to talk about how handsome his son is. Before anyone can say anything the waiter comes to take the order. After he's gone Mom remembers what started this whole conversation. "So what were you going to say Dani?" "What was I going to say before Archer started flapping his stupid lips?" Dani asks, feigning ignorance "oh yeah I was just going to say that I've done some mental calculations." Archer groans but doesn't say anything. Dani keeps going. "So Scarlett's first day of her freshman year at college starts in a week and a half Late August. So first few weeks of classes are just syllabus and getting used to the whole environment since nothing really going on, that's when the best parties happen. "Dani's right" Archer corroborated acting like some sort of college expert even though he is only a year older than me. But I guess a year of college experience is more than I have. "Where are you going with this?" I ask,knowing it's nowhere good. Dani's brilliant and she doesn't always use that brilliance for good. I can tell she is going somewhere with these pseudo calculations and I'm not sure I like that. Dani sighs, " Well add in a few reckless college boys, subtract common sense and moral resistance and I think k that's really high probability of Scarlett coming home pregnant at Thanksgiving break." Archer chokes on his sprite and dad does the same on his water. "Danielle"he chides not actually mad "really?" Dani shrugs and smile "What dad, I'm just offering some possibilities" I look at Dani and shoot her a jokingly dirty smile, she smiles sweetly. "Do you have any faith in me?" I ask, "At least give me Christmas break before I get knocked up by a stranger." Dani nods in agreement, "You are so right, what was I thinking?" "I don't know what either of u is thinking" Archrrs adds. "I can't imagine any guy wanting to come within fifty foot radius of Scarlett much less physically interact with her.""Wow, you really know how to boost a girl's confidence," I chirp. "Thanks, Archie. What's next? A PowerPointpresentation about how I'll never find true love, no matter how hard I try?" Archer shrugs casually. "I was getting there. And I was thinking about a sixteen-page thesis, not a PowerPoint." I smile and scrunch my nose at him. "You're the absolute worst." Archer tilts his head thoughtfully. "I think you said that to Jack a few weeks ago. So which one of us is the actual absolute worst?" "Well, considering you're two halves of the same i***t, I think you both take the cake," Dani answers. I nod in agreement, not missing the amused smiles on both our parents' faces Even Archer cracks a smile at that one. "Speaking of him," Dad says to Archer, "Where is Jack? I thought he was supposed to meet us here for lunch." I try to hide my interest in Archer's answer to that question. Not that Im excited or anything, but Archer's best friend is supposed to help me move into my dorm today. The last timne I saw him, he convinced Archer to help him flip over mine and Dani's canoe during our family camping trip that he's always invited to. Hence, the reason I deemed him 'the absolute worse'. Archer checks his phone quickly. "Uh, I think he decided to just meet us at Scarlett's dorm to help unpack. He said to text us when we're heading Over there." Mom smiles. "We should order something and bring it to him. He likes quesadillas, right?" I once watched him eat two quesadillas in under three minutes in Archer's car before one of their basketball games. So I have to assume that, yes, he does like quesadillas. "Yeah, he loves them," Archer responds, typing out a reply to Jack. When the waiter comes out with our food and Mom orders two quesadillas to-go, I find myself unable to concentrate on my food. Dad notices me staring off. "You okay, Scar?" I shake myself out of it, smiling at him assuredly. "Yeah, just kind of nervous for my first year of college." He gives me a reassuring smile and places his hand over mine, actually making me feel a bit better. "You'l be okay. My little girl's been ready totake on the world for a while now." I nod my head, feeling less tense. Looking at him and Mom staring at me with such faith and love in their eyes, trying to settle my nerves about college, I don't have the heart to tell them that it's not actually college that has me so nervous right now. And for once, the main source of my anxiety isn't about the accident either. To Jack, I've never been more than his best friend's little sister, and Ive told myself that I wouldn't have it any other way. But the prospect of going to the same college as him, seeing him at parties and around campus, has me thinking back to my childhood crush. The slight disappointnment I feel at the news of him not eating lunch with us tells me that my childhood crush may have neveractually goneaway. Maybe I just convinced myself it had.