Chapter 4

With Andrea’s black hair, fair skin and bright red lips (she never even needs lipstick!); I always tell her that she was patterned after Snow White. And just like Snow White, Andi really is “the fairest one of all.” Sometimes, I feel like the jealous and not-too-pretty evil queen. But I guess that’s not really a fair comparison. I won’t be trying to feed poisoned apples to my little sister any time soon. I love Andi, and I would simply die if anything ever happened to her.

Andrea is kind of my biggest cheerleader. She’s always trying to convince me that I am the gorgeous sister. Even though I know that it’s just something that she says to try to make me feel better about myself, I really appreciate the act. At least she tries to contradict that magic mirror that tells us both that I will never measure up.

I try not to resent Andi for being “the fairest one of all.” Besides, we all know what happened to the wicked queen when she tried to fight against Snow White. I wouldn’t stand a chance! I guess I just have no choice but to accept and embrace Andi’s beauty. I have to accept the fact that she will always be the one to get the boy.

Even Jarod has a crush on my little sister. He hasn’t ever said so. In fact, he always refers to her as “Alaina’s somewhat annoying little sister,” but I know that he secretly likes her. I can always tell what a guy is thinking! He tries to hide it, but he is absolutely in love. I can tell by the way Jarod acts and by the way that he looks at her. It’s really pretty obvious. My buddy, Jarod, like all other red-blooded American teenage boys, is completely smitten with my little sister, Andi!

I used to think that Jarod was the only boy on Earth who wasn’t obsessed with Andrea. I thought that, with Jarod, at least, I didn’t have to worry about being eclipsed by her beauty. I realized how wrong I was the first time that Jarod came over to my house.

It was his 16th birthday, and he had just passed his driver’s test. His first solo drive was to my house so that I could make him some cookies and he could show off his “new” car. (His parents gave him a used Geo Metro for his birthday.) We were sitting together on the couch, deep in a “very serious” conversation. (Jarod always says that the crazy conversations we find our way into are actually “very serious.” I think he says that just because it makes me smile.)

As always, Jarod was playing with my hair. He told me when we met that my hair was the kind that made you want to just reach out and pet it. He still says that he loves to pet my head. I think that makes me sound like some kind of a dog, but I know that Jarod thinks he’s paying me a compliment, so I don’t say anything about it anymore.

Jarod was teasing me for driving a “land yacht.” I have a 1977 Buick LeSabre that my cousin sold to me for fifty dollars. Sure, it’s not the prettiest car, but it runs well, and you can’t beat that price!

“Well, it’s a good thing that I have a big car,” I said. “When I get my license in a few months, I’ll be able to fit everyone in my car at once when we go out. Your car is so tiny that it would probably only fit the two of us comfortably! That means that Rob and Josh and anyone else who wanted to come along would either have to be really crowded or take a separate car. Where is the fun in that?”

Of course, Jarod felt obligated to defend his Metro. “I prefer to think of my car as cozy. Besides, maybe I don’t always want to drag everyone along every time I go out.” He raised one eyebrow and frowned at me slightly. I rolled my eyes. Jarod always complains that I surround myself with crowds of people much too often. He says that it’s impossible for us to ever have a real conversation because I always have a crowd of adoring fans surrounding me.

I don’t know what he’s talking about, really. I mean, I admit that we hang out with a pretty big group of guys sometimes, but it’s almost always his friends we hang out with. Rob and Josh and Frank and Joe… I’m just the tag-along! They only put up with me because I’m Jarod’s friend. It’s not like they would want to spend time with just me or anything. Besides, Jarod was wrong anyway. I’m almost always alone. That’s probably why I have so much fun going out in a big group sometimes. It makes me feel like I’m not entirely socially unacceptable.

But I didn’t feel like getting into that argument again. I smiled. “Okay, well, whatever makes you feel better about it… I guess I’ll have to accept your rationalizations, won’t I?”

“Well, my car suits me,” Jarod pouted. “Every car has its own personality and expression.” His eyes lit up and he grinned. “Have you ever noticed that the car usually matches its driver?”

“Now just wait a minute, buddy!” I protested. “You were just talking about how huge my car is. Does that mean that you think I’m huge too?” I looked down and let my hair fall across my face. That’s the best thing about long hair. It’s easy to hide behind.

Jarod rolled his eyes and reached over to brush my hair out of my eyes. “No, you silly goose. What I’m saying is that the personality of the car matches the personality of the driver!”

“Oh… so you’re saying that I just have the personality of a land yacht?” I tried to make my voice sound light and teasing so that Jarod wouldn’t know how upsetting his idea really was. I mean, how would you like it if your best friend told you that you were like a land yacht?

Jarod sighed and shook his head. “Laina, that is not what I meant, and you know it. I’m talking about the way that the headlights and grille of every car look like its face. Your big old car has a great big permanent grin. It reminds me of your beautiful smile.” He stopped talking and raised one eyebrow, waiting expectantly. I couldn’t help it. I had to smile.

“See? That’s what I’m talking about. Your smile is as much a part of you as the grille is a part of your Buick. I always feel like there’s something missing when you stop smiling.” Jarod brushed a stray curl away from my face, and for some reason, my skin went all tingly when his fingers traced the contours of my cheek.

I pulled back slightly and shook my head, hoping that he wouldn’t notice my reaction to his touch. “Okay, so my Buick and I have the same kind of smile. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I’ll accept it.” I grinned. “What about everyone else, though? Does this rule work all the time, or am I just special?”

“Well, of course you’re special, Alaina,” Jarod winked, “but the rule does work for everyone. Take Rob, for instance. His old Pinto has the same shy, tight-lipped smile that he does. And Frank Hart, with his big nose and googly eyes, looks just like his old, beat-up 1945 Ford pickup truck. The patches of rust on the hood even match Frank’s acne!”

I giggled. I would never be able to see Frank again without picturing the Ford logo plastered across his forehead.

It was at this point that Andrea came bouncing in. “What’s so funny, Laina? You’ve gotta let me in on the joke too!” She turned to Jarod and flashed her billion-dollar smile. “Oh, hi Jarod! I haven’t seen you in forever! What have you been up to, cutie?”

I never thought that I would see the day when Jarod Johnson didn’t know what to say. But as soon as he saw my gorgeous sister, he was completely tongue-tied. His face flushed, and he dropped the lock of my hair that he had been playing with like it burned him. He slid over to the opposite end of the couch and folded his hands in his lap. I guess he was afraid that Andi might think we were together or something.

I quickly explained Jarod’s theory of car personalities to Andrea, and she grinned. She came over and plopped down onto the couch, in the space that Jarod had created between us. She flashed a smile and batted her eyelashes as she leaned in and asked, “Well, Jarod, then what does your car say about you?”

Jarod cleared his throat and glanced quickly at me before he spoke. “I have a little Geo Metro, and that thing looks like it is just as confused as I am.” He chuckled hesitantly, and I glowered. I didn’t think it was very funny.

I know that Jarod was subtly trying to ask me whether or not I would mind if he asked my little sister out, but I just couldn’t bring myself to give him the okay on that. If I sound like I was jealous, let me assure you that I was not. Well, not really. I mean, Jarod and I are just friends. It’s not like I want to date him or anything. Not really. At least, not anymore. I know that it would never work out if we tried it.

Jarod calls himself my “big brother,” and I go to him whenever I need some brotherly advice. It would just be too weird if I ever tried to date him. Not that he ever thinks about me in that way, anyway. But if he’s my “big brother,” shouldn’t that mean that he should see Andrea like a little sister too? After all, she’s my little sister, and I’m his “little sister”. It’s not fair that Andi always gets to be the girl!