Chapter 10

After we "Robbed the mall" (and got kicked out by Rob's boss), it was time to move on to phase two of Andi's script. We had decided to "hit every Mini Mart in town." Literally. We drove to each of the eight Mini Marts, got out of the car at each one and smacked the side of the building. At the second Mini Mart, we ran into Andi's really cute friend, Dave.

Dave used to work with me, when I worked as a telemarketer last year, so he kind of knows me too, but he is obviously hooked on Andrea, like every other ordinary, red-blooded American teenage boy! Dave stood there, watching us jump out of the car, giggling like crazy, and smack the side of the Mini Mart. Before we could run back to the car, Dave asked me, "What in the world are you two pretty ladies doing?"

Through fits of giggles, Andrea managed to explain our quest for the evening. "Well, you see, everyone always says that Alaina here is a perfect angel. I decided that she needed a little bit of corruption in her life,"

"I could help you corrupt her," Dave grinned.

Andi ignored him. "So I am taking her out on a wild night of crime and passion. We already 'robbed the mall'…"

Dave looked at me in confusion. "You did what?" he asked.

"We just got finished Robbing the mall," I assured him, trying to keep my expression as serious as possible.

Dave scratched his head and squinted at me, as if he was trying to decipher a particularly intricate puzzle. "Okay, I know that you would never do something like that," he insisted. "You really have to fill me in on the joke."

After I explained the whole idea behind the word play, Andrea continued, "… and now, we are hitting every Mini Mart in town."

Dave laughed and asked if he could join our "gang," but we had to make it clear that there was no room for any "yucky boys" in this little crime spree! After all, this was strictly a sisters' night, and Andi and I were not going to be sidetracked, no matter how cute Dave might be.

Still, he wasn't easily discouraged, and when we left the Mini Mart, Dave actually started following us! He showed up at every one of the Mini Mart parking lots all night long, so we added him to our narrative, saying that "we led a high speed chase through the city streets." Even on our strict "girls-only" night, Andi had cute guys following her around. I can't really be upset about it, though, because Andrea didn't invite him along or anything. He kind of invited himself.

Meanwhile, we went through the drive through at Hardees and ordered nothing but water. That way, we could add "drinking and driving" to our "high speed chase!" Dave even followed us to Hardees, although he didn't follow us through the drive through lane. He waited in the parking lot while we got our drinks.

Finally, as we "hit" the last Mini Mart, Dave looked at his watch. "Oh man! It's 10:15!" he exclaimed. "I've got to go! I was supposed to pick Heather up after work at 9:00! She is going to kill me! I will catch you later girls – if I'm still alive!"

He quickly gave us each a hug and ran back to his car. I shook my head as he sped away. I couldn't believe it. Andi is so cute that she even makes guys forget about their girlfriends!

Our night ended at the Burger King on Main Street, so that we could say that we "harassed and threatened the employees." In other words, we stopped to tease our friends a bit. (It seems like half of the kids at Southbrook work at Burger King!)

Shane was working, so it was really hard to stick with the "no yucky boys" rule. I really wanted to flirt with him, because I am determined to try to make him like me. But I was good. I didn't flirt at all, even though I did talk to him the whole time we were there.

And when he started picking on me, I threatened to stop helping him with his chemistry homework or something. Of course, I would never actually do that, because then I wouldn't have my good excuse to hang out with him outside of class, but I had to make some sort of threat, or the narrative wouldn't work, would it?

I didn't really want anything to eat, especially not fattening fast food. But Shane was working at the cash register, so I had to have some reason to hang around for a while. The cups of water we originally came in for wouldn't give us any excuse to stay, because really, how long does it take to fill two cups with ice water? So I ordered some French fries, and then we stood at the counter to talk to him while he got the fries for us.

Andi was telling Shane all about our "night of crime," and he decided that he had to contribute to our delinquency. "How would you like to add Grand Theft, Auto to your list of felonies?"

I smiled. "Oooh. Does this mean that you're gonna let me steal your car? I'll take good care of her for you." Shane has a 1956 Chevy Bel Air convertible that I absolutely love. He rebuilt the engine all by himself. Well, at least, he worked hard to earn the money with which he paid the guy who did the work all by himself, and that's got to count for something, right?

The car is red and white and rust. Yeah, it needs a paint job, and there are some dents that need to be fixed. Sure, it's missing the glove box, and there is a tear in the upholstery of the back seat. But that car has potential. It has personality.

Shane's car is a lot like me – it could be beautiful with a lot of work, and it really needs a lot of work, but it's still fun in the meantime. On the few occasions when Shane has given me a ride home from school, I have felt so comfortable in that car. One of these days, I'm sure that I will get him to let me drive it.

"Not a chance!" Shane laughed. I love that laugh! It turns my insides to mush! "I don't let anyone drive my baby. You know that. But I will give you a ride in her. I'll take you anywhere you want to go."

"Anywhere? Hmmm…" I had to really be careful, because it would be so easy to flirt when he gave me an opening like that. And flirting was strictly against the rules for our "no yucky boys" night. Still, I had to say something – something to show Shane the importance of choosing his words carefully.

Of course, I knew that he didn't really mean "anywhere" when he said that he would take me anywhere that I wanted to go, but I had to pretend that I thought it was an open invitation. I figured that the safest bet was to choose someplace so outrageous that he would never agree to it. Someplace way beyond the scope of reality.

"How about Disneyland? That's the 'Happiest Place on Earth' you know." I figured that Disneyland was a safe choice. It was far enough away to be completely outrageous. (There was no way that he would agree to take a trip of hundreds of miles and across state lines just to keep a half-hearted promise to me!) And Disneyland isn't some kind of romantic destination that would imply flirting or anything.

"Disneyland?" he asked. "Sure. We can do that. How about we start tonight? Just wait until I get off work. I'm pretty sure that I could even find a deserted dirt road somewhere along the way where we could run out of gas. Then, I can take you to the 'Happiest Place on Earth.'" Shane winked. I blushed. Andi laughed like crazy.

This was starting to sound like flirting. At least, I hope it was just flirting. I hope he wasn't seriously agreeing to take me on an overnight road trip. I hope he didn't think that I was really, seriously suggesting it! And flirting was strictly against the rules for our "no boys" (are they really that yucky, after all?) "night of crime."

So I steered the conversation back onto safer ground. "Well, if I don't get to take your car, then how do we get away with Grand Theft Auto? You do realize that I am not up to committing any real felonies, right?"

Shane and Andrea both laughed this time. And they laughed for an awfully long time before Shane managed to speak again. "Oh, Alaina! You are so sweet and naïve! That is what I love about you!" (Did Shane say he loved me? I sure wish he meant it!)

"No, I get it," he chuckled. "Believe it or not, I actually caught on to the whole idea. Don't worry. That's not the way that I want to corrupt you. I can think of other ways that would be much more fun." He winked again, and Andi laughed so hard that she had to sit down, right on the floor.

Shane didn't charge me for my French fries, and he gave us at least twice as many as would usually be in a regular order of fries. (That made it "grand theft," right?) Then, he gave me one of the Transformers car toys that they were giving away in the kids' meals, because he knows that I have a collection of kids' meal toys at home. He didn't charge me for the toy either, which made it "grand theft, auto," right?

Andrea kept nudging and winking at me while we were talking to Shane. I could tell that she thought he was interested in me. I have to admit that I was really hopeful. I would love to believe that he was trying to flirt with me last night. After all, he did give me free stuff, and it took him almost 20 minutes to get my fries for me while we talked. It was almost like he was taking a long time on purpose because he didn't want me to leave yet.

But realistically, I know that he was probably too distracted with watching Andi to remember what he was actually supposed to be doing. Besides, as we were leaving, he said "Goodbye, beautiful ladies," and he smiled right at Andrea!

It was fun, though. And after our "wild night of rebellion," no one could ever claim that I won't consider breaking a few rules! After all, in only one night's time, we "Robbed the mall, and then hit every Mini Mart in town. We led a high speed chase through the city streets while drinking and driving. We threatened and harassed the locals, and then we committed grand theft, auto!!" Can you imagine what it would do to my "perfect angel" reputation if that rumor started making the rounds at school?

The best part is that Andi kept her promise. Say what you will about my flaky little sister, but she never breaks a promise. I know that I can always count on her. And as always, Andrea was watching out for me that night. She made sure that I didn't have to break a single one of our parents' rules or do anything that I wouldn't normally do in our whole big, "wild" and "dangerous" evening! I could still look at myself in the mirror afterward and like the person I saw staring back at me.