~Miriam Beard
"That's a cool bag," Gavin commented after juggling class on Wednesday.
"Thanks. Kayin made me a set of juggling balls and this bag to keep them in." I held up the black-and-tan, geometrically patterned bag for him to see.
"May we see them?" Anali asked as we got into the car. They had finished early today, so we were headed to their house for dinner. Yesterday Gavin surprised me by choosing the pizza place I pointed out the first night he drove me home. He'd even ordered a pesto pizza, my favorite. I couldn't believe he'd remembered and felt bad that I knew next to nothing about what he liked.
"Sure." I pulled out the three sand-filled balls, each one made with a different pattern. One made from animal prints, another geometric patterns of black, brown, and white, and the last ball covered in fabrics with prints of colored flowers and plants.
"Should I be worried?" Gavin asked with an arched eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, yesterday Shin was feeding you and now Kayin is giving you gifts," Gavin teased.
"Okay. First of all, Kayin calls me Little Sister and Shin is three years older than I am," I explained. "Second, I don't date."
"Why not?" Anali asked, adding at Gavin's growl, "Not that I'm complaining."
"I don't see the point. Nothing good comes from dating, and after listening to staff complain all these years about how bad teen-aged boys' hygiene is, why would I want to get close to them? Or teen-aged girls for that matter?" I muttered with a shudder. I cannot tell you how many times I've heard staff reminding teenagers that they need to shower, with soap, every day.
"Someday you'll meet someone you think is worth the risk," Anali replied sweetly.
I raised an eyebrow, I didn't think so.
"Hey, leave her alone," Gavin insisted. "Boys are gross and you should stay away from all of them. I'm behind that one hundred percent."
Anali laughed.