The Story of Us Chapter Two: Andy

Chapter Two: Andy

She was the prettiest person I’d ever seen.

After she left the pool, I got back into the main pool and hung out with my ‘friends’ for a while.

When I left I went straight home and told our cook that we would be having company. Then I asked our maid to clean a little extra today because someone special was coming.

“I’ve never heard you refer to one of your girlfriends that way before, Andy,” Marcy, our maid since I was a baby said.

“Yeah, I guess I haven’t. Maybe this one really is special, but she’s not officially my girlfriend yet and she doesn’t like me very much so don’t say anything, please,” I begged.

“My, my, I think she is special, but I promise not to say anything,” Marcy said.

“Oh, and she’s a lot different than anyone I’ve ever brought over before. Not an airhead, prissy, model type of girl, although she’s pretty enough to be one,” I added.

“I see. Don’t worry, Andy, I won’t say anything,” my parents always told the staff to call me Andrew, like they did, but they know I hate the name so they call me Andy behind my parent’s backs.

I went downstairs to my dad’s den and told him company was coming. Then I ran upstairs to my mom’s music room and told her too. My mom was a composer and music lesson teacher. She loved her job and was really passionate about it. She mostly taught more classical instruments like violin, viola, cello, string bass, brass and woodwind instruments, and piano, but she also did some lessons for classic and electric guitar, bass guitar, and drums, and singing lessons.

After I told my mom I went to the attic where my brother's room was. Danny stayed up in the attic when he was home, but he was out with friends most of the time anyway. He was the type of kid who was naturally good at everything he did and he could screw around with his friends more than study and still do well in school, kind of like me except I'm not as smart as he is. He looks just like me, but neither of us look like our dad because he's technically our step-dad, but we don't look all that much like our mom either. She tells us we look like our Father, who died two months before Danny was born. Danny despised our step-dad because he's always pressuring Danny to do more and more extracurricular activities even though he's already in most of the good ones. He's also never really got along with our mom because they don't have much in common and she always brings up our biological father like the memory of him is a happy one. He's a junior in high school even though he should be a freshman; he skipped a couple of years when he was little. According to mom he got his intelligence from our Father.

"Hey, someone's coming over for dinner so you should come down and eat with us for once," I told him.

"Who's coming?" He asked me.

"A friend," I responded.

"A girlfriend?" he asked suddenly uninterested in coming to join us for dinner.

"A friend who just happens to be a girl," I explained. "She's not like my other girlfriends. She's like you, smart, funny, quiet. Come on Danny."

"You mean Daniel?" he said making fun of how our parents want people to call us by our full names as he turned back to his computer where he was writing an essay for some smart-kid's extracurricular. "I don't want to go down there and I don't want to talk to dad. He's annoying and expects way top much from me. But thanks for the compliment. Plus, I doubt this girl's actually smart and funny, you just have a crush on her."

"Danny, please?" I walked over to his computer desk and got up in his face with a puppy-dog expression.

"Fine, just get out of my face," he shoved me away. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Danny-boy," I left the room and ran down the stairs to make sure everything was ready for when Willie came.

Willie didn’t show up so I told everyone I was going to go get her. Danny gave me an aggravated look because I was leaving him with mom and dad but I ignored him and grabbed the keys to my car. I drove to the college, went to the all-girls dorm room and used my key card that opened every door on campus to get in. I looked through the whole building until I found the door with her name on it. I knocked and waited.

One of Willie’s roommates answered the door.

“Oh my gosh, hey gals, who ordered a hot guy for supper?” It was Tasha. I had gone out with her my freshmen year. All of her roommates came running to the door except Willie.

“Um, is Willie here?” I asked.

“Yeah, she probably just didn’t hear me. She does this weird thing where she blocks out all of the noise while she studies. I heard she had fourteen siblings so she’s used to a noisy house,” Tasha said.

“I heard she had seventeen siblings,” one of the other girls gossiped.

“I don’t actually care,” I said although I had heard some stuff like that about her too. I pushed past them into their dorm room and poked my head in each of the rooms until I found the one Willie was in. She was sitting on her bed with her back to me studying. “Hey, why didn’t you come?” She didn't answer, maybe her roommates were right and she had all the distractions blocked out. I walked to the other side of the bed so she could see me. She looked up from her book at me and slammed the book shut.

“I told you I wasn’t going and I meant it,” she said.

“I told you I’d come and kidnap you if you didn't come and I meant it.” I retorted. She raised her eyebrows at me and tried to hold back a smile.

Then her expression became serious again.

“I have studying to do,” she said. I reached up to the top bunk where she was sitting and grabbed her arm. I pulled her off the bed and hung her over my shoulder. “Put me down!”

“Sorry,” I laughed again. I carried her past her roommates and heard one say, “I wish that was me”. I rolled my eyes and carried her out of the dorm room and out to my car. I put her in the passenger seat and drove her to my house. “Come on, I can’t be seen carrying you into my house.”

“Ugh,” Willie groaned and got up and followed me into my house. I felt really self-conscious as she looked around our giant house. If the rumors were true she lived with all of her siblings in a three bedroom, one bathroom house. My house had two extra bedrooms and a bathroom none of us actually use. Plus, Danny was my only sibling.

When we got inside I led her to our dining room and told her to sit in the seat in between my dad and me. My parents and Danny were already seated and the minute we sat down the kitchen staff came out and gave us our food. Willie said thank you each time something was placed in front of her, but I’d been served like this since I was a baby so I’d never even thought to say thank you. Then I noticed that my mother, who came from a poor family, said thank you like Willie, but my father, who grew up rich, didn’t. Danny also said thank you; he was a lot closer to our house staff than I was. I said thank you as the last few things were placed in front of me.

“So, are you going to introduce us, Andrew?” My mother asked.

“Oh, right, sorry. Mom, Dad, this is Willie Rose,” I said.

“The Willie Rose?” My dad asked in surprise.

“Yup,” I raised my eyebrows at Willie.

“You’re the most extraordinary student at this school! It’s such an honor to meet you!” My dad exclaimed. “Andrew, you’re dating the smartest girl in school? That’s a step up, that’s for sure!”

“Dad, we’re not-” Willie got up from the table.

"Oooo," Danny said under his breath and I shot a glare at him.

“May I go to the restroom please?” She asked gritting her teeth.

“Yeah, I’ll – I’ll show you where it is,” I got up and led her through the kitchen and stopped right outside the kitchen’s back door. “I didn’t -”

“I can’t believe you!” She yelled.

“Willie, I didn’t say you were my girlfriend! I promise. Please believe me!” She slapped me and I winced.