Flying Elbows

The mass hysteria only continued. The passing out of lottery numbers should have helped to alleviate it, right? Wrong, major wrong. Nothing could be more wrong. Then again, I was buying Backstreet Boy tickets. What was more wrong than that?

Some girl who was standing behind me started chattering at my back. I didn’t bother to turn around at first. She had to be talking to her friend. Then suddenly I heard, "I think it’s totally cool that you’re a fan. Being a guy and all. I bet you have to hide it from your friends, don’t ya?"

And so it continued. It dawned on me with the comment of not only ‘guy’ but hiding it from friends that she was in fact talking to me. I spun around and kept looking over my shoulder for that "Talk to me" sign. Wasn’t there.

With my movements, I caught her eye and she then latched a hand onto one of my arms to make turn fully around and face her. Then she lunged another hand at my face. "Lyssa," she smiled then flipped some blonde hair over her shoulder.

Okay, that was mildly annoying for the next five minutes that she kept doing it. Not to mention her incessant rambling. If I had anything better to do, I wouldn’t have listened to a single thing she said. School, tired because she woke up so late, getting tickets for forty of her friends. Actually, it was four, but she kept mentioning everyone else who was jealous that she was getting the tickets and they each wanted her to get some for them, too.

But then I heard something about driver’s permit and I was instantly turned off. Not that I was interested in the first place. A, I have Amy. B, I’m not going to pick girls up in line for boyband tickes. And C, I have a mission here. Get tickets for Amy. And maybe Je’Nise.

The jury was still out on that one.

I tried to ignore her for good. I even shifted and turned my back on her. But that didn’t stop her. Apparently nothing does. Because next she said was, "You’re like the only guy in line here."

Oh, yeah, that’s gonna make me stop to talk to you.

With a sigh, I shook my head and kept looking forward. The line was moving…slow. Annoying slow.

"Well, besides dads. But they don’t really count. It’s not like they’ll actually listen to the concert." I rolled my eyes, only praying she’d shut up. Nope…it continued. "Wouldn’t that be funny, though? If they were actually there because they wanted to be? Oh," she sounded suddenly guilty. "Not like you were funny for actually going. But, it’s just that…"

I heard a few girls start laughing and I turned around yet again. This time, I saw the ones who were laughing just behind this Lyssa girl and they seemed to be laughing at either the both of us, or just me. Either way I was involved and I would have none of that.

"For your information, and it isn’t," I held an extremely tight smile. "I’m buying these tickets for someone else." Technically.

"And yourself," one of the extra ones started giggling.

When were they invited to the conversation?

"No, my sister."

Alright, so first off, I was buying the tickets for Amy and I intended to go with her. To prove I was a good sport about all this, and whatnot. Second, I didn’t have a sister. Brothers were all I had, but I wasn’t going to tell the Sweet Valley High gang that much. I just figured if I admitted that I was buying for a girlfriend, then they’d rip into that, too. She was of adult age, what was she doing liking them? I had the same thoughts time and again.

"How old is she?"

Again, I rolled my eyes. More out of trying to figure out more lies than of actually being that pissed. "She’s twelve." Well, Amy acts twelve half the time.

"Who’s her favorite?"

"Umm, Brian." I think that’s Amy’s. I could be wrong.

"I like his cousin."

I quickly nodded, "That’s," then I stopped. I was about to say Kevin and that would be all too wrong. Nope, I stopped and just sat there.

"That’s what?" Lyssa asked me, tossing even more blonde hair over the other shoulder.

"That’s nice," I finished with a bright smile. Pat me on the back. I’m a great liar.

Next thing I knew, the girls were still carrying the conversation about me. Funny thing is that I wasn’t really all that involved anymore. I just stood in my spot, moving the three feet that everyone else did every ten to fifteen minutes, and waiting for my turn.

I was just two people from the booth when I heard questions about if I was taking my sister to the concert and what was so special that I was buying the tickets.

"Her birthday."

Suddenly, lying was terribly easy. No guilt whatsoever.

A few more comments and then it was me. Whew, I literally sighed. It was only 10:45, but it felt much, much later than that. I was standing at the plexi-glass and ready for my order. Now was that two or three?

Je’Nise? Or just Amy?

Amy would be much more tamed without her sidekick. But, I would never hear the end of it if I got two tickets with the intention of taking her myself. Shit…decisions, decisions. I wasn’t made of money to buy tickets for all of Amy’s friends. Hell, I could just say they only had two left…together, at least.

Two, I signified with my fingers and wasn’t even looking up from my wallet as I dug around for the cash. Yeah, I made a special trip to TCF just for this occasion. Amy better love me forever.

"Two?" the girl repeated from behind the glass and I nodded. She gave me the total and was reaching for my money when her hand simply tugged at it, but didn’t take it from my hand. "Ryan?"

I looked up instantly. Oh, God. It was Sydney, one of my friends from home who I hadn’t seen in over a year. How good to see you…at a Backstreet Boys ticketbooth…

It was a fake smile, I know that, but I was pushing it for all it was worth. "Hey, Syd, I didn’t know you worked here."

"Have for a little while. But if you don’t hit the music circuit up here, you wouldn’t know that." I nodded with that same forced smile and just wanted the tickets without anything else discussed. But, she apparently had another ideas. As the transaction was going through, she smirked, "Backstreet Boys?"

I kinda shrugged, still trying to figure out how bad it sounded to say they’re for my girlfriend. It didn’t sound too bad to an old friend. But, Lyssa, oh God I could kill her. She spoke up for me. "For your sister, right?"

Was this girl just sitting there waiting for me to not talk so she could do so for me? I was about to send an elbow to her mouth when Sydney broke in, "You don’t have a sister."

"Yeah, she’s twelve and she likes Brian." I glared at Lyssa and wanted to punch her. "Do you know her?" she gave a quick glance to Syd, then gazed to me, with a wide-eyed look. Perfect for an elbow to the eye, I’d decided.