Long Live

Chapter Four

Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not. - Vaclav Havel

At seven o'clock right on the dot, Crispin and Dylan pulled up on my driveway. I ran down the stairs and grabbed my coat off of the back of the chair. I already had my shoes on, and was about to yell goodbye to my parents when Luke jumped on me, knocking me to the ground.

"Get off, Luke," I laughed, as he kissed my face. He did this every time I was leaving the house. It was his way if telling me that he didn't want me to go. "I'll be back soon, I promise." I ruffled his ears, and he reluctantly stepped off of me.

A knock on my door alerted me that Dylan and Crispin were ready to go, so I yelled my goodbyes to my family, and opened the door. Dylan and Crispin stood there. Dylan was in a head lock, and Crispin was giving him a noogie.

"Hey guys," I said, and stepped out, shutting the door behind me.

"Hey Aislinn," they both said at the same time. Crispin released Dylan from his headlock and stepped back, and walked down the path towards the car.

"Ready for an adventure?" Dylan asked, walking behind me.

"Yep. Going to keep an open mind for adventure," I looked over and winked at him.

"Good."

We piled into the car, I in the backseat, Dylan in the driver's seat, and Crispin in the passenger's. Dylan pulled out of my driveway and made his way out of the subdivision. Crispin and Dylan talked to each other, about some game they had been playing before they came and picked me up, and I sat in the backseat awkwardly not knowing how I could join in the conversation.

"So do you enjoy roller skating?" Crispin asked, turning in his seat to look at me.

"I've never actually gone," I laughed nervously.

"So this is a new adventure for you?" Dylan asked, looking at me in through the rearview mirror.

"Yep, it'll be exciting," I smiled.

"Well the first rule of rolling skating is don't fall," Crispin started.

"And if you do end up falling, don't stick your arms out to catch yourself, just try to fall on your butt," Dylan jumped in.

"You'll hurt your wrist otherwise," Crispin finished.

"Are you guys like sharing the same mind or something?" I joked. They were completing each other's sentences and it was pretty funny.

"Maybe," Dylan said in a mysterious voice, but his eyes were filled with laughter.

"I thought so." I laughed.

We arrived to the skating rink ten minutes later, and the parking-lot was filled. It took us awhile to finally find a spot off behind the building all the way in the very last parking spot. The walk up to the rink was in silence. I was excited and nervous at the same time. I had never done anything like this before. Hopefully I wouldn't be a complete failure at this. I did not want to embarrass myself in front of a whole bunch of people.

When we entered the building, I instantly smelled popcorn and greasy pizza. My ears were filled with the sound of music, and people laughing and talking. As we went farther in I saw there was an arcade to the right of me, and a group of teenagers were playing on the pinball machine. All the other arcade games in there were just as retro as the pinball machine.

"Can I help you?" asked a girl with a high blonde ponytail from behind the counter. Rows of skates on shelves stood behind her.

"Yeah, we'd like three pairs of skates please," Dylan said, pulling out his wallet.