A Borrower's Anthology

Movie Tickets

A date between friends was perfectly normal. The word 'platonic' still had a definition in the dictionary, as far as Philip was aware. Why Darius had to amount his and Michelle's excursion to mean anything more than it was, was beyond Philip, but he humored his younger brother nonetheless through lack of clarification. He often had light banter with her, and it never yielded more than a laugh or two between them. It was all in good fun, they'd both agreed. As she was around Darius' age, Philip fully expected Michelle's need to burn off a lot of that energy when she and Nicholas' relationship seemed strictly familial. He was willing to be the benefactor.

So why wouldn't Philip have taken her out for a day? She was a good friend; boyfriend, girlfriends, platonic friends—even a borrower deserved a little spoiling every now and then.

The downtown plaza of their neighborhood had a sizeable crowd up and down the sidewalk, even when Philip took the routes that were a little less-traveled by the masses. There wasn't any risk of bumping into anyone thankfully, but he tried to keep closer to the out portion of the sidewalk near the street, if to avoid shoulder-bumping into anyone.

Darius and Elizabeth were preparing for the start of their spring break, but some select schools were already out; private schools, neither of which his younger siblings attended, and universities had been out since Tuesday. Philip had been off already for a week now, and he had another week left to spend with his siblings before they all would resume their weeks as normal before the inevitable summer break befell. Though it wasn't as if Philip wasn't working. He may have had off from coursework, but his job still had need for him. There'd been talk of a vacation amidst his parents--possibly to Florida. Nothing had been set in stone.

Philip readjusted his hoodie for the third time. The moment his fingers touched the curved fabric, he felt a slap against his nails. "Sorry," Philip muttered.

"You'll probably expose me more if you keep fidgeting," Michelle said. "Just be natural... Somehow I think you're more nervous than me."

Although she spoke softer than normal, her voice still sounded normal when she sat curled up against the side of his neck. It wasn't chilly like it had been earlier that morning, when the weather at first looked as if it would promise rain. Now, it had cleared up considerably. With the sun uninhibited by a clouded sky, it had actually become kind of warm. Almost too warm to have been wearing a hoodie jacket. However, if he truly wanted to commit to taking Michelle out for a day, it was paramount he chose something that would keep the both of them comfortable in their shared secrecy. After all, this was the first time she had ventured outside of his house in a long time, or so he'd heard.

Philip had never been pushy toward neither Nicholas nor Michelle when it came to discussions of their idle boredom. Nick knew how to put that 'manic' energy of his into his guitar instead of allowing it to fester. It could hardly be deemed manic energy because of that, especially when Philip had never seen him bored. Plus, Darius had ways of keeping the oldest borrower teen entertained. The problem was Michelle.

Philip had learned quickly she was quite the prankster sort; once she'd been indoctrinated into their 'family tradition' (if Philip could have really even called it that), the war between her and Darius had started all from that very first success. It wasn't uncommon Philip had to serve has mediator for her antics. He was the one she sought shelter with from Darius, and often the one who had to listen to both of their plotting when it came time to seek revenge. He was happy to know he was far away from either of their radars, and yet somehow he was still unable to escape them.

However, after Nicholas had recounted his early trail-blazing with Darius, Philip pondered again on the idea. He'd always assumed it was risky for a borrower to be out in the open, and they never helped him think otherwise by not offering to accompany them. Outside was far too public, and being seen was often their biggest fear, among the results that would come of that. He'd at first been disappointed of Darius' pushy behavior. Yet the trip had brought Nicholas some enjoyment, so there wasn't much fault to find. And if he was all right with going out, then why not ask Michelle?