You would never have known this was the first time Steph had ever driven a sports car. Through morning traffic, lights, and stares, the short blonde (equipped with newly purchased Oakley glasses from an eyeglass place next to the dealership) clutched and shifted like a professional race driver. Maybe she was, now, I realized. I had basically given her veteran skills out of nothingness and nowhere.
"So!" I said again. "Where to?"
"You know..." Michelle grinned. "I hate to be a cliché, but I kind of want to go to the mall and have an insane wish-induced spending spree.
"The mall sounds cool!" An over-excited Steph beamed. "Like, yeah. Just tell me where to go, and I'll... go vrooooom. You know?" She giggled maniacally.
"Hey Steph..." Michelle clung to her headrest. "Your dork is showing."
"Shut up! This is fuckin' cool!" She giggled again.
"Okay. The mall." I grinned.
* * *
We had parked our badass new car. Now we were inside the huge air conditioned mall on a bright sunny afternoon, all three of us giddy idiots. And we had frozen yogurt. Because I had wanted frozen yogurt.
"Okay. So, first things first." Michelle said with a grin. She was becoming less of a wallflower the longer we were together. "Joe, what the heck is your deal?"
"My deal?" I said in between bites. "Like how?"
"Like how." Steph rolled her eyes. "Like, as in, who are you? You know, two girls, asking the magic genie to introduce himself, right?"
"Oh! Oh!" I laughed. "Okay. Well, there's not much to tell. I'm Joe."
"Hi Joe!" Steph and Michelle said in unison, laughing.
I smiled and continued. "I'm 20, a delivery driver for some crappy construction place, and I live alone in a cheap apartment."
"Awww." Michelle winced. "That sounds sucky."
"Eh. I wanna go back to school eventually, but... well. Money."
"That won't be a problem now." Steph smiled warmly.
"Guess not." I smiled, realizing. "So how about you two? What's your deal?"
"I'm Michelle." The brunette pointed to herself with a plastic spoon. "You turned me into a ho-bag for a bit."
"I know that already. And I said sorry." I blushed sheepishly. "Tell me something new."
"Well, I told you I go to college and waitress on the side. I also live at home with my dad, but not my mom, because she kind of left us when I was little."
"Bitch." Steph interjected.
"That sucks, Michelle. I'm sorry." I said honestly.
"Meh." She waved it away. "Life goes on. Now interrogate short stuff, there."
I saw Steph bristle at the name. "Okay, I'm Steph, and this is my *ex-friend* Michelle."
"What?" She mocked innocence.
"Anyway." She smirked. "I'm a latchkey kid, I live in a dive with two potheads, and life is painful and long, blah blah blah."
"We're besties. Grew up on the same street." Michelle pointed proudly.
"It's true." Steph smiled. "Now, okay. I'm gonna ask, the ring, where did you get it?"
"I helped an old lady today because she forgot my purse. And she... just... gave it to me. She said it would grant my fondest wishes."
There was a moment of silence and the two girls exchanged a look.
"Wow." Michelle deadpanned. "And so you got my number and bimbofied me. Way to prioritize!"
The two of them burst out laughing.
"Hey, hey!" I faked offense. "Keep bringing it up and I'll turn you both into frogs or something."
Michelle snorted loudly and drew a stare from an annoyed businessman on his laptop behind us. "Can... can you do that?"
"I don't know." I shrugged. "I guess."
And then both girls went deathly serious. "Dude... we were kidding." Steph blinked. "Don't turn us into frogs."
And then I burst out laughing.