Rolly World
By Pinkmoon
Disclaimer: Of course, I do not own 'Life with Derek' or anything involve with it or any songs that you may recognize. But Rolly World and any characters you do not recognize belong to me.
AN: This is the long awaited sequel to "Shoelaces" with references to "A Purple Polka-Dotted Elephant". I'm sorry it took me so long to write this but I'm on spring break, and this story is finished. It's just a matter of me typing it up, so updates should be in a timely fashion.
AN 2: The story changes point of view between Lizzie and Edwin. In an effort to eliminate confusion, I used line breaks because Document Manager wouldn't let me use breaks like I wanted. Anyways, hope you enjoy.
"Marti, calm down," Derek ordered from the driver seat. I glanced over Marti's head at Lizzie and wondered again if this was a good idea.
I don't know how he did it (he refuses to give me any details) but Derek managed to convince Casey that Lizzie and I were the perfect couple and it was up to them to get us together. Unbeknown to Casey, the whole scheme was Derek's way of getting Casey to go out on a date with him. So he got Lizzie in on the plan (I still question his judgment on that move) and somehow the two of them managed to wear Casey down. So to make this even more complicated, I like Lizzie and the pseudo-date was my way of revealing my feelings to her and hopefully learn that she feels the same. But then she already knows how I feel about her because Derek told her when he found out about Lizzie's crush on him but that's another story. Hopelessly Confused? Me too.
We were in Derek's 1995 Chevy that he got for his sixteenth birthday ten months ago from Grandpa and Grandma Winston, my mother's parents. Dad and Nora adamantly refused to get him one, despite the fact that he had taken Driver's Ed and was, surprisingly, a decent driver.
Casey and Derek sat in the front with Lizzie, Marti, and me in the back. Ah yes, Marti, tonight's small glitch in Derek's perfect plan. Our cover had been that we, as siblings, never got to do anything together and wanted to do some bonding. Casey was the one who thought up this brilliant explanation. Well, Dad and Nora didn't want poor Marti to feel left out so they said that she had to come to. This ruined Derek's plans of a night at the movies. Claimed he didn't feel right about making out with a six year old next to him. I just don't get how he thought he and Casey would be making out on their first date. He's not that good, right?
But anyways, Derek changed our date location, refused to tell anyone what it was and woke us up at nine a.m. on a Saturday. After some yelling on Casey's part, a little of chasing Marti around the house, and a bit of a disaster at cooking breakfast, we all piled into Derek's car. And here we have remained for the past half hour.
"Smerek, I'm bored," Marti whined as I turned to stare out the window. I heard him sigh and tell Casey "Look in my CD holder. I think there's something in there that might keep her entertained."
I mentally groaned. I hated listening to little kid music.
"Is this it?" Casey asked.
"It works."
Casey placed the CD in and suddenly, loud, Jamaican music bombarded my senses and the voice of everyone's favorite lobster began to sing. Marti immediately began to squeal along.
"The seaweed is always greener
In somebody else's lake
You dream about going up there
But that is a big mistake …"
I had forgotten about this CD. Derek burned some songs from Disney movies onto a CD as a birthday present for Marti. He made sure to include her favorites: Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, every love story Disney ever produced. Marti loved it and pretty much played it all the time, which left me wondering why it was in Derek's car.
Marti continued to sing merrily, while the rest of us remained silent. There was an unbearable awkwardness in the car. At least for Casey, Lizzie, and me there was. Marti was to innocence to pick up on anything and Derek was behaving like his confident, cool self.
"So, Case, how's your balance?" Derek asked suddenly. I saw him smirking in the rearview mirror. What was he up to?
"Good. Why?" Casey answered, eyes narrowed, watching him.
"No reason," he said flippantly, smirk widening.
I glanced at Lizzie. She looked at me. Derek was definitely up to something. Not good.
He asked Casey about her balance. Why would he ask about that? I broke my gaze with Edwin and started contemplating. The only thing I could figure was that it had to do with skating but the ice rink he had taken me was in the other direction.
My face burned some as I remembered the ice rink, then Derek, then Edwin. Edwin, I still didn't know how I felt about him. Was I settling? Did I want to go out with Edwin because Derek was an impossibility? I wasn't sure and I hoped that this date would provide me with answers.
I was surprised when Derek came to me to ask for help in winning Casey's affections and when he asked if I liked Edwin. He said that Edwin still liked me and before this got to out of hand, he wanted to know how I felt. I told him the truth about my uncertainties and decide that this date would help me figure it out.
So Derek and I conspired to convince Casey that I liked Edwin and I wanted to go out with him and that having Casey and Derek there was the only way. Of course, Casey fought it and almost told Mom. Somehow, though, Derek managed to talk her out of it. I don't know what he said because he sent me out of the room but whatever it was, it worked.
Eventually, we told Casey that the plan was that she and Derek would pretend to like each other and the only excuse they could think of to go on a date was a "sibling bonding experience" and take Edwin and me along. That way I could finally figure out if Edwin liked me.
Casey was so mad this morning when Derek woke us up. She said he hadn't given us enough time to get ready to which he only rolled his eyes. Really he hadn't given her enough time. Casey forced me to watch her try on five different outfits before she was finally happy.
She wore a white buttoned shirt with a floral print all over it and black jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she had on long dangly earrings. I had just opted for blue jeans and a green shirt with my hair pulled back into a braid which was kind of weird because Derek was wearing the same thing, minus the braid. The only difference being his jeans had been so faded they looked white with a hole ripped in one of the knees. Edwin wore some black, band t-shirt and dark jeans. Marti sported an odd combination of a striped purple and yellow shirt with red pants. I think Derek dressed her and let her wear whatever she wanted.
Derek turned off the highway and onto a road that looked abandon. There were old buildings that looked like they needed to be demolished. Any parked car we saw looked rusted and broken down. One didn't even have any tires. It just sat on cement blocks. The road itself was rough, causing us to bounce out of our seats every now and then. I had the pleasure of hearing Marti squeal in my ear each time. Where on Earth was Derek taking us?
Derek turned the wheel and I looked at the building. I turned to glance at a wide-eyed Edwin. This was going to be interesting.
A roller skating rink? A roller skating rink? That's were my "ingenious" brother decides to take us? He knows that I can't skate. Last time I went to one of these, I crashed into someone and ended up breaking their finger. What does Derek want me to do? Break Lizzie's leg so she's bed ridden and I have to take care of her? Like that will cause her to like me.
I glared at the back of his head as he pulled into a parking lot. There weren't a lot of cars around. I wondered if the place is even opened. Maybe its condemned and Derek will have to take us somewhere else. I mean, the place looked like it was about to fall apart. The cement walls were covered in filth and the glass doors had a couple of cracks. Painted above the door in huge, block letters were the words Rolly World Roller Skating Rink.
"Derek, a roller skating rink?" Casey asked as she peered out of the windshield. Hesitation and uncertainty rang clear in her voice.
"Yes," he answered, "I thought it would be different and given who we had to bring along, about as date worthy as we're going to get." He nodded toward Marti and unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door. Casey huffed but followed suit. Those of us in the back quickly undid our seatbelts and got out.
We followed Derek inside, Marti chattering away about someone named Ariel and how the prince should have kissed her sooner. I really didn't know what she was talking about. Derek nodded and gave an occasional "Uh-uh" and "Oh, really?" He didn't know what she was talking about either.
Derek opened the glass door and we walked inside a narrow room. Dull, red carpet, ripped in some places blanketed the floor. Paint flaked off the wine colored walls. A teenage girl sat at a fold out dinner tray near the door that lead into the actual rink. Her blond hair hung in waves about her face and over her red and white stripe clad shoulders. She lifted her green eyes up from the magazine she had been reading and watched us with a bored expression.
"Welcome to Rolly World, the best rink this side of the city. Regular admission is $5.00. Twelve and under $3.00," she explained in a monotone voice.
"I know, Mara," Derek mumbled as he dug his wallet out of his pocket.
"Mandatory, Theodoric, darling," she said in that same dull voice.
"His name isn't Theodoric. It's Derek," Marti cried as Derek pulled out a twenty and a five dollar bill.
"It's just a nickname I have for him," Mara explained as Derek handed the money to her. She counted it, put in a cigar box that was on the table, gave Derek his change, and waved us inside the rink.
"Theodoric?" Casey asked once we were inside.
"Yeah, she claims that Derek is a Low German variant of Theodoric. Insists on calling me that," Derek explained as I looked around in shock. The rink itself looked surprisingly decent. The wooden floor shown brightly, not warped like I had expected. The carpet in here was a dark blue with small planets sprinkled about. Walls were painted black and there were spot lights of different colors. Some rap song was playing and a few people were already skating to it.
On one side of the rink was a food court. A couple was already sitting at a neon colored table. They were sharing a coke, gazing into each others eyes and giggling excessively. There was a video game arcade on the other side, set off in a room by itself. No one was in there.
Derek led us to get rental skates. An old man was standing behind the counter, wearing the same shirt Mara had been wearing and a name tag. The top of his head was bald, with white hair just above his ears and running around his head. Blue eyes were surrounded by wrinkles and his smile created more.
"Derek, what a surprise. I haven't seen you in ages!" he cried.
"It's only been two weeks," Derek smiled and I started wondering just how often Derek came here.
"Ages," the man reaffirmed. "Well, who is this?"
"Casey, Lizzie, Marti, and Edwin," Derek introduced, pointing to each of us. "This is Mr. Charles Parker. He owns the place."
"So you're the siblings I've heard so much about," Mr. Parker smiled.
"Oh, really?" Casey asked, sending Derek a look. No telling what Derek's told him about our nutty family.
"Yes. If memory serves correct, Casey is the smart one, Lizzie's the tomboy, Edwin's the computer genius, and Marti is the fun one," Mr. Parker grinned a small, knowing grin as we all gave Derek's looks that he ignored.
"Mr. Parker, can we get some skates?" Derek asked, annoyance lacing his voice.
"Of course, Derek. How forgetful of me." Mr. Parker didn't sound the least bit concerned. We slipped our shoes off as Mr. Parker went and got Derek roller blades immediately. Derek handed him his shoes and grabbed the blades.
"Smarti, what size shoe do you wear?" Derek asked. She shrugged and he sighed. He reached down and grabbed her shoes. He looked at the bottom.
"She needs a size seven," he said, handing Mr. Parker the shoes. The rest of us gave up our shoes and received regular roller skates. We went to sit down and put them on. Casey helped Marti tie hers and then, we just sat there for a moment.
"We don't have to be back until six," Derek began, "So I'm guessing we leave at five thirty. Marti'll stay with me and Casey for the first hour and then she'll be with you two. We'll switch back and forth like that. That okay with you, Smarti?"
He looked down at her as he asked. She nodded vigorously.
"Any objections?" he asked the rest of us. We shook our heads no. No one really knew what to say.
Derek stood and grabbed Marti's hand and helped her stand. Casey stood. Derek grabbed her hand. Casey's gaze jumped from his face to their joined hands and back to his face. Derek raised an eyebrow at her and they stared at each other for a moment. Then Derek pulled both girls unto the wooden floor and off they went.
I glanced at Lizzie. We were alone.
Well, now what? It was almost ten which meant that I had ten hours to kill with Edwin. I mean, before this crush thing, that wouldn't have been so bad. But now, neither of us knew how the other felt. All we had to go on was Derek's word. And even that wasn't much.
"So…do you like skating?" Edwin asked hesitantly.
"I guess. Why?" I looked up at him. Where was this going?
"I thought we could go to the arcade first. I got some change."
"Sure." We stood and I grabbed the rail around the rink to help me gain my balance. Edwin's skates began to slip as he tried to take a step. He grabbed the rail and clung to it as he haphazardly regained his equilibrium
I raised an eyebrow at him. He grinned sheepishly at me.
"I've never been good at this," he mumbled and straightened up. I smiled but refrained from saying anything.
Once we were in the arcade, we paused to look around. It looked abandoned. There was absolutely no one in there. A couple of pinball machines lined one wall. A racing game with the seats and steering wheel sat against another. There was a Pac-Man game, a few other video games I had never heard of, and a dollar-to-coins machine at the entrance. And in the center of the room was an air hockey table.
"What do you want to do first?" I asked, turning my head to Edwin.
He shrugged, "I guess we can start off with air hockey."
I took my place at one side of the table and he took the other. He fed the table his money and the game began. My date with my step-brother officially began. My stomach began twisting.
Well, please review and tell me what you think.
Pinkmoon