A Tally

A Tally

“Eclipse, what do you mean there’s… magic?”

“Ok, ok, I know this sounds absurd. Just listen to me, Asa, I think

there’s something or someone, that’s not allowing you to do anything. How else are those tally marks disappearing by themselves?”

“I- I don’t know, Clipse. If I did, I would’ve figured it out by now!”

“Ok, I’m going to call the others, we’re meeting up at my place.”

~

“Ok, do you believe in magic?”

“I don’t. That’s all I’m saying,” 

“Colin has voted. Aubrey, Asa, Courtney, Lucy? What about you 

girls?”

“We do,”

“Thank you, Luce and Courtney,”

“Asa? Aubrey?”

“I’m not sure, I think there is magic. Just not like Harry Potter magic, with hocus pocus spells,”

“Thanks, Aubrey. Asa, you’re the last one,”

“Um- I don’t know. I don’t think magic is the answer to this,”

“How would you explain the disappearing tally marks?”

“I don’t know! It doesn’t matter, just forget it.”

“Asa, Asa, come back!”

~

“Asa, please. Can you listen to me for a second?”

“Courtney, I don’t want to talk about it,”

“Asa. Your tally marks and making people smile is what makes you, ‘you’! Don’t just give it up now, you’ve been doing this for ages!”

“Did Eclipse ask you to come after me?”

“No, she didn’t. I came on my own accord because I wanted to make sure you’re okay. The rest of them wanted to come, but too many of us uninvited would be rude,”

“I’m… I’m just so confused, Courts. How can the tally marks just

disappear without a trace? There’s no such thing as magic forbidding me from writing on my whiteboard!”

“What if there is?”

“Can we not talk about this? If you want to stay, fine. Just- I don’t

want to investigate this anymore right now,”

“I’m sorry, okay, I’ll stop. Do you want to lean your head on my 

shoulder?”

“Yes please.”

~

“Guys, we need to help Asa. She’s not upset because her tally marks are gone, but because all her effort has been gone to waste. We need to figure who or what is not allowing her to continue,”

“Should we be doing this, Clipse?”

“Do you want Asa to be miserable, Cole?”

“Of course not! Maybe we shouldn’t meddle, Asa left because she 

didn’t want to talk about it,”

“I agree with Cole, Eclipse. Let’s just leave it, maybe Daniel came into her room and rubbed it off, we’ll never know. Let’s just give Asa some time to herself, and then, when she’s ready, she’ll talk about it,”

“Do you guys not want to help, is that it?”

“You’re getting the wrong idea, Clipse. It’s not that we don’t want to help, maybe it’s not worth looking into,”

“Oh shush, Cole. I’m going to help Asa, whether you two want to or not,”

“Clipse, maybe you should listen to Aubrey and Colin,”

“Lucy, I love you, but Asa is my best friend. I have to help her!”

“I know Clipse. I know you want to help. Can you just stop and think for two seconds? Aubrey and Cole have a point, leave Asa alone for a bit,”

“I- Okay, but don’t think this is over. I’m going to help Asa in the end.”

~

“Asa, eat something,”

“I’m not hungry, Mum,”

“You haven’t been hungry for three days, Asa!”

“Don’t yell at your sister, Daniel,”

“But Mum, she’s been all ‘doom and gloom’ about her tally marks! 

You write them in your book and it’s on your phone, it doesn’t matter!”

“You know it does, Daniel! I’ve tried to be positive all my life, and this is what I get in return! So yeah, I’ve been all gloomy and whatever you want to call me, but it’s not fair for you to yell at me! I’ve tried so hard to make people smile, it wasn’t hurting anyone!”

“Daniel. I know you’re worried about Asa. Give her some space,

okay?” 

“She left the table again Mum. What do you want me to do?”

“I just said, give her space. She’s unhappy, you can’t expect Asa to be blissful all the time,”

“Your mother’s right, Dan. She’ll be okay soon, she hasn't processed any of this yet.”

~

“Asa, we’re going out. Do you hear me? I’m taking you on a date, in an hour. I’m going to end the call, but when I come at 6 pm, you better be in fancy dress.”

“Alright.”

“You look gorgeous, Asa. I’m serious,”

“It’s an old dress, nothing special,”

“Sweetheart, everything about you is special, don’t let anyone let 

you think otherwise,”

“It’s just a red dress. That’s all,”

“I know it’s more than that, Asa. You wore it to look sexy… Hah! 

You’re blushing, which means I’m right!”

“Shut up Courts!”

“You’re smiling, Asa!”

“Okay, okay. Can we go now?”

“Of course we can,”

“Where are you taking me?”

“It’s a surprise! Rack your brain though, fancy dress..?”

“I’m not going to guess, I’ll let you surprise me, Courts,”

“Alright then.”

“We’re here!”

“I think I nearly fell asleep in the car, I had my eyes closed for so 

long,”

“We’re at a fancy restaurant, hence the formal dress,”

“Ah, that makes sense,”

“Come on, come on! Otherwise, they’ll think we missed our booking and they’ll give your table to someone else!”

“Hello, ladies. May I see your ID, please?”

“I guess we don’t look eighteen, do we?”

“It’s merely a precaution Miss. Ah, ok, welcome Miss Courtney and… Miss Asa. What a lovely name,”

“Sorry sir, you can’t flirt with her, she’s taken by me. Have a good 

night!”

“Courts, I can’t believe you just said that to the man! He was just 

complimenting me,”

“I’m the jealous type, Asa,”

“Haha, very funny,”

“Look at this place, Asa! The architecture is stunning, and look at all these fancy rich people! I bet they come here all the time to talk business whether or not they need to fire Jeff,”

“Who’s Jeff?”

“I don’t know, I’m making it up!”

“Ahaha, I know Courts, I know. Let’s take a look at the menus, shall we?”

“We shall, my lady. Boy, the food here is so refined! Seared salmon with truffle oil and coriander. What on earth does truffle oil taste like?”

“God knows. Should we get it just to try?”

“This is on my father’s credit card, so why not?”

“Courtney! Did you steal your dad’s credit card just to take me on a date?!”

“You think so lowly of me, dearest. Of course, I didn’t! He lent it to me because I told him about the whole tally mark situation. You needed cheering up, Asa,”

“I think I should forget about the tally marks. I’ll just keep it in my

notebook from now on. Maybe I’ll write up a list of goals like Eclipse does,”

“Or… you could continue doing it because it’s very sweet of you?”

“Hmm, maybe. If I find out what happened, then I’ll continue to do the tally marks, deal?”

“Okay, fair,”

“Excuse me Mademoiselles, are you ready to order?” 

“Yes, please. Sorry I can’t say any of these, is it okay if I just point at the menu?”

“Of course,”

“Okay, we’ll have one um, B11. One D5, two J6 and one Y25,”

“Any drinks?”

“Two lemon-lime bitters please,”

“Thank you, your food will arrive soon.”

“Asa, did you hear that man’s accent?”

“It was like French but British at the same time?!”

“It sounded kind of cool, I won’t lie,”

“You like all kinds of accents, Courts,”

“True. I have a question,”

“Shoot,”

“On a scale of one to ten, how good are your brother’s tech skills?”

“Uh probably a seven, why?”

“I was thinking about your tally marks, do you think Daniel might’ve done something to it?”

“I never asked him if he came into my room, I just assumed he 

hadn’t because his boyfriend was over,”

“You should ask him when you get home tomorrow,”

“Tomorrow?”

“Oh, your mum didn’t tell you? I’m kidnapping you for the night,”

“Seriously?”

“Are you doubting my supreme powers of persuasion?”

“I- No! I’m just- wow. You really know how to cheer someone up, 

Courts,”

“I’ve had loads of experience, but for you, darling, well, it comes like a package deal, since you’re my girlfriend. Ah, look! There’s our food,”

“Okay, if I had known the food would look that good, I would’ve asked you to pick me up a lot sooner!”

“Apologies if I don’t talk to you for the rest of dinner, that looks 

delicious.”

~

“Favourite meal of the night, go!”

“Hmm, I would say the dessert. It looked like an art sculpture,”

“True, but the pasta was really really really good!”

“That’s a lot of ‘reallys’, Courts,”

“I’m biased, I’ve had it before, that’s why. My father once brought it home and it was delicious, so that’s why I ordered it tonight,”

“You love food more than you love me!”

“I’m insulted! That’s not true,”

“Wouldn’t you love to kiss a New York cheesecake?”

“I- No comment,”

“Ahaha, got you!”

“You’re so funny, Asa, God do you understand how much my love for you, surpasses my admiration for food?”

“Does it surpass it by one?”

“One, times infinity. That’s your answer,”

“Your love for me surpasses food an infinite amount of times? That’s a lot,”

“It sure as hell is, and don’t you forget it,”

“So, how did you convince your parents to let me stay over?”

“Oh, they’re not home. They went out to a fancy dinner party, 

they’re really boring. So… that means we’re home alone!”

“Do we need to put booby-traps around the house?”

“No, we have enough security systems, alarms and cameras to deal with pesky robbers,”

“So, do you promise Harry and Marv won’t come and steal you from me?”

“Promise. You can borrow some of my clothes, there’s no way you’re sleeping in that,”

“Good thing I leave a spare toothbrush here. I love you Courts, but we can’t share a toothbrush, that’s gross!”

“Agree, don’t you love being super-duper organised? Now go get ready, I’m worn out from the supreme fanciness of that restaurant.”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Do you ever wonder who else is looking at the stars right now?”

“No, I don’t, Asa. That is an interesting thought, though. What other interesting thoughts run through your head?”

“I don’t think you want to know,”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Uh- no. Why are you grinning like that Courtney?”

“Oh, no reason,”

“I know you well enough to guess what you’re thinking about, but, I will keep it to myself,”

“Good idea. Now, come over here, I want to kiss you,”

“Why don’t you come over to me?”

“I- Fair. Alright, move over, I’m coming over.”

~

“Thanks for driving me home, Courts,”

“Anything for you, darling. Don’t forget to ask Daniel,”

“I won’t. I love you,”

“You know I love you more,”

“False information!”

“Ahaha, get out of the car now, Asa. Otherwise, we’ll be arguing for the rest of time!”

“Okay, okay, love you more!”

“Hello, Asa. How was last night?”

“It was amazing, thanks, Mum,”

“Go say hi to your father and your brother,”

“Has the hormonal teenage boy calmed down yet?”

“Don’t call your brother that, and to answer your question, you’ll have to talk to him to find out,”

“Right, okay.”

“It’s good to see you smiling, Asa.”

“Asa, if that’s you knocking on the door, you can come in,”

“Glad I have your permission,”

“Stop giving me that look, Asa. I didn’t do anything wrong,”

“Liar. You’re the one who unleashed all your anger onto me. None of this concerns you, but did you listen? No!” 

“I just don’t like seeing you upset, you’re my twin!”

“If I had been anything else, you wouldn’t have cared,”

“That’s not true!”

“You know it is, Daniel. Did you come into my room when Courtney came over?”

“I was with Zach,”

“That doesn’t answer my question. You could’ve been with Zachary in my room! Did you do something to my tally marks?!”

“I- Yes! Yes, I did! Is that what you want to hear? I’m sick and tired of you counting all those goddamn smiles, it’s like… It’s like you’re bragging how well you can make people happy! I can’t do that, and yet, here you are, doing it with complete ease! We were so close Asa, but ever since you started dating Courtney, you don’t speak to me unless you have to! You’ve always had three best friends who are there for you, but I’ve only ever had you! So, yeah, I wiped your tally marks and altered the footage on your phone, because I’m jealous and selfish. I just- I wanted my twin back because she was so immersed in her own world, she didn’t realise she was mine.”

“Daniel… I- you never said anything. If you had wanted to spend time with me, you should’ve just said something!”

“I take too much from you, Asa. I didn’t want to waste your time,”

“Any time I spend with my twin brother is not wasted time. You could have told me, Daniel. You didn’t have to erase everything,”

“I knew you still had it written down somewhere else, and that you would remember anyway, but I know you’re right. I’m sorry, Asa, I was being such a jerk, and a terrible brother,”

“Don’t apologise, Daniel. We’re family, sometimes we do whatever it takes, and this time, I’ll forgive you. Next time though… you might not be so lucky,”

“Duly noted. I’m sorry, Asa,”

“Gah, I can’t stay angry at my little brother,”

“Two minutes, Asa! It was only two minutes,”

“But you’re still younger than me, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I know. Sorry.”

“Stop saying sorry, otherwise I’ll tell Zachary you’re a dick,”

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop, sor-”

“I’m going to go say hi to Dad and pretend I didn’t hear you say anything.”

~

“Friends, we are gathered here today, because our dear Asa has figured out the truth about her missing tally marks,”

“Thanks for that Clipse. Now, firstly I want to say, it WASN’T magic, so you were very wrong, Eclipse,”

“Aww, no fun!”

“Secondly, the only reason I found out the answer was because of Courtney, so everyone give my girlfriend a small round of applause,”

“Was it because you asked D-”

“Don’t give it away, Courts,”

“Oops, sorry, continue.”

“So, as I was saying, the disappearance of my tally marks were because of one person, and- Colin, stop drum rolling, it’s not helping,”

“Sorry, couldn’t resist.”

“That one person is the one and only, Daniel!”

“What?!”

“But- Daniel- he…”

“I’m going to kill him!”

“He’s her brother Eclipse, you can’t kill him,”

“Okay, overreaction, but I will get him, Lucy,”

“Okay guys, calm down. There’s a reason for his treacherous act, and I’ve already forgiven him, so no attacking him. That means you Eclipse,”

“Hmph, fine.”

“In summary, he was jealous that I was spending all my time with all of you, and truth be told, I haven’t been talking to him lately. In some regards, we were both pretty selfish,”

“Can I say something?”

“Go for it, Aubrey,”

“Okay, firstly, I see why someone might want more attention, but was Daniel that desperate?! Secondly, that’s a terrible ending to the story, I won’t allow it!”

“I’m confused, please explain,”

“If this was a story or a movie, the readers or viewers would be so disappointed! The climax was huge, the tally marks had suddenly disappeared, and the answer was the brother all along, why? Because he was jealous. That’s so basic!”

“Aubrey, it’s not supposed to be a movie!”

“I know, Asa, but… if it had been magic, it would’ve been so much cooler!”

“You said you didn’t believe in magic, Aubrey,”

“That’s not what I said, Cole! I said I believe in magic but not crazy spells from Harry Potter, or any other witchcraft and wizardry movies!”

“I’m agreeing with Asa, this isn’t supposed to be a movie type story,”

“Thank you, Lucy. Okay, case closed. That’s all I have for you lot,”

“Ugh, I’m telling you, magic is real!”

“Tell us another day, Clipse. Let’s go buy some ice cream and forget about it,”

“Wonderful idea, Asa. But… I have a question, what’s the count right now?”

“Well, I’m glad you asked, Colin. All of you smiled when I said ice cream, so that’s five, Courtney smiled six times on our date, and my parents both smiled when I came home, so… that’s one hundred and seventy-eight smiles!”

“Your memory often scares me, Asa,”

“And that is why no one picks a fight with me, Eclipse. Now let’s go, the last one there has to pay!”