Chapter 4

"Oh my god!" shrieked Arelle. "I can't believe it! I can't believe we got front row tickets to the concert! You are the best sister!"

On any normal day, Arelle would have a scowl on her face. Arelle looked like Hello Kitty's friend, Badtz-Maru, if Badtz-Maru were female, Chinese, and not a penguin. Similar to the character, Kim, from Lela Lee's "Angry Little Girls" comic, Arelle could find faults with everything and everyone.

But not tonight! Tonight, she was happy as a clam because she was attending the concert of a lifetime; her favorite boy band was back! Fifteen years ago, like any crazed teenage girl, she had posters upon posters of the band decorating her room. She owned every album ever released by them, including the Christmas album.

"That's what big sisters are for, right?" joked Arelle's sister, Andee. "Surprise!"

Although older, Andee was considerably shorter than her sibling and she had just as much spunk. While Arelle was beaming from ear to ear holding concert tickets in her hand, Andee seemed to step forward and then back, alternating legs, from side to side before throwing her leg out for a roundhouse kick. Andee was practicing a technique called the martelo in the Brazilian art of capoeira.

For Andee, capoeira combined many of the things she enjoyed: martial arts, sports, and music. Granted, Andee's taste in music was a little different than her sisters. She was into less pop, more alternative. Nevertheless, she enjoyed spending some quality time with her kid sister which was something she hadn't done in a while due to her many nights of martial arts training.

"Now what songs do they sing again?" asked Andee with a smile.

"You have got to be kidding!"

Andee chuckled. She enjoyed getting a rise out of her sister. With beads of sweat forming on her forehead, Andee stopped the ginga, the basic capoeira move of stepping forward and back.

"That's it?" asked Arelle.

"That's it."

"Fantastic! Does that mean you're done?" asked Arelle. "We can leave this God-awful smelling gym now? It smells like something died in here. When you first asked me to meet you here, I was like... really?"

Andee briefly thought about stalling and drawing her workout a little longer, just so that her sister would have to be subjected to the stench of the old stuffy gym for a few more minutes. And truth be told, Andee didn't even smell the odor anymore, which was made up mainly of man funk. Her nose had gotten used to the smell.

"Of course we can go. Just let me hit the showers and get changed," replied Andee. "I have a concert to go to with my baby sister!"

Andee playfully reached over and pinched Arelle's cheek as though Arelle were still a teeny toddler. Arelle just stood there and rolled her eyes. She was not so amused.

"Watch it! I'm taller than you now."