True to her word, Ashley had let Randall down before he had gotten home.  Deciding that they would meet back up in an hour, Randall thought that it would be an excellent idea to take a shower before getting ready for his trip to the mall.  The first person to greet him as he walked through the door was Rachel.  Being in the condition he was, Randall was hoping that the teasing today would be at a minimum.

“So, did you have a great day at school princess?”

“Not today squirt, I’ve got to get ready to go to the mall with Ashley later.”

“What are you going to the mall for anyways?”

“If you really need to know, we are going to go and pick out costumes for the Halloween dance this Friday.  Now before you ask any more questions, could you set up the shower for me?”

“Sure, no problem.  Do you guys know what you two are going to be dressed up as?”

“Don’t know till we get there, now about that shower.”

“Ok I’ll go get it ready.  Do you need any more help because I heard what happened at school today?”

“Thanks for the offer but I don’t think so.”

            Walking back into his room, Randall went straight to his dresser to pick out his outfit.  After several minutes of debating he finally decided on a plain black t-shirt that fit to his body, and a pair of comfortable dark blue jeans.  After gathering up his clothes he started to make his way to the bathroom.

            Walking into the bathroom, Randall went straight to the bathtub to make sure that Rachel had positioned the nozzle so that it would hit him instead of the wall on the other side.  Being impressed with his work, Randall locked the door and went through the process of undressing.  He came to his first problem once he noticed his bandages.  Taking them off was a difficult process because it required moving his upper section in order to unwrap his shoulders and sides.  Folding the bandage and placing it right beside his clothes, Randall started to put get into the shower.  After a couple seconds of making sure that the water was the right temperature, Randall pulled the tab up to start the shower nozzle.  Unfortunately for Randall he forgot, like he always does, that the first few seconds of water were extremely cold.  Being unable to move he had to endure the cold for a couple seconds until the water warmed back up the correct temperature.

            The bruises from earlier were starting to darken further to where he looked like a spotted snow leopard on his upper half.  Randall of course was ticked because the jerk who caused this was probably laughing it up right about now.   Deciding that he didn’t want this to ruin his evening, Randall decided to forget about this and let the hot water run down his body for a few more seconds before finally getting out.  As Randall started to get dress he ran into a little problem.  Walking out of the bathroom with just shirt and bandages in hand, Randall started to search for his sister.

“Rachel, where are you!?”

“Coming, I’ll be there in a second.”

            Being impatient as he was, he decided to follow this sister’s voice and find out what she was up to.  Walking through the hallway into the living room, Randall found his sister lying down on the couch talking to someone on the phone.

“That sounds great1 I can’t wait for you to get here!  I better go and see what he wants before he starts to send out a search party, so I’ll see you later. Bye.”

“Who were you talking to miss lost in the woods?”

“No one important, now what would you like me to help you out with your majesty.”

            Upon turning around, Rachel got her first look at the extent of damage that Randall’s body had gone through.  Seeing her older brother standing there without a shirt on, with dark blotches covering the majority of his torso was a little heart wrenching.

“You could help me replace these bandages because there are some areas that I can’t reach.”

“Ok just jump up here and I’ll wrap you up.”

            Trying to be extremely careful, Rachel started the process of reapplying the bandages to her brother’s body.  Every once in a while she would hear noises come from him even though Randall was trying to suppress them.  Finally getting done with her work, Rachel went ahead and retrieved a pair of socks and shoes and put them on Randall’s feet.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping my favorite brother get ready for his big date tonight.”

“Yeah, I’m your only brother but you still haven’t answered my first question though.”

“It would take you a while to do this so I might as well help out before Ashley gets here.”

“Fine then, have it your way. Wait a second, how do you know I’m going on a date?”

“Ashley told me just now, and we decided that I can help her find costumes for the big dance in a couple days.”

“That is not happening and you know it.  I am having a nice evening without you tagging along.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll leave after the costumes are chosen.  Also, seeing as we live in a democracy, our two votes outnumber your half a vote.”

“Ha ha ha, you are so funny.”

            After his shoes were tied, Randall retrieved his wallet that he attached with a chain, his cell phone, and a light jacket.  After zipping it up halfway, he hears a knock on the door.  Upon opening the door, Randall is treated to the site of Ashley.  Ashley was wearing a pair of dark jeans, white sneakers, a yellow top with frills, and light blue jacket.  Stunning wasn’t the words to describe what Ashley looked like, but hey this was a plus for Randall.  With Ashley, and regrettably his sister Rachel, Randall started walking towards the bus stop.  Tonight should turn out to be interesting as long as Rachel doesn’t mess it up.