Ava - November 12th 2006
The first official chapter in my story. As I always say, if you don't tell me what you think, then I can't get better. And getting better is what this site is all about. <3
November 12th 2006
November 18th marked the day that Richie felt all should drop everything and tend to her every whim. Her birthday. As the cold morning air was set into motion the weekend before her birthday, I could hear my cousin downstairs telling my mother her little heart's desires.
"I was thinking that for my party, I could have a couple friends over and we could just hang out and stuff." Richie took a pause, and nobody said anything. "Are Liah and Dustie going to be gone?" She asked, inhaling before she spoke. Every time Richie had friends come over, my brother Dustie and I were always getting kicked out of the house. Richie said they weren't doing anything bad, per se, but if that were the case then I always figured we could just stay in our house. My parents were big "teenagers need their privacy activists," though, so Richie always got her way. My parents would take my brother and I out for an evening of forced-family fun time. Consequentially, the evening ended up being less than mediocre to begin with.
My whole family was already up and ready before I even made it down to the kitchen. When I stepped on to the linoleum floor and headed over to the counter for some Cheerios, I felt a strange sense of intrusion. It was almost like I, my parents first born and only daughter, was intruding on what seemed to be their perfect morning.
"Finish up there, Bud," my father told my sandy-haired younger brother. Dustie didn't reply, but rather hastily shoveled two spoon full's of Lucky Charm's cereal into his mouth and chomped away. I wondered where it was they had to go. Deciding against asking, I sat down on a stool at the counter.
My mind was still hazy from the dream that I could vaguely remember. I was holding on to one last detail, while the rest hung limply at some faraway place in my mind.
"Why are you sitting on the reject side of the kitchen?" Richie asked as I scraped the contents of my spoon off with my teeth. I shrugged, and looked up at her. Our kitchen wasn't that big to begin with; she could perfectly have a conversation with me from that distance without straining her voice. She wasn't looking at me when I looked up, though. She was staring out of the window watching a squirrelle run through the crisp air.
I remember we had a conversation that made me feel really uncomfortable.
"Well get over here," she said, almost distantly. I didn't reply and I didn't move.
The person, I thought, was a man. I couldn't make out his stature, but my mind told me that he wore his brown hair short, and that his eyes twitched when he talked to me.
I watched my father and brother get up and retreat noisily to the living room. My mother stayed and lingered at the sink as she rinsed her dish off and placed it in the dish washer.
I remember tugging on the sleeves of my sweater, as if to hide my hands. I let my bangs fall in front of my eyes, and I angled myself at the right degree as if to hide my front side from the man.
"Hey, Liah," Richie called again.
Maybe it wasn't a man that had made me feel uncomfortable.
"Want to come to my party?"
Maybe I was not the one to turn away from them.
"You've never wanted me to hang out with your friends before," I said skeptically, with almost all traces of my dream left from my mind. I still felt attached to my dream, but I let it drop.
"You're fifteen now," she said.
"I've been fifteen since April 16th."
"Do you want to come or not?" She asked, almost begrudgingly. "I didn't have to invite you, you know," she stated. Richie always made it seem like everything she did to you was a gigantic favor. The truth was that I did not want to hang out with Richie's friends. They always gave me the impression of the kids who I did not want to hang around with - the ones who never did their homework, and the ones who sneaked out of their house to go smoke weed because they didn't care about their future and they certainly never cared about their health.
"Depends," I grunted. "What are you doing and who's coming?" I could see the exact second when Richie's expression turned from giving to almost angered. Like a click, her mood was released.
"What does it matter as long as I'm inviting you?" She said defensively. "I was planning on having Kaylee, Jewly and Molly come over, if that's okay with you, and we were just going to do whatever." I sure didn't know what whatever entailed, but whatever it was, I did not want to be a part of it. Richie saw my hesitation and was about to rebut before my mother gave her two cents.
"Why don't you hang out with your cousin, Liah? You guys hardly ever hang out, and I think it'll be good for you."
"Okay," I said.
"Okay?" Richie asked.
"Okay," I repeated. "I'll come."
November 18th marked the day that Richie felt all should drop everything and tend to her every whim. Her birthday. As the cold morning air was set into motion the weekend before her birthday, I could hear my cousin downstairs telling my mother her little heart's desires.
"I was thinking that for my party, I could have a couple friends over and we could just hang out and stuff." Richie took a pause, and nobody said anything. "Are Liah and Dustie going to be gone?" She asked, inhaling before she spoke. Every time Richie had friends come over, my brother Dustie and I were always getting kicked out of the house. Richie said they weren't doing anything bad, per se, but if that were the case then I always figured we could just stay in our house. My parents were big "teenagers need their privacy activists," though, so Richie always got her way. My parents would take my brother and I out for an evening of forced-family fun time. Consequentially, the evening ended up being less than mediocre to begin with.
My whole family was already up and ready before I even made it down to the kitchen. When I stepped on to the linoleum floor and headed over to the counter for some Cheerios, I felt a strange sense of intrusion. It was almost like I, my parents first born and only daughter, was intruding on what seemed to be their perfect morning.
"Finish up there, Bud," my father told my sandy-haired younger brother. Dustie didn't reply, but rather hastily shoveled two spoon full's of Lucky Charm's cereal into his mouth and chomped away. I wondered where it was they had to go. Deciding against asking, I sat down on a stool at the counter.
My mind was still hazy from the dream that I could vaguely remember. I was holding on to one last detail, while the rest hung limply at some faraway place in my mind.
"Why are you sitting on the reject side of the kitchen?" Richie asked as I scraped the contents of my spoon off with my teeth. I shrugged, and looked up at her. Our kitchen wasn't that big to begin with; she could perfectly have a conversation with me from that distance without straining her voice. She wasn't looking at me when I looked up, though. She was staring out of the window watching a squirrelle run through the crisp air.
I remember we had a conversation that made me feel really uncomfortable.
"Well get over here," she said, almost distantly. I didn't reply and I didn't move.
The person, I thought, was a man. I couldn't make out his stature, but my mind told me that he wore his brown hair short, and that his eyes twitched when he talked to me.
I watched my father and brother get up and retreat noisily to the living room. My mother stayed and lingered at the sink as she rinsed her dish off and placed it in the dish washer.
I remember tugging on the sleeves of my sweater, as if to hide my hands. I let my bangs fall in front of my eyes, and I angled myself at the right degree as if to hide my front side from the man.
"Hey, Liah," Richie called again.
Maybe it wasn't a man that had made me feel uncomfortable.
"Want to come to my party?"
Maybe I was not the one to turn away from them.
"You've never wanted me to hang out with your friends before," I said skeptically, with almost all traces of my dream left from my mind. I still felt attached to my dream, but I let it drop.
"You're fifteen now," she said.
"I've been fifteen since April 16th."
"Do you want to come or not?" She asked, almost begrudgingly. "I didn't have to invite you, you know," she stated. Richie always made it seem like everything she did to you was a gigantic favor. The truth was that I did not want to hang out with Richie's friends. They always gave me the impression of the kids who I did not want to hang around with - the ones who never did their homework, and the ones who sneaked out of their house to go smoke weed because they didn't care about their future and they certainly never cared about their health.
"Depends," I grunted. "What are you doing and who's coming?" I could see the exact second when Richie's expression turned from giving to almost angered. Like a click, her mood was released.
"What does it matter as long as I'm inviting you?" She said defensively. "I was planning on having Kaylee, Jewly and Molly come over, if that's okay with you, and we were just going to do whatever." I sure didn't know what whatever entailed, but whatever it was, I did not want to be a part of it. Richie saw my hesitation and was about to rebut before my mother gave her two cents.
"Why don't you hang out with your cousin, Liah? You guys hardly ever hang out, and I think it'll be good for you."
"Okay," I said.
"Okay?" Richie asked.
"Okay," I repeated. "I'll come."
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