"Jemma! Daisy!" Phil called as he exited the kitchen. "Our new neighbors are moving in and we should go over and greet them as a family!"
Since his first day home, Phil had been able to have a lot more time home and he also had been promoted to a position that suited him. He was incharge of his entire branch and was still in the field.
"Phil, did you forget that Jemma is at Fitz's?" Melinda questioned.
"I guess I actually did." He chuckled. "Well, we can meet the neighbors with Daisy and introduce Jemma later."
"Daisy!" Melinda yelled. "You heard your father. Come on, let's go."
"I'm here, Māmā!" Daisy said as she rushed down the stairs. She was clothed in her favorite black T-shirt and black sweatpants and had her hair down like it usually was. "Did you just say our new neighbors moved in?"
"Yes I did." Phil answered. "We're going to be the welcoming committee."
"Is it mandatory that I be there?" Daisy crossed her arms in a way familiar to Phil. It was Melinda's very own gesture.
"Yes!" Melinda answered. "We're going as a family."
"But M-" Daisy started before earning herself a glare from Melinda. "Alright, lets go."
"Good girl." Melinda smiled.
As they walked over to the neighbor's house, Daisy sighed subtly.
"Daisy put on your best smile and be welcoming." Phil voiced. "They're from another place entirely and we want to make them feel at home in our neighborhood."
When Phil arrived at the door, he knocked lightly three times before pausing to wait for their acknowledgment.
"Hello, Good afternoon." A man said as he opened the door.
"Hey, We're the Coulsons. Name's Phil, this is my wife, Melinda and our precious flower, Daisy." Phil introduced. "Welcome to our neighborhood."
"Thank you, Phil." The man said as he held his hand outward to Phil. "I'm Calvin Johnson."
"Nice to meet you." Phil said as he shook his hand.
"Please, come on in." Calvin said as he stepped aside so the Coulson family could enter.
"Thank you." Melinda said as she placed her hand on Daisy's back.
With her mother's hand on her back, Daisy knew it was futile to try to escape. That being said, Daisy entered the house slowly, looking at all the boxes that had to be unpacked. As she looked around, her eyes darted towards a Chinese woman in the kitchen.
"I want you to meet my wife and our daughter," Calvin stated as he walked towards the kitchen. "Make yourself at home. It may not be much yet but mi casa es su casa."
"Thank you." Melinda smiled before going down to Daisy's level. "See, it's not that bad and he has a daughter. Who knows, she may be around your age."
"His wife is Chinese, just like you Mā." Daisy whispered as her eyes continued to follow the woman as she interacted with her husband.
Melinda smiled as she walked over to Phil who was taking a seat on the couch that sat on the wall. They were joined by Daisy who squeezed herself into the middle. Melinda shot a look at Daisy, who innocently looked up at her.
"What?" Daisy started. "I thought we were going for the very close family."
"Definitely your child." Phil smirked.
"Shut up, Phil." Melinda rolled her eyes.
"What?" Phil imitated. "I thought we were stating the obvious."
This remark earned Phil a light playful punch on the arm.
"You two are so, weird." Daisy commented as she saw a girl around her age enter the living room, which they were. This girl was soon joined by Calvin and the Chinese woman who was in the kitchen.
"Coulsons, I want you to meet my wife Jiaying and our daughter Raina." Calvin introduced.
"Nice to meet you," Melinda spoke. "I'm Melinda, and this is Daisy and Phil."
Melinda and Phil got up from their seats, leaving Daisy in the middle. This gave Raina the opportunity to sit next to Daisy who had turned her attention to Raina.
As Daisy held out her hand, Raina studied her hand for a while before eagerly shaking it; causing Daisy to flinch at her movements. Worry showed on her face.
"I like your name," Raina started. "It's very pretty."
"Yours is, well, um..." Daisy pulled her hand from the girl's grasp. "Nice."
"Daisy!" Melinda scolded. "Be nice."
"I am being nice, Māmā." Daisy pouted.
"Kids these days." Jiaying commented with a smile.
"They are how they are." Melinda smiled back. "We also have another daughter but she couldn't be here."
"I would love to meet her sometime then," Jiaying announced excitingly. "I'm sure she's a sweetheart."
"That she is," Phil agreed. "You can also add hard working and precious to the list."
"How about we have you guys over for dinner tonight since you moved in today?" Melinda suggested.
"I think that would be a wonderful idea." Calvin replied.
"Well, we won't keep you from unpacking your stuff," Phil stated. "If you need help with anything, even if it's unpacking, just ask. We live in that house over there."
As Phil pointed at his home, Raina stared at Daisy who started to get creeped out.
"What's the deal?" Daisy questioned. "Stop staring, it's creeping me out."
"I'm sorry." Raina apologized. "You appear interesting to me."
"Ummm, thanks," Daisy responded as she got up from her seat to join her parents at the door. "I guess I'll see you later, Raina."
At Fitz's House
"I'm telling you Jemma," Fitz started. "There is no way that the D.W.A.R.F program will fail with the amount of effort we're putting into it."
"Either way, we shouldn't get arrogant Fitz." Jemma warned.
"I'm just being confident in our abilities." He replied as he placed the shell of a D.W.A.R.F on the table. "Who else we know is working on hovering surveillance systems?"
"Come on Fitz." She sighed.
"Jem, all I'm saying is, we have a duty to be confident in our work." He said. "The sort of work that deals with sci-tech revolution."
"You're right." She submitted. "I will be more confident in our work."
As Jemma moved to grab a prototype energy shell for the D.W.A.R.F, a vibrating source stopped her. She immediately pulled her phone out of her pocket to see what notification had just come through.
"Everything alright, Jem?" Fitz worriedly asked.
"Yeah." She smiled. "My mom wants me home earlier because of dinner with our new neighbors. I forgot that they were moving in today."
"Oh, that's nice of your family to want to help them feel welcomed." He grinned.
"You know, that you can come along if you want." Jemma placed her phone back into her pocket.
"But wouldn't that be your family time with your new neighbors?" Fitz folded his arms.
"Don't be silly Fitz," Jemma chuckled. "My family loves having you over, especially Daisy."
"Well, if you put it that way." He started, unfolding his hands. "I guess I can tag along."
"Thank you." Jemma smiled.
Later
The Coulson's House
"So Daisy, you met her..." Jemma asked. "What's she like?"
"Raina is all sorts of weird." Daisy pointed out.
"Daisy!" Melinda yelled while entering the area.
"But it's true!" Daisy defended. "I mean, who even says you appear interesting to me? That's not normal. Another thing is, she constantly stares."
"She is different, that's all," Melinda stated as she began to walk up the stairs to get ready. "When her family comes across, you better not say anything mean to or about Raina!"
"Yes, Māmā." Daisy spoke.
"Sometimes it's okay to be weird," Fitz added. "Look at me and Jem, different from a lot of people in our year and considered weird. You still have fun around us and like us for who we are, right?"
"Right." Daisy agreed.
"Good." Fitz smiled. "You have to do the same for Raina. Maybe she's not good at interacting with others but that doesn't mean she isn't fun."
"I guess you're right Fitz." Daisy concluded.
"Good, now little monkey, run along and get ready." Fitz chuckled.
As Daisy left, Jemma smiled at Fitz.
"And you didn't want to come." Jemma stated.
"Well, I am here now." He laughed as he pulled Jemma into an embrace.
"That you are." She smiled as they hugged for a little while.
"Jemma, Fitz, mind showing me a sneak peak of your gizmo?" Phil asked as he stepped into the area. "Is it some sort of super volcano?"
As Phil entered, Fitz and Jemma quickly separated.
"Dad!" Jemma jumped.
"Mr. Coulson, um, I.." Fitz reacted. "no, it's not a super volcano."
"I told you already that you can't see it until it's finished dad." Jemma expressed. "And as I said already, everyone thinks in the box and volcanoes are in that box. We like to be different; Phenomenal."
"I can live with that Jem." Phil smiled as he walked over to the duo. "But, I want to see it as soon as it's completed. Who knows, it could get you a scholarship and grants."
"You will be the first to see it, Dad," Jemma concluded as she hugged her father. "Trust that you will be surprised."
"Thank you, Jem." He said as he kissed her hair. "Well, Dinner will be finished in 5."
As a little time flew, The Johnsons arrived dressed nicely. Cal and Jaiying came in with matching beige dress shirts and comfortable slacks while Raina entered wearing a black dress with blue flowers on them.
"Thanks again for having us over." Cal said as everyone sat down on the preset table filled with food.Seating order was made around Phil who was considered the head of the table. Next to Phil on the left was Melinda, who was next to Jemma, who was beside Fitz, who sat next to Jaiying, who was next to her husband. On Phil's other side sat Daisy, followed by Raina and then Calvin.
"It's our privilege to have you over," Melinda said. "Plus, you get to taste Phil's cooking, trust me when I say this, he's the best."
"Flattering but Mel, that's not true." Phil voiced.
"Dad, you know that's true." Both Jemma and Daisy said.
"Is he always this modest?" Jaiying asked.
"He tries." Melinda smiled.
As the food began to be passed around the table and dished out, Raina began looking around the area timidly.
"Raina, are you okay?" Daisy asked in an attempt to be nice and to help the shy girl feel more comfortable.
"I'm fine, thank you." She replied softly. "Just admiring your home, I guess."
"Hey Raina, I am Jemma, Daisy's older sister." Jemma introduced. "And this is my best friend, Fitz."
"Hi." She waved. "Nice to meet you."
Jemma and Fitz waved back and smiled towards the girl who began to open up a little bit. As they began to eat, everyone began talking about different topics as if they knew each other for years. After dinner, everyone excluding Daisy and Raina moved to the living room. Daisy and Raina made their way to Daisy's room.
"So, Jemma," Jaiying started. "Tell me a bit about yourself."
"Well, um, I'm 15 years old and I love science." Jemma smiled. "I want to learn lots of different stuff and become a MD."
"Is that so?" Jiaying asked. "Fun fact, I know a thing or two about medical and so does my husband. We owned a clinic before we moved."
"You also forgot to add that our clinic was not just any clinic." Calvin voiced. "We not only treated humans, we also treated animals as vets."
"That's so cool!" Fitz exclaimed. "Whose idea was it to combine those two essentials?"
"That would be me," Calvin said. "I just think that people should have a variety."
"Now that's what I call smart." Melinda commented.
"So, Melinda, what do you and Phil do?" Jiaying asked.
"I work as a secretary at a law enforcement firm but I'm currently on vacation," Melinda said. "Philly here, he's a businessman who goes out and makes great deals and makes executive decisions. Did I get it all right, honey?"
"Yeah, sounds about right." Phil answered as he hugged his wife.
At this time, Daisy was sitting on her bed next to Raina who was quietly looking around her room.
"I like your room, it's simple yet complex," Raina whispered loud enough for Daisy to hear. "Somewhat like you, well, with what I can tell already. You're pretty and confident and all of that yet you have an interesting personality."
"Thanks, Raina." Daisy said. "You know, you're surprisingly very nice and it's totally weird but there's nothing wrong with that."
"Really?" Raina questioned.
"Yes, really." She answered. "Quick question, what's with the flowers on your dress?"
"Well, I love flowers." Raina smiled. "My mother bought me this dress for my birthday."
"Oh, that's really nice." Daisy grinned as she moved closer to Raina who reacted by going further at first.
"Sorry," Raina said as she reluctantly drew nearer to Daisy. "I usually don't interact well with others as you can see."
"That's fine." Daisy voiced as she held out her hand like before. "I want to be your friend Raina and I will try to help you interact with others better."
"Thank you." Raina timidly replied as she held out both of her arms as a gesture of wanting a hug.
"Oh, you want a hug? Sure, bring it in." Daisy moved even closer and hugged Raina who started crying. "What's wrong Raina?"
"No one likes being around me." Tears fell fast from her eyes as she hugged Daisy tighter. "They all call me weird and freak and a monster."
"Raina, that's not true in the slightest." Daisy voiced as she backed away to help Raina wipe her tears. "Yes you're a little weird but you are definitely not a monster nor are you a freak. You just don't know how to socialize with everyone."
"You are the first person to be so nice to me," Raina uttered as Daisy hugged her again. "Promise to be my friend forever?"
"I promise, Raina, I promise." Daisy comforted as she smiled. "Well, what are the types of flowers you like?"
"I love Roses and Tulips and interesting enough, Daisies." She answered as she looked over at Daisy. "Do you like flowers?"
"Ironically, not really," Daisy responded. "They're nice, don't get me wrong, but I don't make a big deal about them."
"What are things that you like?" Raina asked.
"Just like my dad, I like cars." Daisy smiled. "Difference is, I like the new stuff more than the classics but the classics aren't too far behind."
"That's cool." She chuckled a little.
"Raina, we're ready to go!" A voiced called.
"I guess I have to go now, Daisy." Raina said as she hugged Daisy once more before getting up and going downstairs to meet up with her parents who were ready to go.
Two Days Later
"Daisy, get up and come down for breakfast!" Melinda yelled.
"We all know that she is not a morning person," Jemma commented. "I wonder if Raina is a morning person. Speaking of which, today is her first day going to our school."
"She was probably up all night unable to sleep," Melinda added. "Daisy! Breakfast!"
"What's with all the racket?" Daisy asked as she entered the area from upstairs.
"Did you not hear me calling you for breakfast?" Melinda questioned. "You're going to be late if you don't get ready soon."
"Sorry, Mā," Daisy voiced. "Where is dad?"
"He had to leave early for work." Melinda explained as she mixed her tea. "Do you want tea?"
"No Mā." Daisy sadly expressed. "I'm going to eat cereal."
"Do you know what today is?" Melinda pressed.
"Monday?" Daisy guessed.
"Yes but that's not what I meant." Melinda chuckled.
"Today is Raina's first day, Daisy." Jemma reminded.
Daisy's whole composure changed to that of excitement.
"I totally forgot!" Daisy blurted as she rushed to mix her breakfast. "I got to make sure that she is comfortable today. That girl is extremely shy and will be scared especially if things go the wrong way!"
"Daisy calm down." Melinda laughed at her daughter's antics. "You two will be fine."
"Māmā, I can't calm down." She expressed as she grabbed a spoon and rushed to the table. "I have to make sure that everything aligns perfectly."
"Since when do you care about perfection?" Jemma chuckled.
"Don't blame me for wanting to help the kid have a first day!" Daisy argued as she filled her mouth.
"Eat first then talk, Dais!" Jemma scolded.
After eating breakfast and rushing to get ready, the door bell rang.
"I'll get it." Daisy said as she opened the door. "Hey Raina!"
"Good morning, Daisy." Raina replied as she stepped into the Coulsons' house. Raina was wearing a simple white shirt with flowers on them and a black jeans. "How do I look for the first day? T-shirt and Jeans isn't really my style."
"You look fine," Daisy answered. "and if this is not your style, then what is?"
"A long dress, I guess." Raina responded as Melinda and Jemma joined them. "Good morning, Jemma and Mrs. Coulson."
"Good morning, Raina." Jemma and Melinda said.
"Well, let's get you girls to school." Melinda voiced.
