AN: Wow, so…thanks for the reviews, guys. Really, that was crazy awesome. The thing about this story is that I don't take it very seriously, as in I don't plan out exactly what I want to happen all the time, so I never really expected anything like what you guys have said. So…thanks again. ALSO! Who is REALLY gettin' in the Halloween spirit? I feel like my group of friends is just overly-Halloweenish. I mean, we've even decided to do our costume as The Breakfast Club, but instead of being the characters, we're being breakfast foods. HOW COME NO ONE LIKES HALLOWEEN ANY MORE BESIDES US? That's what I wanna know.
The thing about Family Dinner is that it always happens on a Sunday, and I'm always late, and my mother is always mad, and all my siblings are always there. Basically, it's the humanist form of hell they could come up with for me, and they (they being my parents) enforce it every week.
"Cara, sweetheart, how are you doing in school these days?" my mother asks, smiling sweetly down at me. Sure, she's all smiles now, but when she's angry she's a real beast.
"Fine, I guess," I mumble into my mashed potatoes, swirling my fork around them and making patterns. Beside me, Shannon nudges me sharply, and when I look up she gives a quick jerk of her head. Stop being so childish, she is saying. What a bitch. Like SHE'S so much older than me. Two years, Shannon, so you can go fuck yourself.
"Cara's got a boyfriend," Keegan, a stupid freshman, pipes up, smiling smugly. Keegan, I feel I must point out, is a going to be a hottie when he gets older. Real chick magnet, I'm tellin' ya. But right now, he's on the smaller side, with a hollow, gaunt face, bony limbs, and bright blue eyes. Kinda icky, if you ask me.
"Bout time," Ryan chuckles in his raspy, I've-been-smoking-since-grade-seven-and-I'm-only-twenty voice. "And here's us thinking you'd die a virgin." 'Us' would be referring to the siblings. We have to stick together usually, but the biggest family secret is that we all hate each other.
Dad gives Ryan A Look, which immediately shuts him up. If Henry was still alive, he would have shut them ALL up. Henry was a bad ass that way. He had the power of speech (and violence) and picked many a fight in his day to defend my honor. I missed him like crazy every single day.
"A boyfriend, eh?" Mom inquires, raising her eyebrow. "And who is this?"
"Liam Marrison," Megan puts in before I can say anything at all. "He's SO hot." She giggles as though this is the most scandalous thing in the world, rather than a well-known fact.
I feel like I should make something clear about my family. It's fucking huge. And while I knew people with MANY more kids, we had the added benefit of having The House. You know, the house on the block where the kids were just naturally attracted to. So, even though Jack and Ryan had already moved out, there was (by age), Shannon, me, Keegan, Megan, and Isabella. And Henry, but…well, not really Henry, I guess.
I stab my pork chop bitterly with just the thought of my huge family.
"And don't forget about John Lennon," Keegan says, "I heard you two have a little thing."
"TWO boys?" Isabella snickers.
"Stay away from Lennon," Jack warns in his deep, doctor-like voice. Jack was the oldest of us all at twenty two, and I swear to God that boy could be a superhero.
"You don't have to worry about that," I assure him, rolling my eyes. "I hate that kid."
"HOW do you hate Lennon? He was a legend even in MY grade," Shannon tells us, ending her piece of the conversation with a sip of water.
"I'm confused," Dad says, a frown set in deep on his forehead. "So WHICH young man am I meeting? This Lennon fellow, or Liam Marrison?"
"Liam Marrison!" Megan squeals.
"Smarmy ass bloke," Keegan mutters. Shannon nudges him sharply.
"I say go for Lennon. Sounds like he'd be more fun than this Liam guy," Ryan adds. Of course, Ryan always HAD been the party boy of the family. When he wasn't around, our father commonly referred to him as The Disgrace.
"Lennon, Lennon, Lennon," Shannon, Keegan, and Ryan start chanting.
"Liam, Liam, Liam," Megan, Isabella, and Jack chant back. Our parents exchang confused looks.
"Guys—would you STOP! Liam is my boyfriend, and I—"
"LENNON, LENNON, LENNON!"
"—hate John's guts, so there's no way I'd EVER—"
"LIAM, LIAM, LIAM!"
"—change my mind. Liam is quite possibly the man I've always been searching for, so—"
"LENNON!"
"—I think you guys should just—"
"LIAM!"
"—stay the FUCK out of my life!"
And with that, I stood up from the table, marching out of the room and leaving the behind the battle, Keegan's war cry of LENNON still floating above the rest of the voices.
"Cara, sweetheart, watch your language," my mother calls from back at the table. Oh, please. She might as well focus on the others, as everyone knows I'm the only normal in this family.
…
They all look the same,
Different, at best.
But I could pick her right out,
And ace THAT test.
AN: Personally, I know a family with seven kids, and I love them all to death. They're all incredibly smart, really good looking, and super nice. And I've also eaten dinner at their house a number of times, since I'm pretty good friends with the one that's in my grade. May I just say…complete and utter chaos. :^) Review, people.
