AHA! back from the dead, for 2010!!! :D WOOT!!! happy new year people!!! hope it was a good one. :)
Disclaimer: ahhhhhh! so, for christmas, i totally asked santa for the rights to this show. and i totally got them. so this show is mine. all mine. and then i woke up and actually just got some oil for my car and the registration and insurance for it paid, which is actually a much more practical, and less debt-inducing, so i guess i'll take it. xD so no, dear readers, the show is, alas, still not mine.
ParamoreLover: lmao i too am a huge fan of updates! xD when i can get on, they equal awesomeness squared, which, yes, is my new saying for "cool". oO thanks for the review! :P
twin who likes to travel: ah, you're right of course, and i am on my way to do just that! terribly sorry i couldn't get to it sooner, but, yes, thank you for the reviews, it's always appreciated. :)
FeelLikeRain: i have something by motion city soundtrack!!! i think... two songs, actually, woot! xD lol anyway, i'll def. take a better look at them. glad you liked the chapter besides the fight. :D
Halfreck3929: lol it's about fighting, but yes, they make amends...or do they??? omg cliffhanger! xD haha thanks for reading, even if it's only the j/k parts. :P
WonderousPlaceForAnEcho: well, glad the fight was a good one. :) umm i think for this story Katie's parents are more absent, but hey, i tend to leave things open for interpretation, so... ;)
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Zoë hated the telephone. She hated talking to people on it, she hated the way people sounded on it (tinny) and she hated how they always assumed she was younger than she was because of the tinny-ness of the phone. As it were, she especially hated when she had to call strangers. Friends were okay, although she preferred face-to-face over a funny device, but strangers? Forget it.
Zoë sighed and glanced down at the list before her. There were only two names crossed off, and, in a bout of anger, the same names were scribbled out in black crayon in the phone book. Both proprietors had realized, about half-way through the conversation, that Zoë was underage. She'd actually almost convinced one of the managers, of Perky Pete's, a new café thing that was about a half-hour away from her house, that she was twenty-one, but then he'd asked for her birthday and she'd accidentally blurted the real one out. The other manager, of a bar downtown, shot her down flat-out. He didn't say it was because of her age. He claimed they were booked. Zoë knew better. She grumbled under her breath and flipped through the yellow pages of the phonebook, pausing when she came to the next name on her list. Keeping her finger on the number, she reached for the portable phone, just as there was a knock at her door and someone burst in.
Zoë hastily shut the phone book and flipped the paper with all the names over, the same paper now displaying a doodle. Zoë smiled, satisfied. Her "Plan B" tactic of hiding what she was up to was a success, although she still wasn't sure how she'd explain the phonebook if anyone asked. Zoë frowned and turned to the interruptive person, narrowing her eyes at Grace as her older sibling looked absently around Zoë's room.
"You need to clean this room, Zoë," Grace said finally, turning to the young Manning.
"Thanks mom," Zoë said, rolling her eyes.
"Speaking of which, have you seen her?" Grace asked.
"You mean since you called her like, two minutes ago?" Zoë shot back, and Grace scowled slightly. Zoë shook her head. "No, I haven't seen her."
"How about Rick?" Grace asked.
"He's not home?" Zoë answered.
Grace sighed heavily. "No, I don't think so. How about-"
"Oh my god, Grace, really?" Zoë asked, interrupting her. "Are you going to ask me where Jessie is, too?"
"No, I'm pretty sure she's home, but-"
"Oh, well, then, how about Eli? Would you like to know where he is?" Zoë snapped, thoroughly annoyed.
"Well, that would actually be good to know. I need to know how he's going to get to the airport tomorrow," Grace said absently. Zoë snorted.
"Well, I don't know where he is, either," she stated flatly, "Probably out with his new girlfriend or something." She muttered under her breath. That got Grace's attention. Her wandering eyes snapped to her younger sibling.
"What?"
"I said, probably out with his new girlfriend or something," Zoë reiterated, slowly and pointed. Grace scowled.
"I heard you," she said, sharply.
"Then why did you ask?" Zoë retorted.
"Zoë, why do you have to-" Grace started, but paused when she finally took in the items scattered before her sibling. Grace folded her arms and leaned on one leg, her expression narrowing into a questioning one. "Are you prank calling people?" Grace asked, accusingly.
Zoë glanced down at her materials, the phone and shut phonebook, and a sloppy doodle that very well could have been done when she was talking to random people. Bingo! Zoë turned back to her sister and nodded eagerly.
"Yeah!" she said, trying not to sound too elated at her new excuse. Sure, she'd get a slap on the wrist if her Mom or Rick heard that, but it was a lot better than divulging what she was really doing. Grace sighed heavily.
"You're so immature," Grace said, finally, and Zoë shrugged.
"Viva la Vida," Zoë answered, proud of herself for remembering that much of her brief brush with a foreign language.
"…Don't get caught," Grace said, and retreated from the room, leaving Zoë alone to continue her mission with the despicable phone.
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B+W Testimonial: Grace looks perturbed, her brow furrowed and her bottom lip between her teeth in thought: "I have never been seasick," she says finally, turning her gaze from the floor to the camera. "I mean, granted, I've only been on a boat like…twice, in my whole life. Maybe more, when I was like, six. But I honestly don't remember. As it is, I've been on small motorboats. But I've only been on a big one once, and…I didn't get seasick. Mom told me I should count my blessings, 'it's a terrible feeling'." Grace gets a sour look on her face. "I believe her."
"What?" Jessie's voice snapped, impatiently, through her bedroom door. Grace opened it and frowned, looking around the room.
"Wasn't Katie supposed to come over?" Grace asked. Jessie looked up from her hands that were twisting almost angrily in her lap, and gave Grace a fierce glare that the older Manning hadn't seen since they were first forced to live together.
"What do you want, Grace?" Jessie snarled, her gaze returning to the fitful hands in her lap. She let out a frustrated sigh and started to untangle them.
"Um," Grace said, suddenly unsure. She glanced around Jessie's room again. "I could've sworn I heard her," Grace started, talking more to herself than to Jessie.
"Jesus just drop it!" Jessie seethed, and Grace stared at her step-sister incredulously.
"Jess-" Grace started, slightly taken aback by the random hostility.
"Can you just leave?" Jessie asked venomously, clenching her jaw and burning holes in Grace's retinas. Grace winced unconsciously at the look.
"Uh, yeah, I guess," Grace started, and turned to leave, before remembering what she'd come up to ask Jessie for in the first place.
"Hey, uh," Grace started tentatively, as Jessie rolled her head, cracking her neck in frustration and gave Grace a scathing look.
"Thought you were leaving," Jessie mumbled, under her breath. Grace huffed, growing angry with Jessie's newfound attitude.
"Clearly I'm not, not right now," Grace said, and before Jessie could start a row, "Did you know Eli had a new girlfriend?" Jessie snorted.
"No. Think he ever tells me what's going on with him?" Jessie asked, her voice holding a threat, though Grace couldn't figure out as to what.
"Okay, what's wrong, Jessie?" Grace asked, ignoring the almost-non-answer. "Did you get in a fight with Katie or something?" That got her step-siblings attention. Jessie stiffened and cold, angry, but hurt-filled eyes turned full-force to Grace, who knew instantly she'd treaded in mine-filled territory. "You did? Jessie, that's-" Grace started, unsure exactly what she was going to say to comfort the clearly confused-but-covering-it-with-anger Sammler. God, all the Sammler children were so much alike…
"Get out." Jessie said, looking away from Grace, effectively ending any hopes of trying to communicate with Jessie that fights were just part of a relationship. Graced sighed, then turned and left, closing the door quietly behind her.
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B+W Testimonial: Lily looks thoughtfully about, her eyes roaming over the ceiling before turning to the camera: "Sure, I've been seasick." She states, matter-of-factly. "I mean, I'm not extremely sensitive to movement, although, at this stage," she says, glancing down at her stomach and grinning, "I really don't feel like testing that theory." Lily chuckles. "Of course, morning sickness and seasickness are two different animals…" Lily trails off. "I'd take morning sickness over seasickness any day," Lily says finally, after a long pause, "because at least morning sickness is worth something. Seasickness just makes for a miserable anecdote," she finishes, amused.
"Zoë!" Lily shouted up the stairs, "Jessie, Grace, come help me with dinner!" she finished, before turning and sighing. "You'd think I was the only one in this house," she muttered to herself. She looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps, to find Grace walk quietly into the kitchen, and pause attentively, clearly awaiting orders.
"Ah, Grace, excellent, do me a favor and start peeling the carrots?" Lily asked/ordered, and Grace nodded and got to work. Lily watched as Grace pulled the carrots out of their paper grocery bag, and started opening drawers, in search of the peeler.
"Do it over the sink, Grace," Lily reminded, and Grace rolled her eyes.
"I know, mom," she said, flatly.
"Zoë, Jess!" Lily called again, loudly, and continued pulling items from the grocery bags. "Get down here, I need some help!" Lily shouted, "And Jess, if Katie's here, we need a cook's touch," the older woman prodded, but sighed when there was no response.
"Um, actually, mom," Grace said, from the sink.
"What, dear?" Lily asked, but Zoë came into the room, effectively cutting off the conversation.
"Jeez, why are you yelling so much?" Zoë questioned, eyeing the bags scattered around and the various foodstuffs splayed across the counter space and island. Zoë whistled. "Party?" she guessed.
"Haha, Zoë," Lily said, smiling at her current youngest, "If I put you in charge of cutting the tomato, you promise not to chop your finger off?" Lily asked, and Zoë shrugged.
"I can handle that," she answered, and Lily paused, eyeing Zoë skeptically.
"On second thought, just rinse out the lettuce," Lily advised, and Zoë groaned.
"But Grace's hogging the sink!"
"Ah, right, Grace, can you do that on the cutting board without getting carrot peel everywhere?" Lily asked, and Grace shot her mother a look. "Right, alright, do that, Zoë, get the lettuce and start on that, I'll be right back," she said, and headed towards the stairs. She climbed them until she got high enough that she figured Jessie would be able to hear her shouting.
"Jessie? Come down and help with dinner, please, I would really appreciate it!" Lily shouted, but didn't get a response. She waited for several seconds, just in case, and opened her mouth to shout again, but was interrupted by the scuffle of footsteps. "Thank you, Jess!" Lily said gratefully, and quickly made her way back down the stairs.
"I know what I'm doing, Grace!" Zoë shouted, as Lily re-entered the kitchen.
"You don't put soap on lettuce, Zoë!" Grace snapped back.
"I didn't put soap on it! What kind of idiot do you take me for?" Zoë asked, defensively. Thankfully, Rick wandered into the room and interrupted, just as Lily was about to do so herself.
"Need any help in here?" he ventured, staring between the two hot-headed siblings.
"No, no, don't be silly!" Lily said, smiling wanly at him. "You go finish packing," she said, quite literally pushing him out of the kitchen.
"Are you sure, Lil?" he asked, as they exited into the living room, "It looks like it's about to become a battlefield in there, I mean, I could definitely help out. Be the referee and such, plus I make a mean mashed potato!" Rick said, smiling. Lily laughed.
"Alright, alright, you can help. We'll make it a family endeavor," Lily reasoned, and Rick nodded eagerly.
"Awesome, just let me get a few things together from the mystery room," he said, motioning to the direction of said room, "and I'll be there in a few minutes, okay?"
Lily nodded. "Go, go, I'm going to need as much help as I can get once Jessie gets down here," she informed, and then quickly pecked him on the lips. "Go!" she ordered, and he nodded and jogged towards his destination.
Lily sighed and shook her head, smiling to herself before turning and wandering back into the kitchen.
"Didn't add soap," Zoë muttered under her breath, and Grace stuck her tongue out, but other than that, the two concentrated on the tasks at hand. Lily, for her part, grabbed a couple of tomatoes and went about trying to locate another cutting board.
She found one and set the tomatoes next to it, trying to decide which one to cut first, but stopped when she heard footfalls and looked up to find Jessie flat-footedly walking into the bustling kitchen.
"Jessie, great, can you do me a huge favor and find pots and bowls for all this stuff? We'll need the big pot for the roast and that large plastic bowl for the salad…" Lily started, and trailed off when she noticed the sour look on her step-daughter's face. "Jess?" she questioned, and gained little visible response from the girl. She stomped in, opened several cupboards and pulled out the things asked, before going over near Grace and pulling out a regular sized bowl, filling it with a few cherry tomatoes and then stomping away, out of the kitchen and up the stairs, away from where she was needed, the sour, pensive look never leaving her face.
"Hey, why does she get to leave?" Zoë asked, voicing her opinion of what she believed was probably most unjust. Lily shook her head.
"She doesn't," Lily said, perplexed, and headed for the stairs, but stopped when Grace spoke up.
"Um, mom, she's…not feeling too great, right now," Grace started. "She and Katie sort of…got in a fight," Grace explained. Lily paused where she stood.
"About what?" she finally asked, and Grace shrugged.
"I don't know, I just know it happened. She's…shocked, I think," Grace said, simply.
"So does that mean she doesn't have to help out?" Zoë whined, and Grace rolled her eyes.
"Maybe I should talk to her," Lily said, somewhat hesitantly. As she gazed at her oldest daughter, however, she tried not to show it. Grace shook her head.
"I don't think you'll get anything from her, mom," Grace said, "Not now." Lily sighed but nodded, acquiescing, for the time being.
B+W Testimonial: Lily sighs: "Then again, after the reward of morning sickness, once the reward becomes a teenager..." she shakes her head "There's plenty of seasickness, isn't there?" Lily murmurs.
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so sorry that this was so late!!! i wanted it done by christmas but then it wasn't and then life gets in the way so yeah... xD
leave a review if you want or if you see something i should fix or anything. thanks for reading! i know, not too witty today, it's one in the morning, what do you want? :P