With Summer at school, Rick had the opportunity to finally set up his workstation. He needed a space for his inventions and a place where nobody else had any business to go. He worked so long and steadily that he eventually lost track of time. When 3 pm rolled around he didn't even notice that Summer wasn't home yet. When he stopped once to take a break and head to the fridge for a much-desired beer run, he heard a knock on the door which made him pause in confusion; Summer had a key and didn't have to knock on the door of her own house to be let in. A much darker presumption set in-and it was this thought that forced him to abandon his drink and head for the door, opening it promptly.
There in front of him stood a short and rather frumpy-looking girl-or rather, a teenager-with long brown hair, long brown bangs, and large-rimmed dark brown glasses. She was carrying several books in her hand, and she looked like she was on some kind of a mission. A well-packed bookbag was slung over her shoulder, only adding to the emphasis of nerdiness, which again gave Rick pause; this was not the kind of girl Rick expected Summer to have any interest in whatsoever.
Rick narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Who the hell are you?"
"Um…" Nancy shuffled her feet back and forth in the uncomfortably awkward silence and winced at the stench that hit her full in the face. "I'm Nancy...I'm-ummm, Summer's-er-friend? From school?"
" 'Friend' ?" Rick snorted loudly in response to this news. "Didn't know she had any."
Nancy blinked with surprise at the statement and then observed Rick carefully. "Is she...um...here?" She couldn't believe this was Summer's grandfather. He was wearing only a tank top, he reeked of sweat and alcohol and was clearly way past the legal limit.
"Nope." Rick leaned heavily against the doorframe, avoiding her stares while taking a casual swig of his beer.
"Do you, um…" Nancy blushed. She tried to see inside, but to no avail. "Do you know where she is?" she asked as politely and as carefully as she could.
"Damned if URP I know," Rick half-snorted, half belched with disgust, "she doesn't tell me anything, but that's fine by me-because I don't really care to ask." Rick narrowed his eyes at her again. "Why do you want to know, anyway?" he demanded.
"We're...doing a science project together." Nancy glanced away uncomfortably; she didn't know this man, and already he was giving her the creeps. "Could I maybe….wait inside?"
Rick didn't answer at first. Instead, he finished the beer in one big gulp, crushing the empty can in his fist with one satisfying crunch. He had a feeling that inviting Nancy inside would irk Summer to no end, and the thought actually made him almost smile. It wasn't exactly a smile, really; it was really more of a smirk. "Yeah sure, why not?" Rick shrugged, grinning mischievously at her, which gave Nancy pause; she stared at him strangely, but he simply ignored her gaze. "Just...don't get in my way, okay? I'm working on some REAL science stuff," he informed her as she followed him then promptly through the doorway. "I'll be in my workstation," he declared, "which, by the way, is forever OFF. LIMITS," he added darkly, and Nancy, in her astonishment, nearly bumped into him. "You can wait right here," he instructed her, pointing to the living room couch. "GOT it?"
"Uh…" Nancy blushed again. "Sure, Mr…."
"Rick." Rick glowered at her. "Just plain Rick."
"Mr. Rick?"
Rick groaned loudly as he rummaged in the fridge for another beer, his back turned towards her. "Summer, er, told me that you were, uh, a scientist and stuff?"
Rick grunted into the fridge with annoyance. "Summer told you that?"
"Uhuh."
"Well...SUmmer's right," Rick replied dryly. "She might have also told you that I'm not a fan of interrogation. So out with it, kid." He swung around to confront her, and Nancy bristled. "What do you want to know?"
"I was just kind of...wondering," Nancy hesitated, "what kind of science...er...work do you do?"
"Sorry," Rick shook his head resolutely, "This is top-secret government stuff." He took a long extended drink from his new can of beer before looking her straight in the eyes. " You wouldn't understand it, anyway," he added glibly. "believe me."
"Actually...I might," Nancy offered cautiously, yet hopefully.
Rick narrowed his eyes at her further. "And why is URP this?"
Nancy lowered her eyes under his intrusive gaze, awkwardly shuffling her feet. "My Dad used to work for NASA."
Rick stared at her blankly for a moment, only to burst out moments later with completely self-abandoned laughter. "NASA?" He continued to cackle uncontrollably, in spite of Nancy's stares. "Sorry-but you're WAY off course, kiddo," he chuckled in spite of himself, "I don't get myself involved with THAT shit."
The word seemed to sting her a little, but he didn't bat an eye. "My Dad worked in the control room," Nancy explained as though he cared to hear. "It's...it's actually very admirable work…" She tried to hide her sadness. "He...helped some people get to the moon…"
"Well good for your good ol' daddy-o, kid," Rick snorted at her with completely obvious disgust, "That's great, real great and all-just-" He shrugged. "-not my scene."
Now Nancy was even more confused and stared at him in completely baffled astonishment. "You...don't like NASA?"
"Er...Not exactly," Rick grunted, unable to hide his bitterness, "more like, they don't like me-" He halted, shocked at himself for sharing that information so openly with this strange girl who he didn't even know. Jesus Rick, what the hell are you doing!? He chastised himself silently. You have to be more careful about that shit! Just then, as if she'd planned for perfect timing, the door blew open and Summer walked in.
That afternoon, Summer been at the library expecting to meet up with Nancy. Instead, Nancy was nowhere to be found, so she spent the next hour or so trying to get through to Alex, but to no avail. In the end, she'd left him another message letting him know she was going to be working on the science project that evening. She'd planned to work on the science project on her own (with or without Rick's help). The last thing she expected was for Nancy to be standing in her kitchen, talking to her grandfather, who was clearly well past his first few beers.
When she saw Nancy she stopped in her tracks, astonished and barely able to suppress her anger at Nancy's uninvited presence. "Nancy?" Summer blinked in surprise and then glared with annoyance at her classmate. "What are you DOING here!? I thought we were supposed to meet at the LIBRARY!" Summer exclaimed, raising her voice in spite of herself, "NOT in my freaking HOUSE!" Summer glowered dangerously at Nancy, who blushed profusely with embarrassment. Meanwhile, Summer was fuming. "Grandpa Rick!" she snapped, "Was she bothering you this whole time!?"
"Geeze, Sum-Summer." Rick shook his head with disgust at the scene. "No wonder you URP have no friends…"
Summer grit her teeth to keep from screaming. "Ex-CUSE-ME?" she demanded, barely suppressing her rage as she continued to glower at Nancy, who kept her mouth shut.
"This girl-the hell is your name anyway?-is our guest," Rick waved his hand in Nancy's direction, as Nancy blanched in response. "She came here to see You, so-give her a break, willya?"
"SERIOUSLY, GRANDPA!?" Summer's blood was boiling. "You're preaching to ME about ETIQUETTE!? You don't know the MEANING of the word! And ANYWAY," Summer added hotly, "I didn't even inVITE her here-she invited herSELF!"
"Geeze, Summer, CHILL." Without batting an eye, Rick turned back to Nancy. "So, er, what's-your-name- er, what's your poison?"
Nancy froze, glancing nervously between Rick and Summer. She was beginning to regret having come there at all. "'Poison'?" she echoed with confusion.
Rick groaned with exasperation. "What do you drink," he insisted with gathering annoyance. "Vodka? Rum? I've got it all-"
"Umm….I'm only 15…." Nancy's face was beet red. "I'm kind of...underage…."
"Grandpa…?" Summer had moved in between Rick and Nancy. "Don't you have some WORK to do in the GARAGE?"
"Fine, SUMMER!" Rick whirled around with abandon. "Be a BUZZKILL." He chugged the last of his beer and tossed it in the trash. "Besides," Rick shrugged, "you're only ruining it for yourself." He then tossed an extra unopened can of beer through the air in Nancy's direction. Nancy caught it as though she were an expert, only to abandon it discreetly, unopened, on the countertop beside her.
"I'M the 'buzzkill'!?" Summer was still hollering, even as Rick left the room. "YOU'RE the buzzkill, Grandpa! You just let in anyone through our front door without asking!? What's WRONG with you?!"
"Geeze, Summer," Nancy interjected, even as her instincts told her it was a bad idea. "You really shouldn't talk to your grandpa that way-"
"Did I ASK for your opinion, NANCY?" Summer turned on her with venom, and Nancy had to back all the way to the fridge to avoid her.
"Um…" Nancy bristled, holding her books to her chest like a shield. "I'm...just gonna go…."
"FINE!" Summer fumed. "I didn't ASK you to come here ANYway!"
Nancy didn't waste her time returning a response; she knew she'd overstayed her welcome. However just before Summer could shut the door behind her, Nancy paused, rummaging in her bookbag for something.
"Look Summer…" Nancy was blushing but she couldn't help herself but to continue. "I just want to give you something…"
She produced a business card and held it out to Summer, who stared down at it in bewilderment. Below a picture of a strange-looking lady with large glasses and black short-cropped hair, the card said "Dr. Wong, MFT".
Summer stared blankly down at the card with suspicion. "What the hell is THIS, Nancy?"
"It's...my mom's business card." Nancy shuffled back and forth, readjusting her bookbag self-consciously as she added reluctantly, "she's...a clinical psychologist...she works with families-"
"Are you SERIOUS?" Summer was practically shaking with barely suppressed rage. "You're telling me to see a THERAPIST?"
"She's...really good at what she does, Summer…" Nancy completely avoided Summer's eyes as she spoke. "She's also a grief counselor-"
"HEY," Summer spat. She sent Nancy daggers, and Nancy nearly stumbled backward as Summer towered slightly over her, adding icily: "I DON'T. NEED. THERAPY." She narrowed her eyes darkly at Nancy. "What makes you think I need fucking THERAPY?"
"I…." Nancy grimaced as she continued to back further down the walkway. "I know...about what happened to your family, Summer."
"WHAT?" Summer barked, drawing dangerously closer until she was practically breathing down Nancy's neck. "How do YOU know ANYTHING ABOUT ME?"
Nancy ignored the spit that had landed on her face. "My mom talks sometimes," she continued awkwardly, "with the counselors, at the high school…" She stopped walking backward and faced Summer boldly before adding, "She had them over for tea one day...and...I overheard them talking…"
"I see," Summer declared coldly, smirking. "SO. You're a SPY."
"No-"
"You're a SNITCH."
"No-"
"You're a NERDY-"
"Summer-"
"NOSY-"
"Summer-"
"NANCY!"
They had backed all the way down the driveway at that point, and this time Nancy did loose her footing as she backed right into the mailbox, tumbling to the ground and scraping herself on the mailbox's wooden post as she collapsed in a heap. Summer didn't bat an eye as Nancy sat with one leg slightly bleeding. Nancy's cheeks were bright crimson as she stared back up at Summer in shock. A single tear escaped Nancy's eye but she wiped it quickly away, as well as wiped away whatever blood she could. Instead of lending her a hand, Summer remained fixed in place, towering over her.
Nancy numbly gathered her bookbag, her books and herself as she stood on wobbly feet. "Fine, Summer." She grit her teeth to keep from losing her cool; unlike Summer, she wasn't one to make a scene. "Have it your way." With that she turned and started walking in the opposite direction down the street without another word.
Summer stood for a moment as she watched Nancy disappear at an impressive bounding speed around the block, before whipping around and stalking back into the house. "Stupid bitch," she hissed over her shoulder before slamming the front door. Somehow, she would have to do this project all by herself-but she could wing it; she had her grandfather's genes, after all.