Chapter Three
Sunshine on the Window
I get home before my dad, which is normal, and before Bianca, which is not. But I know why; she's been driven home by Donner, tube sock model and asshole.
I'm quite content to sit curled up in one of the armchairs and read The Bell Jar, the book I'm reading for Lit. When Morgan said that thing about upper-middle class suburban families, he wasn't wrong. We do have quite a lot of money, but to be honest I don't really care, I think I'd just as rather we had nothing and lived on benefits.
I hear Dad come in, muttering. "Hello, Katarina," he says, stopping by my chair. "Make anyone cry today?"
"Sadly no," I reply. "But it's only four thirty." I look up and we smile. Then Bianca comes thundering down the stairs.
"Hello, princess," he says to her, kissing her cheek.
I settle for a "And where have you been?" and a glower.
"Nowhere," she replies, returning my glare. If she wasn't my sister, I'd be impressed at her guts. Not many kids return my glares.
"Hey, what's this?" Dad asks, rifling through the mail. "It says Sarah Lawrence."
"Oh my God!" I grab it off him and rip the formal white envelope. "I'm in!" I shriek, running over to the sofa and jumping onto it. "I got in!"
"Honey, that's great, but isn't Sarah Lawrence on the other side of the country?" my dad asks, following me over.
"Thus the basis of its appeal!" I reply, scanning the brochure.
"I thought we decided you were going to stay here and go to school, be a U Dub, like me? Be a husky?" he says, making growling noises. It's so pathetic I don't know whether to laugh, cry or yell.
"No, you decided," I reply, sitting up.
"What, so you're just going to pack up and leave, is that it?"
"Let's hope so!" cuts in Bianca. I glare and plan my next comment carefully.
"Ask Bianca who drove her home," I say casually. My father – overprotective as ever, says, "Don't change the subject, Kat – drove – who drove you home?" he ends, rounding on Bianca.
"Well, don't get mad Daddy, but there's this boy…"
"Who's a raging imbecile," I add, quickly. Well, he is. He's Donner.
"And I think he's going to ask me – " she continues regardless.
"I think I know what he's going to ask you," my dad says. "And I think I know what the answer is. No. It's always no!"
"That's so unfair!" Bianca wails. I tune out a little. I'm used to this. It's nothing new.
"You want to know what's unfair?" He sits her next to me and squats in front of us, leaning on the sofa. "This is for you too," he adds to me. Now that's unfair. I don't date, Dad! "This morning, I delivered a set of twins to a fifteen year old girl. Do you want to know what she said to me?"
"I'm a crack whore who should have made my skeazy boyfriend wear a condom?" asks Bianca. True, very true.
"Nearly," says my dad, considering this. "But no. She said, 'I should have listened to my father'!"
I sigh. Yeah, right. "She did not!" replies Bianca.
"Well, that's what she would have said if she wasn't so doped up," he replies, looking as if this is a perfectly viable excuse for lying to his two daughters.
"Daddy, can we focus on me for a second, please?" Bianca's whinging again. Every second she lives is focused on her. "I am the only girl in high school who's not dating."
"Oh no you're not," says 'Daddy'. (What respectable teenager says that, anyway?) "Your sister doesn't date."
He couldn't just leave me out of it, could he? "And I don't intend to." Whoops. I just can't help myself.
"And why's that again?" He's delighted, patting me on the knee and nodding to Bianca to listen to me.
"Have you seen the unwashed miscreants who go to that school?" Yeah, Curls from Lit is definitely a good example of an unwashed miscreant.
"What planet are you from? Planet Loser?" Oh, shut up, Bianca. You're as bad a whore as any of them.
"As opposed to planet 'Look at me, look at me'." She is a bitch, and I hate bitches!
"OK, I've got a way to settle this," interrupts Dad. He knows if we get started we could go on for hours – I think the record is two days, ten hours. "Old rule – out. New rule – Bianca can date…"
Oh my God. He's actually going to let my hooker of a sister loose upon the male half of this world?
"…when she does." He indicates me. Oh no. Don't get me involved. Really. You don't want our feud to escalate, do you?
"But she's a mutant!" Bianca's arguing this one out. She ain't gonna let this go, that's for sure. Whore. "What if she never dates?"
"Then you'll never date. Oh, I like that." She's so stupid! She might have guessed that idea would appeal to him. "And I'll get to sleep at night! The deep slumber of a father whose daughters aren't out being impregnated." His stupid little beeper thing goes off. "We'll talk about Sarah Lawrence later," he tells me, going on a search for the phone.
"Can't wait," I say, heading for the stairs. Bianca, however, isn't finished yet.
"Can't you just find some blind, deaf retard to take you to the movies so I can have one lousy date?" she yells up the stairs at me. I pause.
"Sorry, looks like you'll just have to miss out on the witty repartee of Joey 'Eat me' Donner." It's a shame; if only she knew that I just didn't want her to get hurt like I did. But she doesn't.
"You suck!" she tells me.
"You suck!" I reply mockingly, and head upstairs.
A/N: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers!!! ( I've written loads of this, it's just a case of spreading it out a bit because I don't want to upload it all at once!
Please, R&R! The pretty little button wants to be clicked on…be drawn to the button…be drawn to the button…just review please!!! (
Sunshine on the Window
I get home before my dad, which is normal, and before Bianca, which is not. But I know why; she's been driven home by Donner, tube sock model and asshole.
I'm quite content to sit curled up in one of the armchairs and read The Bell Jar, the book I'm reading for Lit. When Morgan said that thing about upper-middle class suburban families, he wasn't wrong. We do have quite a lot of money, but to be honest I don't really care, I think I'd just as rather we had nothing and lived on benefits.
I hear Dad come in, muttering. "Hello, Katarina," he says, stopping by my chair. "Make anyone cry today?"
"Sadly no," I reply. "But it's only four thirty." I look up and we smile. Then Bianca comes thundering down the stairs.
"Hello, princess," he says to her, kissing her cheek.
I settle for a "And where have you been?" and a glower.
"Nowhere," she replies, returning my glare. If she wasn't my sister, I'd be impressed at her guts. Not many kids return my glares.
"Hey, what's this?" Dad asks, rifling through the mail. "It says Sarah Lawrence."
"Oh my God!" I grab it off him and rip the formal white envelope. "I'm in!" I shriek, running over to the sofa and jumping onto it. "I got in!"
"Honey, that's great, but isn't Sarah Lawrence on the other side of the country?" my dad asks, following me over.
"Thus the basis of its appeal!" I reply, scanning the brochure.
"I thought we decided you were going to stay here and go to school, be a U Dub, like me? Be a husky?" he says, making growling noises. It's so pathetic I don't know whether to laugh, cry or yell.
"No, you decided," I reply, sitting up.
"What, so you're just going to pack up and leave, is that it?"
"Let's hope so!" cuts in Bianca. I glare and plan my next comment carefully.
"Ask Bianca who drove her home," I say casually. My father – overprotective as ever, says, "Don't change the subject, Kat – drove – who drove you home?" he ends, rounding on Bianca.
"Well, don't get mad Daddy, but there's this boy…"
"Who's a raging imbecile," I add, quickly. Well, he is. He's Donner.
"And I think he's going to ask me – " she continues regardless.
"I think I know what he's going to ask you," my dad says. "And I think I know what the answer is. No. It's always no!"
"That's so unfair!" Bianca wails. I tune out a little. I'm used to this. It's nothing new.
"You want to know what's unfair?" He sits her next to me and squats in front of us, leaning on the sofa. "This is for you too," he adds to me. Now that's unfair. I don't date, Dad! "This morning, I delivered a set of twins to a fifteen year old girl. Do you want to know what she said to me?"
"I'm a crack whore who should have made my skeazy boyfriend wear a condom?" asks Bianca. True, very true.
"Nearly," says my dad, considering this. "But no. She said, 'I should have listened to my father'!"
I sigh. Yeah, right. "She did not!" replies Bianca.
"Well, that's what she would have said if she wasn't so doped up," he replies, looking as if this is a perfectly viable excuse for lying to his two daughters.
"Daddy, can we focus on me for a second, please?" Bianca's whinging again. Every second she lives is focused on her. "I am the only girl in high school who's not dating."
"Oh no you're not," says 'Daddy'. (What respectable teenager says that, anyway?) "Your sister doesn't date."
He couldn't just leave me out of it, could he? "And I don't intend to." Whoops. I just can't help myself.
"And why's that again?" He's delighted, patting me on the knee and nodding to Bianca to listen to me.
"Have you seen the unwashed miscreants who go to that school?" Yeah, Curls from Lit is definitely a good example of an unwashed miscreant.
"What planet are you from? Planet Loser?" Oh, shut up, Bianca. You're as bad a whore as any of them.
"As opposed to planet 'Look at me, look at me'." She is a bitch, and I hate bitches!
"OK, I've got a way to settle this," interrupts Dad. He knows if we get started we could go on for hours – I think the record is two days, ten hours. "Old rule – out. New rule – Bianca can date…"
Oh my God. He's actually going to let my hooker of a sister loose upon the male half of this world?
"…when she does." He indicates me. Oh no. Don't get me involved. Really. You don't want our feud to escalate, do you?
"But she's a mutant!" Bianca's arguing this one out. She ain't gonna let this go, that's for sure. Whore. "What if she never dates?"
"Then you'll never date. Oh, I like that." She's so stupid! She might have guessed that idea would appeal to him. "And I'll get to sleep at night! The deep slumber of a father whose daughters aren't out being impregnated." His stupid little beeper thing goes off. "We'll talk about Sarah Lawrence later," he tells me, going on a search for the phone.
"Can't wait," I say, heading for the stairs. Bianca, however, isn't finished yet.
"Can't you just find some blind, deaf retard to take you to the movies so I can have one lousy date?" she yells up the stairs at me. I pause.
"Sorry, looks like you'll just have to miss out on the witty repartee of Joey 'Eat me' Donner." It's a shame; if only she knew that I just didn't want her to get hurt like I did. But she doesn't.
"You suck!" she tells me.
"You suck!" I reply mockingly, and head upstairs.
A/N: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers!!! ( I've written loads of this, it's just a case of spreading it out a bit because I don't want to upload it all at once!
Please, R&R! The pretty little button wants to be clicked on…be drawn to the button…be drawn to the button…just review please!!! (