Jade and Pearls
Chapter 5: To Toss a Salad
Severus made his way up the ramp that led to the airport. He was tired and hungry, having refused to eat the compost the airline claimed was food. All he wanted right now was to eat and go to bed. He navigated his way to the baggage retrieval, and then made his way to the exit, intent on getting a taxi.
"Daddy!" he heard a voice shout. The next instant he was nearly knocked off his feet as the figure of a teenage girl slammed into him, hugging him so hard he could barely breathe.
He wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug. "Hi Princess," He murmured into her dark hair. She released him and picked up one of his bags, wrapping her free arm around his waist. He picked up the other bag and slung an arm over her shoulders. They approached a silver mini cooper convertible and Severus put the luggage in the trunk.
An hour later, they pulled up in front of a peach colored brick mansion with a picturesque, green lawn that was the envy of the neighborhood. At this point in the year, the standard color for grass was brown or yellow. Only magic kept the lawn green, but the muggle neighbors had no way of knowing this.
ooO0Ooo
Blake had decided not to accompany his sister to the airport. It wasn't that he didn't miss his dad, he just preferred to greet him in the privacy of his own home. He also hated to be in the car when his sister was driving. He was sitting in the living room, which gave him an excellent view of the driveway, he was on his feet and out the door as soon as the mini cooper came to a rather screechy halt.
"Dad!" He called out as he jogged over to where his father and sister were extricating the luggage from the trunk. After the exchange of a few manly backslaps, Blake grabbed his dad's bags and took them inside, Severus and Riley following behind.
ooO0Ooo
"Blake!" Severus yelled, standing at the foot of the stairs, "Let's go! We're going to be late!" When the object of his raised voice failed to make an appearance, Severus sighed and climbed the stairs. He tried his son's door only to find it locked. With a scowl, Severus curled his hand into a fist and pounded against the door, "Blakely Anthony Ereland Snape! You open this door right now! The consequences-." He broke off as the door suddenly opened to reveal Blake wearing boxers and a t-shirt.
"Dad, can't I stay home?" he pleaded as he toyed with the doorknob, "I hate these things."
"No you may not, this is a time to come and support your sister." Severus said sternly, "You may bring a book if you like; I know you don't like coming to your sister's games any more than she likes watching your band, but as siblings, you need to be more encouraging." He turned to leave, "You have three minutes to be downstairs and ready to go." He called over his shoulder to the despondent teen.
ooO0Ooo
"Where's Riley?" Blake asked his dad as he fastened his seatbelt. He had actually taken closer to five minutes to get ready but Severus let it slide.
"Some of her cheerleader friends picked her up earlier." Severus replied as he sped out of the driveway. Arriving at the football stadium sometime later, being too late to find a space in the actual parking lot, Severus joined the growing number of cars on the grass. They managed to find fairly decent seats in the bleachers, and Blake flipped open his book immediately upon gaining their seats. Severus allowed himself a small smile. Blake really was a puzzle box when it came to personality. He was in a punk band, and, like many teenage boys, had his room covered with pictures of scantily clad women. Yet, unlike most teenage boys, he loved to read, worked hard in school and hated beer and football.
"…last game of the season!" The crowd cheered. The game started and Severus found himself glancing over and reading from Blake's book. He disliked the sport even more than his son did, but since his daughter was cheering, he felt the obligation of being a supportive father. His own father had been anything but that, and he was determined to make sure his kids never had to experience what he did as a child.
It was finally halftime, so all the cheerleaders came out and did their little show. They were quite good, but what else could one expect from the squad who had won second place in the nationals last year? His daughter's performance in the number was flawless (of course) and Severus found himself wondering why his daughter had not been made captain this year. Although he had little knowledge about cheerleader politics or even cheerleading in general, he knew his daughter would have been the best candidate. However, if she had been made captain, it would have made the transition to Hogwarts very difficult, so it was probably for the best. That reminded him, he still had to tell them that he had transferred them to Hogwarts, definitely not a conversation he was looking forward to having.
They had won. Severus and Blake struggled through the ecstatic crowds until they reached Riley.
"Good job Princess." Severus said as his daughter gave him a hug.
"Thanks Daddy."
"Yeah," Blake chimed in, "I especially loved the intellectual chanting."
"Enough." Severus said with a roll of his eyes. "Okay, are you going to go out with your friends, or do you want to come home with us?"
"Home definitely. Let me go get my stuff and I'll be right back."
Severus handed Blake his cell phone, "Go ahead and order a few pizzas, I really don't feel like cooking tonight."
"What toppings?" Blake asked as he started dialing.
"Make one of them a double cheese and you can pick the others." Blake nodded as he turned away slightly to place the order.
"'Kay, let's go." Riley said as she appeared with a large duffle.
Severus drove, with Blake seated next to him and Riley situated in the back. After listening to Blake and Riley argue about the choice of radio station for about five minutes, He switched it off, demanding silence until the reached the house. Riley sat back with a sulk and crossed her arms. Blake turned and stared out of the window for the remainder of the trip.
Upon arriving home, both teenagers exited the car in a huff, slamming their respective doors and storming into the house. Severus sighed as he turned off the motor and locked the car. He had been planning to tell them tonight about the transfer to Hogwarts. Now he wasn't so sure it was the best time. They were all tired and cranky and he doubted that even hot pizza and a movie could cure them. He entered the house and went to the kitchen, flipping on lights as he went. He quietly pulled out cups, plates and silverware. The two Snape children were nowhere to be seen, probably off sulking in their rooms Snape thought. He grabbed a remote and flipped on the kitchen television.
He was just beginning to relax when the doorbell rang, indicating the arrival of the pizza. A few moments after Severus had set the stack of pizzas on the counter, Blake appeared, and helped himself to a few larges slices. After calling for Riley, Severus joined his son in the delicate art of devouring pizza.
"Is there any salad?" Riley asked as she entered the kitchen.
Severus swallowed the rather large bit he had been chewing. "You can make some if you want, stuff is in the fridge." Riley jerked open the chrome fridge door and started pulling things out. Lettuce, spinach leaves, tomatoes, shredded carrots, half a cucumber and a can of sweet corn.
"You're going to bruise the lettuce."
"I'm shaking the water off." Riley snapped, irritated.
"No, you're bashing it against the counter." Severus retorted. "You should lay it out between two paper towels and press gently."
Blake rolled his eyes and reached for another slice of pizza. His dad was so weird when it came to the preparation of an ingredient, be it for potion or food.
A Few Minutes Later:
"You are mangling that tomato! Make precise slices."
Riley threw the knife down, "Fine, you do it."
Severus stood and quickly took over the salad preparations. Riley took a seat next to Blake and began degreasing her pizza. A rather simple process, all she had to do was dab up the puddles nestled alongside the cheese, and then laid the paper towel on top of the pizza and press. The results were a grease soaked paper towel, a slightly less greasy piece of pizza, and a disgusted looking Blake.
"That's so gross"
"Better than eating it." she replied flippantly and took a bite that would be considered most unladylike.
"There!" Severus exclaimed as he finished cleaning and cutting everything. Both children sat there watching him, their cheeks bulging with pizza, giving them a vague resemblance to chipmunks. Severus slowly began layering everything into the bowl and then drizzled some dressing liberally over the mixture.
"Aren't you going to toss it?" Blake asked. Actually, it came out a bit more like "Bart u gn towit?"
"Swallow and repeat." Severus said without looking up.
"I said aren't you going to toss it?"
"Tossing is overrated, besides, it's already properly distributed."
"That's not the same thing, and it can't be tossed now anyway; he has already put the dressing on." Riley said between bites.
"You can toss it with the dressing," Blake said, "I just throw everything into a zip lock baggie and shake."
"That's disgusting." Severus said. "Layering works much better."
"No it doesn't." Riley insisted, "You're supposed to put everything into a bowl and lightly mix and toss with salad spoons or tongs, then you drizzle on the dressing." They continued on this point until the food was eaten and they could barely keep their eyes open. As he crawled into the welcome comfort of his bed, Severus decided that the evening had turned out much better than he had anticipated. Of course he still had to tell the about the transfer, but he would not think about it now, he was too tired, he would think about it tomorrow.
(End of Chapter)
