The Aislin Chronicles
Part IX
A/n: Gasp, Part IX. Thanks for your reviews! Oh, I forgot to give Aislin President's day weekend off from school. I hope no one cares. Aislin doesn't, if that matters any. Um. Right.
2-18-03
3:47 PM
Day Seven at Jack's: This is different. Conditions: Better. So this morning we talked at breakfast. He asked me more about that trip to the zoo, which led to science class, which led to school in general. Jack actually has some very interesting things to say. Who knew? Certainly not I.
I told him Kathleen was doing her paper on the CIA while we were going to school, and he raised his eyebrows as if to say, "Well, good luck." Then I mentioned that I was doing Beatlemania and whatnot, and he said he had a bunch of old Beatles records in his attic. Can you believe that? Jack liked the Beatles! He even went to a concert once.
3:51 PM
Wow, that is so awesome. I just fully comprehended that now.
Anyway, I asked rather shyly if we could get that later after school, and he said we could. I'm excited. And then that's why Jess asked me why I was in such a good mood when I walked inside. She wondered if I managed to throw Jack out of the car on the way there. I tried to explain to her how we started to get along. It was difficult because I couldn't tell her everything about last night, but I think she's okay with it. Then Kathleen asked what
3:53 PM
Crap, I just spilled water all over myself.
3:54 PM
Oh well. I hear Jack coming upstairs now, I guess we're going attic-ing!
6:34 PM
Jack's attic is stuffed with, well… Stuff. It's filled with boxes and old furniture, and he played one of the albums on a record player while I looked around. I found a bunch of Syd's old toys and clothes, and even this old dollhouse. It was broken, but it was still really cute. Then I found this corner that wasn't lit, and all the boxes were super dusty. I think it was all of Irina's old things… He hid them away and never got rid of them. It's quite sad. Hm. I didn't venture too far into that corner, I figured he might get mad. Let's face it, Jack can still be scary even if he's not mean anymore.
After we were done upstairs we were ready for an early dinner. I even helped him make it. Crazy, I know. But we had a lovely pancake dinner. I love breakfast for dinner. I could eat breakfast for every meal though, I swear. His pancakes were good. Not quite as good as Dad's, but I didn't tell him that.
So now Jack's in his office, he said he had work to do. And I had homework; sigh. Don't get me wrong, school is great. It's just the damn homework that ruins it. Mr. Johnson at least understands what weekends are for. I quote, "There is a time for school, and a time for fun, and weekends are your time. School is for the weekdays." Yeah, he's cool. My Beatles paper is coming along nicely. The final copy is due Friday. We finished peer editing today. I wonder what we're doing
6:51 PM
The phone is ringing. It doesn't ring often… Jack's picked it up now, only rang twice. Oh. Oh! IT'S DAD!
7:00 PM
Well, that most certainly could have gone better. They were both on the phone this time when I greeted them, and then I waited for them to tell me any news of a certain engagement… Nothing. Ugh. Come on, Dad, just ask her already! Hm, anyway, I thought of how badly I wanted to talk to him about the Irina thing… But I just couldn't do it over the phone. With Sydney right there, and with Jack possibly listening to us, and Dad being so far away, I don't know, it just didn't seem right.
I was like, "Dad, I need to talk to you when you get home."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, I just need to talk to you."
Sydney even offered to leave. I couldn't do it. Friday, I just have to wait to Friday. That's it. Tomorrow, Thursday, then Friday. We said our normal miss yous and I love yous and good-byes and hung up. And they still aren't engaged. Unless they secretly are and are waiting to surprise me. Doubt it.
7:05 PM
I need to watch some TV. This is confusing somehow. Headache. Merr. Too much syrup. Bad Aislin.
2-19-03
3:50 PM
Weird experience today. I was in gym, and since it was raining and our class is supposed to be outside playing football, we stayed inside and played this funny crab-soccer game with Mrs. Cregg's class. Hm. Soccer, football. Funny how those have different names everwhere else in like the entire world.
But back to my story. There were too many of us for everyone in both classes to be playing, so a few of us were waiting along the wall. I was sitting down and Dee was standing in front of me and so was this girl I don't know very well, Lisa something or other, and that Ben L-whatever was sitting kinda next to me. You know, the nuts-o kid who went crazy when someone accidentally hit him during the dance unit. Apparently he was attacked by a dog in grade five. He was in intensive care for like two months, Kathleen said. And, of course, he "didn't provoke the dog." Kathleen and everyone else is pretty sure he did.
Yeah, so, my story. He turns to me and asks, "So do you have a kilt?"
Um…? "I'm Irish, not Scottish."
And do you know how he replies? UGH! "Same thing."
That Lisa girl looks at him funny. "Dude, two totally different countries."
"Okay. Whatever, it's stupid." Well I can most certainly see why the dog bit him. If I were a dog I'd bite him too.
Then Dee got mad. "Stupid? You better watch it because I'm Irish."
Lisa too. "And I'm Irish!"
"And I'm Irish too!"
That last one took us by surprise. There stood Fini suddenly. Dee said,
"Fini, you're Italian."
"I know, shut-up!"
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm skipping computers, I told him I was going to the bathroom. It's so boring!"
Dee helps me up. "You should get back to class."
"Yeah, the bell's gonna ring any minute."
So we left Ben L alone after that incident. God, how could you be so ignorant? I'm Irish and proud. Don't get me confused with being Scottish. Oh, and another thing, that little leprechaun from the lucky charms commercial bugs me. Does everything Irish have to involve leprechauns? I think America needs to take a field trip to Europe.
2-20-03
3:41 PM
Day Nine at Jack's: Oh dear, I didn't do this yesterday. Conditions: Um, I'm kind of hot right now. The A/C could kick in, it wouldn't hurt. So… They come home tomorrow! YAY! I really can't wait to see them. I'm so excited already. Man oh man do they have a long flight, though. Oh well. All the more time to celebrate their hopeful engagement.
Not much happened in school today. There's a bug going around and Jess and Dee are out. Adam's catching it. I'll probably get it too. Joyous. Math was funny today, though. I know, who would ever have thought that I, Aislin, would use math and funny in the same sentence? But it's funny when you're sitting by Ian Schmidt, the funniest kid ever. He's really nice too. Whenever he sees me in the halls between classes he shouts my name in this funny voice and gives me a high five. Which is really high, considering how much taller he is than me.
I got to go type my English paper in the library today during class. That was… exciting. The librarian is weird. Her hair is really… Sticky-outy. That's the only way I can put it. And she kind of looks like a mouse. Hm. But my paper is complete and I turn it in tomorrow and then I'm done! Wahoo!
AND THEN DAD AND SYDNEY COME HOME! WAHOO!
3:52 PM
That's it, no more sugary after school snacks. I'm clearly too hyper to even attempt my math homework. Hmm. Shut-up, journal, I know it's a crappy excuse. But I don't want to do it so there!
3:55 PM
Okay, you win this time, you dirty journal. I'll do the stupid homework.
2-21-03
4:00 PM
It's Friday, and you know what that means… THEY COME HOME TODAY! Ugh, I can't believe it's only four, they don't come in until like 9:15 tonight. That's forever. I'll be dead by then. Vaughn will have a crusty skeleton for a daughter. And that's no fun.
Today was such a good day. School went by really quickly. Maybe it's because Jess is back. Oh! She needed a ride home today because one of her sister's couldn't pick her up, and Kathleen had to walk home because her dad was somewhere, so I told her that maybe possibly there was a chance Jack could. And I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask…
So we walked outside after school, and Jack was standing outside his car waiting. He had these dark sunglasses on, and his suit from work, and he looked so serious. I thought it was funny, like Men in Black.
So I asked him if we could give her a ride home and he looked at her for a second and said yes. And then no one moved for a second, until Jack asked what her name was. She was like, "Jessica Silko, sir."
"Your mother is a dentist?"
"Yes, sir."
"And your address is…?"
"1153 Farm Lane."
He nodded then we got in the car, and Jess was off like a rocket. I think she talked almost non-stop the entire way to her house, which is kind of a long drive from school. She only paused between sentences to barely let me get a word in. After we dropped her off Jack just stared at me like "I didn't know a person could talk so much." It was funny.
But now we're home, and I have no homework. Yes, that's NO homework. And my dad is coming home and Sydney is coming home and I can sleep in my own bed in my own house again. Ah, life is sweet.
5:05 PM
Darn, it's still not time yet. But only four hours and ten minutes to go!
11:35 PM
WE'RE HOME! But I can't believe he didn't propose. He didn't bloody propose! But, gosh, they're so cute, and nearly inseparable. Aw, I missed them so much. Okay, okay, I'll start from the beginning.
So around six thirty-ish I made my way downstairs. Jack was in the kitchen with the phone in his hand. "Pizza or Chinese?" he asked.
"Chinese," I told him. I don't really like pizza that much, and Jack doesn't seem like a pizza guy. So Jack ordered Chinese and it was really yummy, but I don't have a clue what I ate. Some sort of chicken, I think. Anyway, Jack's one of those people who can eat with chopsticks. I'm just not that skilled. Hand me a fork, please.
So I got really antsy after dinner, and it's like 7:15 by then, seriously, I was like jumping through the halls. I scared poor Donovan a little bit. I went back up to Syd's old room and packed all of my stuff back up. And then I was bored out of my mind… I watched TV I think.
But then… Jack's head in the doorway. Out of his mouth: "Time to go." Best words he's ever said. Man. I don't remember the car ride. I was too excited. I felt bad leaving Donny home alone, though. Poor little guy. But we got him back later, and he drooled on my jeans, but no harm done.
Anyway, we got to the airport at like nine, and of course their flight is late. The TV thing said ten minutes. And, man, was that a long ten minutes. But then suddenly the door swung open and people started to walk out. I was standing on my toes, straining over tall people to see them, and then there they were! Holding hands, it was so cute. So I got even more excited and I ran to them and I jumped on Dad. He hugged me and lifted me off the ground. "Oh, I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too, Dad."
When he finally set me down I hugged Sydney, and I was extremely disappointed when I didn't see a ring on her finger. But I was still so glad to see them. And I mean, so Dad hasn't popped the question, but it's bound to pop out of him at any minute. They just look so in love, you know? Like they can't stand to be more than six feet away form each other, and even at that length it's a struggle.
When I stopped hugging Sydney they resumed holding hands. "So how was life with my dad for a week?" Sydney whispered to me, glancing quickly at Jack as he walked towards us.
"It's was fine. He's really a big softy."
They laughed and Syd hugged Jack and then Jack shook Vaughn's hand. I wonder if Jack will ever hug him. I'd pay money to see that.
So we walked to the baggage claim and got their stuff and walked out to the parking lot. Jack helped carry a bag so he came with us to Dad's car. I got into the back, and they put their stuff in the trunk, and I heard Syd say, "Thanks for taking Aislin for the week, Dad."
I couldn't wait for his response. I saw him nod in the rearview mirror. Then he said, "It was… nice, having someone else in the house." Haha, I was "nice." I half expected him to say. "Her accent is cute." Well, Jack, your sauce is "nice" too.
So we followed Jack back to his house to pick up Donovan and his stuff and my stuff and they told me stories about France. Apparently Dad has this crazy Aunt Trish, she had a few good stories by herself. Dad said they wanted to call more, but he kind of lost the calling card and he "didn't want to make Jack pay for the long distance calls." To which Sydney replied, "Which means he was really scared of making him pay for the long distance calls." To which I replied, "Jack's not that scary." To which Dad replied, "Well, you aren't dating his daughter." True that, Dad.
And by the way, they were still holding hands.
So we got Donny and the stuff, and that's when Donny slept on my lap and drooled on me. But anyway we got home! Yay! Home sweet, sweet home. I had a reunion with my bedroom. And my computer. It was deep.
Then they called my name and said they had presents! I went into their bedroom where they were unpacking, and there were three huge suitcases on the floor plus two more smaller ones. Syd hinted Vaughn had more thing than she did, which made me laugh. Then I sat on the bed as they dug for gifts. And I ended up getting a couple of shirts, candy, this pretty snow globe with the Eiffel Tower in it (glass globe, not cheap plastic) and if you wind this crank it plays a song, more candy, this fuzzy teddy bear with a beret, and a necklace with an "A" in the middle. By then Dad was so sleepy, he was nearly out cold behind me.
"Will you tell me more about France?" I asked Sydney, who seemed much more awake than Daddy dearest.
She nodded. "Why don't you go get ready for bed, and I'll meet you in your room. We should let this guy sleep." She smiled at Vaughn, then took his shoes off and put the blanket over him. "I'm sure he didn't nap on the plane at all."
So I hurried and got ready for bed. Sydney came in my room after I got under the covers, and she laid down on her stomach and leaned up on her elbows.
We talked about France for a bit, then she asked me about school. I'm such a girl, I told her about Ian Schmidt, and how cute he is. But not to worry, I still pay attention in math. I even got an A-minus on the last quiz. And I talked about how I turned my paper in, and… How Dr. Kazsuk is old and gross and we're taking a field trip to the zoo soon. Lastly I mentioned they went a little overboard on the gift-buying. Sydney just laughed. Finally we decided we were tired, and she gave me a kiss on the head, said good night, and turned off my light.
When I heard her close the door to their bedroom I turned the light back on and started writing, and, well, here I am. It's really late now.
2-22-03
12:11 AM
Oh my gosh, I'm so stupid. I totally forgot to ask Dad about Irina… Tomorrow. Tomorrow for sure.
A/n: Yes, fluff. More angst is to come, mwahahaha. Okay, kids, go crazy, show me those reviews!
–Whitelighter Enchantress