My first chapter of 2023. Happy New Year!
This will have the focus of both Micah and Girl Jordan.
Enjoy!
(June 1, 2022)
It was 7:00 PM and the sky was starting to turn yellow. Micah was riding on his skateboard down the residential streets while carrying a backpack on his back and a sleeping bag and set of pajamas on his right arm while listening to "My House" by Flo Rida with his headphones.
As he does a Fakie Bigspin over a puddle made by sprinklers from a nearby house, Micah looks around to see if he's getting close to Lincoln's place. "Lincoln said his house should be the one that has a tree. How do you find a house that has a tree if every house in the neighborhood has a tree?!"
He then stops in front of a two story house that has a yellow exterior for its walls. He then looks away from the house deadpanned. "Well, at least I know where to NOT look." He thought as he turned his headphones off and put them away. He then sees a car pull up into the house's front yard.
As an elderly man comes out through the driver section, he sees Micah looking at him. "Hey Kid! Don't you know it ain't right to be staring at people?!"
The elderly man's yelling made him come back to reality. "Oh, sorry sir." He exclaimed. "I didn't mean to disturb you, I'm just trying to find the residence of the Louds. Do you know where I can find them?"
"The Louds? Oh yeah, they're my next door neighbors to my right." The elderly man said as he pointed to the house that's next to his on the right.
Micah was internally annoyed with himself as his destination was just a few feet away without realizing it. He then looks at the man with a smile. "Thank you sir! I'll be on my way now." He then picks up his skateboard and heads over to where he needs to be.
"Hey, why do you need to meet with the Louds?" The elderly man called out as he headed up to his front porch. "You got beef with them or something?"
Micah looks at him confused as he is now on the Louds lawn. "Huh? Oh no, no, your neighbor Lincoln invited me to a sleepover at his place and I'm looking forward to meeting his family. See ya."
The elderly man smiles as he looks at the kid as the latter heads up the Louds residence. "Well well Mr. Grouse, Lincoln was able to make a new friend through his summer job." The man known as Mr. Grouse started to enter his home. "Hope your friend can survive your sisters as the rest of your friends and classmates used to freak out at your sisters' antics."
At the other side of the Royal Woods neighborhood where the residences are wealthier, Girl Jordan was in her room wearing her pajama set while setting up a telescope beside her window that shows her front lawn.
After setting the telescope in place, she then wipes some sweat off her forehead and sighs. "Take it easy Girl Jordan, don't get too tired when the sleepover your hosting hasn't even started yet." She then sits on her bed and grabs her phone out to open up a list for what she and her friends will be doing. "Alright, let's see here. Clean Room. Check. Large Tent Set Out. Check. Movies Set Out. Check. Magic 8-Ball. Check. Have Your Own Pillows Ready. Check. Truth-Or-Dare. Check. Mom's currently making Popcorn and Smores So, Check I Guess. And I already set the telescope out for us to see the stars soon so, Check Again!"
She smiles as she lies down on her back. "As long as I play my cards right, my friends should be able to help me know how to deal with my dilemma."
She then hears her mother call out to her. "Jordan, honey, can you help me with the popcorn? It's almost done cooking."
Girl Jordan then immediately sits up from her position. "Coming Mom!" She then starts to bolt down the stairs to help her mother in the kitchen. "My friends will soon have a blast while I'll get the help I need to talk to Lincoln. It's a win-win situation. This will be rather exciting if you ask me."
"Knock and Greet. It's that simple." Micah said. He was still standing right outside the Loud Residence's door for several minutes and couldn't come to do either of them. "It's Knock and Greet Micah come on. It ain't that hard dang it!" He was starting to get annoyed with himself that it just pissed him off.
"Awww screw it!" He exclaimed and just knocked on the door hard a few times. "There, I did it." He then takes a few deep breaths, prepared to meet the person who will open the door for him. "Hopefully it will be Lincoln who I will see first." The door opens and Micah's hopes were wrong. The person who opens the door was the first of the loud sisters he's already acquainted with. "Oh hey, Luan right?"
"That's right." Luan said. "Glad you came over burger boy. Please come in." Luan smiles as she lets him in while she closes the door behind him.
"It's nice to see you too." Micah said as he looked around the territory he's never been in before. It felt strange for him to be in a house that smiled like an average family home. Unlike Burpin' Burger, being in a house that has many different smells makes Micah both nervous and confused. "Say where's Lincoln? Wasn't he supposed to be at the door waiting for me? No offense."
"None taken, he's in the living room sorting some situation out with some of his little sisters." Luan said as she pointed to the direction to where the living room is.
"Great, thanks." Micah nods as he heads to the living room only to stand there in shock from what he sees. "What the?"
Lincoln was keeping two seven-year-olds apart from fighting with each other. One had the attire of a tomboy and the other had the attire of a princess. "I told you two to behave, didn't I?! Any minute now Micah is just gonna come here and say . . ." He notices Micah already witnessing what was happening. His sisters also saw the boy and had stopped their rambling with each other.
Micah felt awkward as he waved at them. "Hey, sup."
Girl Jordan was in the kitchen helping her mother get snacks prepared as she filled up a large bowl of popcorn and the latter was packing her purse as she was now wearing jeans, high heels, a gray jacket with a white loose shirt on the inside, makeup, and diamond earrings. Once the bowl is filled, Girl Jordan then looks at her mother. "Hey Mom, so where are you and dad going again?"
Her mother looks at her daughter as she wraps her purse around her left shoulder. "Just gonna eat at Banger's & Mosh and then gonna go see that action movie, Bullet Train, at the theaters. It has a premiere here in Royal Woods Theaters so your father and I decided that we might as well watch it."
"You gonna be alright?" Girl Jordan asks as she begins to lift the popcorn bowl off from the table.
Her mother responds by coming towards her, kneeling down, and planting a small kiss on her cheek. "Of course I will. Just remember that your we both love you so much and don't ever hesitate to call us if something goes wrong. We'll immediately come for your aid and back you up in any situation you're in, no matter what the reason is. Ok?"
Girl Jordan rolls her eyes a little and uses her right arm to hug her mother. "Of course, I love you both very much as well. Hope you have fun with the movie."
"Oh don't worry about it, I believe Bullet Train will be worth our time watching."
Soon, after Girl Jordan places both the popcorn bowl and some smore trays in her large tent in her room, she stands by the doorway to see her parents off for their night out. As soon as they're out of sight, multiple cars appear on her street and park so the invitees can be dropped off.
Girl Jordan felt confident at what was happening right now. "Well, this is a bit convenient even for me." She then sees the people she invited approach her with their belongings.
"Hey bestie!" Rachel said as she is the first person to greet Girl Jordan. "Thanks for the invite!"
Girl Jordan smiles at her best friend and hugs her. "Why of course bestie!" She said as she saw the other gals she invited coming over. "I wanted to spend time the . . ." The sight of one girl, however, made her stop talking and stared in shock as she twitched her eye a bit. " . . .people I LOVE spending time with over the summer."
Rachel was still being hugged by Girl Jordan as the latter started to squeeze her. "Um, bestie? Can you please loosen up? I'm starting to suffocate!"
Her best friend realizes this and releases her but doesn't bother to look at her. "Sorry about that, but why is Paige here?" She asked as she pointed at the one person she didn't invite.
Rachel looks back to the person Girl Jordan is pointing to and becomes confused. "Paige? Wait, she wasn't one of those you invited over?"
Girl Jordan became a little annoyed at Paige's presence. "No, she was not." She said sternly. "She wasn't over, Rachel, because I was aware that Lincoln secretly admired her back in 5th grade. And apparently she's now going to be part of this slumber party. How did this even happen?!" Seeing the girl she didn't invite made her blood boil a bit as she balled her fists since she wasn't supposed to be here. "While I don't want her to come inside, I would be acting rude to my friends and that would ruin my chances of gaining the confidence I need to back me up. Great! Looks like this has gotten harder for me to achieve victory. This must have been how Lincoln may have felt when things don't go his way."
Rachel can sense something in her best friend that might be a bit fiendish. "Uh maybe you can ask her why she's here?" Her best friend looks at her scornfully and sends a shiver down her spine. "I mean, it could be the only way for you to find out why she came over." She's starting to realize her words aren't exactly helping her best friend's situation. "Uh, I'm just going to be in the bathroom to change into my PJs and I'll leave you be." She then immediately walks away intimidated by her own best friend.
Girl Jordan turned her head back to Paige who was talking to Christina while still coming closer to her house. Her plan may have gotten complicated, but she has to stay positive and play nice if her boat is to sail successfully away.
Girl Jordan internally groans as she forces herself to sport a happy face as she greets the rest of her friends and eventually comes face to face with Paige. "Be cool Girl Jordan, be cool."
"Hey Girl Jordan, wow your place is really shining through and through." Paige complimented.
"Why thank you Paige, no one has ever said that about my house before." Girl Jordan said as she gave her a sweet smile. "I live in a rich house, of course my interior would be shining all over."
"Your welcome Girl Jordan." Paige said. "It's a pleasure coming here."
"You know it!" Girl Jordan said as held herself from closing the door on her. "Wow, you're really good at genuinely playing nice huh? Well I can play that game as well." She then lets her come in as she closes the door behind her. She then sees that the people she invited, with Rachel in her bathroom and Paige probably inviting herself over, are all talking amongst themselves in the living room. "The people I have consist of Rachel, Chloe, Emma, Mollie, Joy, Kat, Cristina, and apparently now Paige is included as well. I'll probably need a serious talk with Christina since she knows her well. For now, I guess I have no choice but to be welcoming to everyone here." She claps her hands twice to get everyone's attention. "Alright girls, right now Rachel is changing into her PJs and I have a few other bathrooms available around the house so if you would be so kind as for some of you to start doing what Rachel's doing, that would be great."
Her friends smile as Chloe, Emma, Mollie, and Paige are already taking their things to get changed.
"Good, separating Paige from the others should give me some time to lift some weight off my back." Girl Jordan starts to walk to the kitchen but not before stopping to turn to look at the invitees who were still in the living room. "Hey Christina, I'm gonna go get cups, plates, and napkins for us to help eat our snacks. Would it be alright if you can help me out?"
Christina shrugs to Girl Jordan's request. "Yeah sure, I really don't mind." She said as got off the couch and proceeded to follow the latter not knowing her true intentions for her.
Micah was in Lincoln's closet-sized room setting out his sleeping bag on the floor while Lincoln himself was sitting on the side of his bed with his hands on his face. "So let me get this straight, those two girls are your younger twin sisters?"
"That's right." Lincoln signed.
"And Lana, the tomboy, is two minutes older than Lola, the princess?. Right?"
"Correct."
"And those two were fighting because it's normal to see sisters antagonize each other?"
"Well, sort of." Lincoln said as he stood up from his bed. "Despite the fact that they're complete opposites, they've recently matured a bit this year from their bad habits and managed to get along with each other more often. But of course, they'd obviously still have petty arguments every now and then."
Micah finished setting his sleeping bag out and stood up to look at Lincoln. "Remind me again why those two were fighting just a moment ago?"
"Meh, it was just a fight for the remote because they wanted to watch different shows." Lincoln said as he went to open his door. "Never mind the argument too much, now you know three of my sisters. That means you only have to be acquainted to . . .six more." Lincoln and Micah then both leave his room.
"Six?" Micah asked. "Don't you have ten sisters in total?"
Lincoln walked towards his sister's door that is across from the stairs. "Yes, but the eldest sister's 'residing' in her boyfriend's apartment to spend time with him and his family over the summer." He said as he stood in front of the door and looked back at Micah. "So I doubt you'll be seeing her right no-"
Suddenly, the door immediately swings open which sends him flying down the stairs as Micah looks on in shock.
Micah looks down the stairs to see him face-planted on the bottom of the stairs. "You alright Lincoln?"
Lincoln didn't move his body from a bad position but still yelled. "Those are my sisters, the sporty, energetic Lynn Jr. and the gothic, cynical Lucy."
Micah looks back to see Lincoln's sisters who are both a few years older and younger respectively. Lynn Jr. was holding a soccer ball in her left hand and Lucy let a bat hang from her right arm. "Sup."
The gothic loud spoke first. "So this is the kid who's helping Lincoln pay his debt he owes to the world?" She looked towards her pet bat. "What do you think, Fangs? He looks a bit fresh to drink from."
"Hey!"
The sporty loud scoffs and nudged her sister a little. "Lucy, come on. Have some respect for Linc's guest, look at him, his body's average build."
"Uh, thanks."
Lynn Jr. then smirks as she gently punches him in the chest. "So what sports do you play? Basketball? Soccer? Football?"
Micah immediately shook his head from Lynn's suggestions. "The only sport I know how to play is tennis. I usually play with my younger sister as a way for us to spend time together."
"I see." Lynn smiled as she put her free arm around the boy. "Do you two play that often? It would be nice to see your-"
Suddenly, Lincoln angrily climbs back the stairs, with an ice pack for his head, to confront the situation. "Uh, I'm sorry to interrupt your sports talk, but I need to talk to you Lynn. It's urgent."
Lynn rolls her eyes and gets her hands off of Micah. "Alright, alright, relax bro, I was just curious. That's all it was."
"Right." Lincoln said, not exactly buying. "Let's just go to your room. Micah, if you're hungry, there's food in our fridge. You can make what you want."
As Lincoln and Lynn headed to the latter's room, Micah was trying to process what he just heard. "Your fridge? For real?"
Lincoln nods. "Yeah, our parents said that it's alright for you to find something to eat," he said. "We got plenty since this house feeds eleven kids, including me. Just please don't take the mac 'n' cheese bites, those are mine." He then closes the door leaving only Micah and Lucy in the hallway.
"Micah," Lucy said, startling the boy. "Follow me, I will take you to the family kitchen." She goes down the stairs with her pet bat still hanging from her right arm while Micah follows her with caution.
Micah starts counting with his fingers. "So that's a total of five sisters I'm acquainted with. And one's in college so I can't meet her so, only three more to go" He remembers the words of what Lincoln said. "'You can make what you want.' I guess I'll try makeshifting another burger from scratch like I usually do. I'm sure Lincoln wouldn't mind if I did that."
"My House" is by Flo Rida.
