The next day...
Rather than beginning her morning like she always does, Katie started her routine a little bit differently today. She got out of bed, got dressed in her usual attire, brushed her teeth, and then went downstairs; but instead of going into the kitchen and preparing her and Candy some breakfast, she decided to go outside so that she can think to herself for a few minutes. Katie wasn't very hungry at the moment, and Candy wasn't even awake yet; so now felt like the perfect time for the former to be alone outside.
Katie wasn't wanting to go too far from the house-in fact, she didn't really go anywhere father than...just the bottom step of her own porch; all she wanted to do right now was sit down, surrounded by the calm summer's breeze, and think back on a moment that has been replaying in her head ever since she came up with the idea to come back to Simport...
Four years ago...
"Alright, guys; everything's pack!" Katie shouts as she made her way downstairs, carrying a bunch of luggage that contained most of her stuff in them, much to the surprise of both Katie's mother and father.
"My word, Kathryn..." Maxwell muttered, entering the hallway alongside his wife. "Don't tell me you actually managed to pack EVERYTHING in your room."
"It would've been totally cool if I did, but I didn't." Katie assured her father, before placing two of her bags down onto the floor beside her. "I just packed everything that'll be the most important, like some of my clothes, some of my books, my toothbrush, my toothpaste, my laptop, and my skateboard. Of course, the last two are in my backpack and not in any of these bags here; don't want them to break."
"Well, I certainly hope that you have everything organized in there..." Maxwell attempts to lift up one of the two bags, only to immediately struggle when he realizes how heavy it was. "Are you SURE you've only packed what's important, sweetheart?"
"You ARE lifting the one that has all of my books, you know..."
"Right..." Maxwell then turned his attention over to the other bag that was next to his daughter, lifting that one up instead, which was much more easier for him to carry. "Well, I'll see where I can put this inside the car...I'll be waiting for you once you and Emily get finished talking in here."
"Of course, dad." Katie told her father, watching as the latter exits the house, leaving the former alone with her own mother.
There was silence between the two, as Katie stood there in complete silence, staring at her mother. She had the same colored hair as her, and was also only able to reach her shoulders, except the latter's was more combed than her daughter's; and her outfit was a dark pink blouse and a pair of black pants, along with some matching dark pink heels. It was bizarre that she still remembered what she looked like, despite how long it's been since she last seen her.
"I don't believe it..." Emily says in a soft, yet proud, tone of voice. "My own daughter is finally heading off to college."
"I know." Katie replied with a hint of a giggle in her voice. "I can't believe it either..."
"It feels like it's been...yesterday since you went up to your father and told him that you want to become a dentist just like him." Emily paused for a second to let out a giggle after having to remember that little memory. "Heck, it feels like it's been yesterday, you went up to me and asked me what college was like for both me and your father; and you were only ten years old when you asked me that."
"Damn...has it really been THAT long since I've asked that?"
"It certainly has..." Emily answered, now starting to sound a little more solemn than before; and that was when she decided to focus the conversation back to the fact that her own daughter was leaving town and going off to college. "Look, Katie; are you sure this is something that you want to do?" She asked, placing a hand on one of her daughter's shoulders. "If you don't want to do this, then we can always pick one of the colleges that are here in Simport."
"As much as I appreciate the thought, this is actually something that I want to do." Katie replied, lifting her bag of books off of the floor. "We both know that if I attend one of the colleges around here, I'll become interested in partying and-furthermore-lose my love for all things academic in the process; and besides, we have family over in Simhatten, so-in a way-I'm not living somewhere that's far away from family."
"I know, but..." Emily paused, rubbing the back of her neck, still clearly unsure about her daughter's decision. "This whole thing seems...sudden; and also, you're going to be sharing a room with your cousin of all people."
"To be honest with you, I'm a little hesitant about her too." Katie cringed at the thought of living in a dorm-room with a party girl; but regardless, she restrained her concern and tried to stay optimistic about this. "But, hey, maybe she won't be too much for me to tolerate while I'm over there; and if she is, then I'll probably just inform her mother about it."
Emily simply crossed her arms, shook her head, and let out a slight chuckle after hearing everything that her daughter just said. "Sometimes, you're just like your father..." She stated. "You two are always so quick to think of solutions whenever somebody's worried about something."
"Well, I wouldn't say 'always'..." Katie says through chuckles, before her father began calling out for her outside.
"Kathryn, we should probably get a move on!" Maxwell shouts from outside. "We don't want to miss the train to New York!"
"I'm almost done in here, dad!" Katie shouts to her father, before turning her attention back over to her mother. "Sorry, mom; but it looks like I've gotta get going now."
"Alright, dear." Emily replied, nodding her head with a smile.
Without letting another second go to waist, Katie tugs on the strap of her bag and headed out the front-door; but right as she was about to step off the porch, she turned around and ran back into her house. "Oh...uh, hey, before I go, there's something that I want to ask." She told her mother, causing the latter to become both surprised and confused.
"W-What is it, Katie?"
"I've been thinking about it lately, and...uh, you and I haven't gotten the chance to hang out together, and I can presume that when I get back from college, I'm gonna be even MORE focused on dentistry than I've used to..." Katie starts off explaining, before tugging on her bag's strap again. "Since it'll be a few days or so when I get back and complete everything my dad wants me to do...office-wise, do you think that you and I can do something together, like how we used to when I was still a kid?"
After hearing her daughter's question, Emily gave the tomboy a smile and then spoke happily. "That would be lovely." She says. "We can talk about it when you get back."
"Are you sure you'll remember this after, like, four years?" Katie proceeded to ask. "That's how long I'm gonna be there."
"Katie, I'm not forgetful." Emily assured the tomboy. "Of course I'll remember this conversation."
"Awesome." The two then hugged on it for a few seconds, before Katie heard the sound of Maxwell calling out for her outside, causing the two to stop. "Well, I'll see you when I get back, mom."
"We'll be right here waiting for you, Katie." Emily says, watching as her daughter exited the house. "Good luck!"
"I will!" After that was said, Katie left the house and headed over to her father's car.
'That was the last conversation I had with her before I left.' Katie thought, continuing to stare out into the street in front of her house. 'I never knew it would've actually BEEN my last...'
After pondering the thought for a bit longer, Katie began hearing a sound that was somewhere off in the distance; it was some sort of banging sound. It wasn't too distracting at first, but after about a few more seconds, it started to become noticeable for the tomboy. Soon it became so annoying that Katie immediately forget her current thought, stand up, and march over to where the noise was coming from; but unfortunately for her, the noise was coming from next door...
'Of course it had to be him...' Katie thought bitterly, heading over to the fence that was on the left side of her house. 'Should I even ask what the hell he's even doingright now?'
Upon approaching the driveway to Chaz's house, Katie stopped right in front of it and stared at the mechanic's garage, seeing what he was currently doing in there; from the looks of it, he appeared to be building some sort of...square-shaped furniture that was made out of wood. She couldn't tell what said furniture was, whether it's supposed to be a counter, or some sort of closet. Regardless of what it is that he's building, it felt too early in the morning for him to be doing this; and knowing her neighbor across the street's someone who gets very angry if the slightest bit of noise pisses her off in the morning, this wasn't going to be pleasant for anyone involved.
After letting out a huff, Katie began making her way up the driveway. "Chaz!" The former says calmly, yet loud enough for the latter to hear him.
Chaz was about to start using one of the tools that were sitting on the workbench beside him, until he noticed the tomboy standing a few feet away from him. "I thought you weren't wanting to talk to me until I'm on good terms with your bestie?" He says, giving her a restrained smirk.
"I met 'associate' with you, not 'talk'." Katie stated under her breath, before turning to look at the piece of furniture that the mechanic was building. "What's this?"
"Some of the counters were falling apart in the kitchen, so...I thought I'd spend the morning building some new ones to replace them."
"Really?" The tomboy asked, seemingly intrigued, yet at the same time, uninterested.
"Believe it or not, it's not just the kitchen that we're doing here; we're taking apart all the furniture from every room and we're either redoing them or simply replacing with better ones."
"Well, I can definitely tellyou're doing all of that..." Katie muttered, glancing behind herself to look at the front-yard, seeing some broken wooden boards that were left by the side of the street.
"Tim and I have been doing this ever since we first bought this house." Chaz stated, proceeding to pick up his hammer off of the workbench, as well as one of the nails beside it. "So far, we've got most of the kitchen done already, except for...well, this; and the only room we got to do next-or last-is the attic...or empty it out, since there's really nothing that needs to be fixed or repaired up there, as far as I know..."
"Well, I'm just coming over to warn you that Nancy across the street's not gonna like you doing this." Katie then stated, pointing a finger at the counter. "She's not the kind of person you want to piss off this early in the morning, especially before she's taken two cups of coffee."
"You're kidding me, right?" Chaz asked the tomboy. "Isn't she supposed to be at work?"
"Not always."
"Jeez..." Chaz placed his hammer back down onto the workbench and went over to the switch on the wall, and then pressed the button, prompting the door to the garage to close. "So, is that all?"
"That's all." Katie answered as she turned to face the garage door, only to notice that the door had closed before she could duck under it and leave. "Well, shit..." She muttered to herself.
"Just go out the front-door instead." Chaz points to the door that leads into the house. "You've been in this house before, haven't you?"
"A few times...before the previous owner died, I mean..." The tomboy then glanced at the door that the mechanic was pointing at. "How much did you guys change in there anyway?"
"As I've said, most of the rooms have already been rearranged and redone, except for the attic; so, just to give you the heads up: however this house looked before you left Simport years ago, don't expect it to look exactly the same."
Believing that their conversation was over, Katie opens the door and walks into the first room that's on the other side of it: the dining-room, and also the kitchen, which was-coincidentally enough-right next to it. From the looks of it, there didn't really seem to be any sort of change around here, other than the fact that the furniture were nice and new. Nothing really too out of the ordinary for her, nor did it seem very bad in her eyes either; for what it's worth, all of this makes this section of the house look better.
After taking a few more seconds to check out the dining-room, Katie turned her attention over to the living-room behind her; and when she did, she was quick to notice that it looked entirely different from the last time she was here. Most of the furniture's normal, but then there were stuff that was totally new for her to see in this house, such as the nice-looking couch that replaced the old one, the large TV that was placed upon the wall, the PlayStation 4 next to said TV, and even the mini-bar that was next to the hallway that leads to the stairs. It might just be her, but she could've sworn that the paint on the floor and walls were different as well, as she knew that the old man had them painted green, and not orange. All of this made her completely speechless.
"So, what do you think?" Chaz asked, peeking his head out of the garage's doorway.
"It looks..." Katie started off saying, before her voice started to trail off as she continued looking at all the furniture around her. "Honestly, it could do without the mini-bar..."
"It was actually my girlfriend's idea." Chaz stated. "Her dad works as a bartender somewhere in the town, and he had a friend who gave him that, but since he already has one at his house, he didn't want it; and then he gave it to Summer, who later gave it to me, since she already has one as well."
"Summer Baxter works at a bar?" Katie asked, clearly surprised to hear this information.
"No, she doesn't; although, her dad did try to push her into working with him after graduation." Chaz answered, leaning against the side of the small bar-counter. "She actually works as a lifeguard down at the Boardwalk."
"Oh..." Katie says while nodding her head, only to become confused once again. "Summer Baxter's working as a lifeguard?"
"Yeah."
"Wow...I would've never imagined her to be working at a job like that. Personally, I've always thought that someone like her would work at a mall, at one of the beauty salons or department stores there."
"Well, Summer loves the beach more than she loves the mall." Chaz stated, looking at one of the bottles on the mini-bar. "Also, Liberty Martin gave her the idea when they were studying the ocean together one time."
"Liberty Martin?" Katie asked, finding that name familiar. "Isn't she that girl who moved here from Australia years ago? The one who likes snakes?"
"Yeah."
"How's she been doing lately?"
"I...don't know." Chaz answered while shrugging his shoulders, now pouring himself some of the beer in his hands. "All I know is that she's still together with that chump, Travis Dylan, and that she's now living in the same house as him; but, from what I've heard, those two aren't even married."
"They're still together, huh?" Katie asked, receiving a nod from the biker immediately afterwards. "How am I not surprised?"
"Do you hate them or something?"
"Well, Travis and I rarely spoke back then, but...his girlfriend hates me."
After hearing what the tomboy just said, Chaz nearly starts laughing. "Liberty hates you?" He asked in a joking manner, while also sounding as if he was in complete disbelief. "Should I ask what you've done to piss her off?"
"We were both in the hallway together, talking about one of the classes we were in, and then suddenly we see Travis leaving one of the classrooms talking with Ian and Jenny about...something." Katie cringed as she began saying the next part of her explanation. "Then she asked me if she had a chance with him, and that was when I suggested her that she could, uh...fix her teeth, because-you know-I'm a dentist; and then she started yelling, catching the attention of...everyone around us, and then she dropped her books onto my foot and went to her next class."
"That's what happened?" Chaz asked in surprise. "Knowing Liberty, I thought you were trying to go out with Travis yourself."
"There's no way I'd date a dork like him." Katie said, rolling her eyes. "If anyone, I would've went out with Ian Arneson."
"Ian Arneson?" Chaz asked in disbelief, but this time, he didn't sound like he was laughing. "You would've went out with someone like him?"
"Yeah." The tomboy then sat down onto one of the stools of the mini-bar behind her. "He's kind, smart, and loves a lot of the same things that I do."
"Really?" The mechanic asked, still in disbelief. "Does he also love dentistry and skateboarding too?"
Katie opened her mouth in order to speak, only to immediately relent and cringe as she came to the realization that her old crush wasn't interested in those two things. "No..." She eventually answered with a frown.
"That's exactly what I thought..." Chaz took a sip of his drink, which was when the tomboy continued.
"To be honest with you, Chaz; even if he did actually like those two things like I do, I don't think we would have ever dated." Katie stated. "Whenever we hang out together at his aunt's library, Elmira would tend to glare at me every time we go off by ourselves in the back or upstairs and read together; and not to mention that he's in love with that Amelia girl who I've spoke to on occasions during reading class."
"Hmm...I have always imagined those two going out together." Chaz took another sip of his drink, before saying something else in regards to this. "I'm sorry that things didn't go anywhere between you two."
"It's okay." Katie replied casually. "As I've just said, I don't think we would've end up becoming a couple anyway; and knowing his aunt, I don't think that we would've lasted long either."
"I'm sure you'll find the right guy for you someday." Chaz says in an attempt to comfort the studious girl. "You just need to give it some time."
"Thanks; although, knowing a town such as Simport, that'll be a little bit-" Before the tomboy could finish the rest of sentence, there was a knock at the door. "Uh...are you expecting someone this morning?"
"Unless that's Nancy or her son coming over to yell at me, I don't know who's here." Chaz then stood up from his stool and headed over to the door. "All I can say is just sit right there and I'll go see who it is."
"Okay." Katie agreed before turning around and then grabbing the bottle that Chaz had held seconds ago, debating whether or not to pour herself a drink right now; but after giving it a second thought, staring at the bottle with a sigh, she ultimately decided not to.
Without seeing who it was standing on his porch, Chaz opens the door and proceeded to talk. "Hey, I'm kinda busy with something, so-" He began to say, only to stop as soon as he saw who it was. It was a girl with blonde hair tied in a long ponytail, and her outfit consists of a black jacket with a pink tank-top underneath, light blue jeans, and a pair of light blue sandals as well. "Summer?"
"Hey sweetie." The former cheerleader greeted with a smile. "Are you surprised to see me?"
"Uh...yeah." Chaz answered, closing the door behind him. "W-What are you doing here?"
"I don't have to go to work in, like, another hour or two, so I thought I'd pay you a visit." Summer steps forward, then kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. "I totally like the house you guys bought here."
"T-Thanks."
"Does the interior look just as nice as it does out here?"
"Well, we're still working on making it look cool." Chaz answered with a causal shrug. "Tim and I haven't gotten the time to bring some of the old stuff to the junkyard lately though."
"Maybe after you drop me off at work later, you'll both be able to deal with it." Summer assures her boyfriend, before glancing over to the door. "For now, why don't you let me see how it looks inside?"
"I'm...not sure that's a good idea." Chaz says in a sheepish tone.
"Oh, there's no need for you to feel embarrassed if it's not-" Summer went through the door and then immediately stopped talking, noticing Katie sitting next to the mini-bar; afterwards, the former quickly went from happy to agitated within a second. "I'm sorry, but...who are you supposed to be?" She then asked while glaring at the tomboy.
"I'm...Katie Morris; your boyfriend's neighbor." Katie simply answered, before standing up from her stool.
"What are you doing in my boyfriend's house?" The former cheerleader asked, still clearly unhappy with the tomboy.
"Well, I was here to tell him that he was building in his garage too loudly, but then we suddenly came inside and started talking about how our lives have been back in the Royal Academy."
"You used to go to the Royal Academy?" Summer asked, suspiciously raising an eyebrow. "Were you there when we were there?"
"Yeah." Katie answered honestly, all while nodding her head. "But I've never actually spoke with you or your boyfriend throughout our entire time there, let alone came face-to-face with either of you."
"Really?" Summer tilts her head a bit, as she began looking down and up at the tomboy's outfit, before eventually replying. "I'll give you this: you dress like that one bitch who used to date my boyfriend in the twelfth grade."
"I don't know whether I should feel insulted or take that as a compliment..."
"Well, so far, you're not much of a bitch..."
"Same to you too." Katie comments, which earned her a bit of a glare from the former cheerleader as a result, which she notices rather quickly. "I...actually mean that as a compliment."
"Thank you." Summer replied as she brushed her ponytail off of her shoulder.
It was around this part of the conversation that Chaz eventually joined in. "Well, I'm glad that you two are starting to...slowly become friend-ish." He says in an awkward tone, all while trying to remain cool. "Katie, I think I'm just gonna show my girlfriend around the house now, if you don't mind."
"Probably for the best." Katie says in agreement, nodding her head as she walks past the couple in front of her. "Candy's probably wondering where I am right now anyway." She went through the door and proceeded to wave at the two behind her. "I'll see you guys around."
"It was nice to meet you, Katie." Summer replied, waving back at the tomboy, before her boyfriend proceeded to close the door after that.
'Man, that was a close one...' Katie thought, heading back over to her house. 'I'm so glad Summer didn't find out that I'm friends with Crystal, or else things around here would've been Hell on Earth for me. I don't want to know what it's like to have one of the popular kids from our school to become my enemy out of nowhere, especially now that I'm back, AND while I'm trying to tolerate living with my cousin, AND while I'm still mou-' She then closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. 'Nevermind...I need to focus on something else other than THAT; like making some breakfast for myself and Candy. Yeah, that'll cheer me up and keep my mind off of that.' She approached the front-door or her house and then went inside, prepared to finally start her day right.
Note: So, this is the chapter where we look back at a time where Katie was in Simport before she left for New York years ago; a flashback, as you will. It's nothing much; just Katie packing up her things and saying 'goodbye' to her parents, as most of us would before we head off to college; although, sadly, this would be one of the last times that Katie gets to talk with her mother, in person even. There's gonna be more flashbacks like this as we progress through the story some more, and learn another thing or two about Katie; and maybe Crystal and Candy too, but I haven't decided yet.
Now, let's see what reviews we have for today are...
lordgemini: So far, it seems like Crystal doesn't really have to worry about Katie turning against her here, as the latter finally met Summer and they're just...acquaintances, until the former cheerleader finds out that the tomboy's best friends with Crystal, then things are going to become bad for everyone involved. Also, Derek might ruin things between him and the rebel, since...well, he's Derek; he's not trustworthy whatsoever.
That should be it for now, my fellow readers; until then, I will see you all in the next chapter.