A Window To Everywhere

0.09

By the time I had got down to the kitchen, Dad was already busy taking the ingredients out of the fridge. My stomach rumbled out of its own accord, presumably at the sight of fresh fruits. It was unfortunate that Dad overheard because he started to laugh and offered me a slice of freshly topped fruit pavlova.

"No way Dad, you know I can't have it now," I sighed as I rolled up my sleeves in preparation of cooking.

"I know," He joked, "that's why I'm offering it to you. And in reality you could, you know you would get away with it."

"No it's for Mum, I won't do it and you know it," I responded.

"I know sweetheart, that's why I have already made your favourite, avocado on toast."

It was that time of the year again, the Sunday before the first day of a fresh school year. It is an annual tradition between Piper's family, the Jamersons, Laurel's family, the Whittemores, and my family to have a sort of good luck dinner for school. A night where we could enjoy, reflect on and aspire to start of the school year fresh. It was almost our final year too, being in year eleven which made the even all the more important. Soon there wouldn't be anymore of these nights considering we would all be attending inter-state universities. This year's event was being held at my house, which meant that in true fashion, Piper and Laurel were sleeping over at mine also.

Each family brought in a dish and Dad was notorious for his tangy pavlova. Cooking was not my strong suit in fact, I was pretty useless at it. Last year's beef casserole had proven that and I didn't want re-live that taste ever again. But I could help the preparation side of things, like chopping and cleaning; I just couldn't actually cook, like sautéing or simmering. The whole morning was spent in preparation of the night. We, when I say we I really mean more of Dad, managed to make a beef casserole, pavlova and also mini blue frosted cupcakes.

Piper and Laurel came early, in the late afternoon. They came prepared with duffel bags slung over one shoulder and Piper with a set of DVDS in her hand.

"Mmm, something smells so good, is it the beef casserole?" Laurel asked, being the first thing the said once I'd opened the door. Despite opening some windows, the aromas of the food hung over us, almost warming up the house. I laughed when she asked this, seemingly it showed that Laurel had enjoyed the casserole far too often.

We had about three hours to kill before it was time to have dinner and decided getting a head start on our marathon.

"Pick something to watch, Laurel. Piper and I have got this covered." I said, pointing at the bags. It took us two trips up the stairs but once we'd come back the beginning credits of Gilmore Girls started to roll. The three of shared a knowing look, Gilmore Girls was totally our favourite.

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"Hey Lydia?" Laurel's voice echoed from the bathroom.

"Yeah?" I pressed, walking towards the bathroom to find her pulling out an assortment of makeup applicators and palettes.

"What are you doing? We have under an hour to get ready! Come on, it's a formal event which means no sneakers."

Grumbling under my breath, I trudged back into my room and closed the door behind me. Piper was already inside, casually rummaging through the amount of dresses I had - almost all were gifts or thanks to Dad, who brought me one every year. He claimed I would need one at some point even when I hadn't touched the one he'd bought the previous year. Nonetheless, they were beautiful and I had always thought that maybe Dad was trying to fill up the maternal role I didn't have.

Piper gasped and turned around to look at me, her eyes shining brightly as she held up a dress waiting for my approval. "It's decided. You have to wear this dress because it'll bring out your eyes. You're gonna look so cute!" She said eagerly, way too excited about a dress.

I raised an eyebrow at her and walked past to pick up a pair of black kitten heels. Secretly, I think I would have picked that dress too; it was a startlingly but soft shade of green and off-the-shoulder dress that was beautiful in a simple manner. So I pulled it on and slipped into the strappy heels. I kept the rest simple - light smoky gold makeup that I'd learnt off YouTube clips to compliment the green of the dress and my hair flowing freely, to its own liking.

I decided I was ready. Looking to the mirror always gave me a kind of queasy feeling, I'd come to fear the idea of seeing Finn, knife swinging down mid strike. Instead, I looked at a clean and awkward looking me who looked quite decent in the dressy attire. As Piper had suggested, the greens of my eyes did stand out, almost appearing to be a lighter shade in the light. I forced out a smile, attempting to boost my confidence which came out more like a grimace, but really what teenager wasn't awkward?

The dinner was spent with lively chatter all around. We talked about upcoming assignments, homework and the extracurriculars we'd participate in once school started. Our parents in return bored us to tears talking about company management, cases and their work lives. Dad's argument was that this made up for all the teenage girl problems I'd blabbered to him in the past. They also brought up mindless things we'd done as children like the time I gave my six-year-old self a haircut.

I felt a sudden rush of gratitude - the kind that left one speechless and a lump in their throat. I wanted to both cry and thank them profusely for being in my life, for staying through it all and lifting from my lowest of lows. In that moment, I realised that these people were my family. I never got the chance to have a mum or family interactions outside of Valerie and Dad. But here sat my second mothers and fathers and of course, my sisters and best friends. And I knew I could never wish for anything more.

_______________

The first thought that came into my mind was to run, in the opposite direction and far away from entering school grounds. Which was ridiculous, because I had been attending school for the last twelve years, hoping that one day I will be where I want to be, and have received the opportunity to achieve my biggest aspirations. And there's no way I would give that all up, not because a part of me is different, not for something I could work around. I wasn't that person - one that was driven away by their fears; and I sure as hell never hoped I would be. So I pulled myself out of the warm covers of my bed and slipped into my school clothes. I walked downstairs to find Piper and Laurel making breakfast and happily chattering away.

"Happy good morning!" They simultaneously both said. "Ready to hit school?" Laurel asked, before she handed me a plate of avocado toast. We had a good twenty-five minutes left since we always got up early for the first day, giving us plenty of time to further continue last nights' conversation and talk about the curveballs we expected year eleven would throw at us, as we ate our breakfast.

Just as we got up, ready to leave after doing necessarily tasks like cleaning and freshening up, Piper spoke up, "Oh hey Lyd, did you take your Clozaril for today?"

Oddly, I had forgot and shook my head in response. And as Laurel handed me the little glass bottle of my medication, I realised that, maybe, I was perfectly fine with my irregularity.