Love Out of the Middle

Chapter 1: Meet the Lancasters

July 29:

Penelope:

My name is Penelope, but some people call me Penny, or sometimes if your my parents Penelope Grace. My brother Andy calls me Pen. So it's Penelope, Penny, Pen, or if you' re feeling really brave or my brothers, Pen-Pen.

I am the youngest of five, and the only girl. My oldest brother, Andrew, and I are probably the closest, he's twenty-one. Then there's Sam, he's seventeen. Then there's Michael, William, and I the triplets, we're all fifteen. My mom and dad, Melisa and Gregory. So our family oldest to youngest including the parents is Dad, Mom,  Andrew, Samuel, Michael, William, and then me, Penelope.

My father is a bank manager. He just got transferred from Milwaukee, Wisconsin the city closest to where we live to some city in Indiana, Orson I think was the name.

So it's June, my brothers and I just finished freshman year, so we're heading into summer as sophomores. Starting at a new school who's mascot is a hen. A chicken. What kind of mascot is that!

Being the baby of the family has it's ups and downs. Up, I get away with just about everything. Down, everyone's always so over protective of me for example, if I happen to bump into the wall. Andy, Sam, Will, and dad are fussing over me for the next hour making sure I don't have a concussion. At least that's how it is over the summers. Andy goes to Notre Dame in Indiana so we're actually going to be closer to him than we already are. Let me introduce my family:

There's my dad, Gregory, most people call him Greg, he's a bank manager, he got a law degree that he just pushed aside for a business degree and his banking certification. He and our mom met on separate sides of the courtroom defending clients. Go figure.

My mom, Melisa, Mel to most, she used to be a district attorney. Now she plays the all American stay at home mom. We all have tried to get her to go back to work, she just got a job teaching law classes at East Indiana since we've convinced her that it was okay, Will, Mickey, and I would be okay on our own for a few hours every evening. And during the day over summer since we plan to get jobs.

Andy is a book genius he's never gotten anything less than a perfect score on any test or exam. So I always go to him when I need help studying. Or with anything academic. He was accepted full ride academic scholarship to Notre Dame his freshman year. So he's been in Indiana two years but home for summers, including this one. Where were packing up to go to Orson, Indiana. What is an Orson anyway?

Sam is more of a sports guy. He can pick up a new sport after just one practice. It's insane. So when I want a work out buddy, he's the one to go to. He'll push me harder than I think I can go. A great personal trainer. He already got three colleges looking to offer him full rides none of them nearby, but one is in Indiana.

Mickey is the King of the popular crowd, he owns ever room he walks into just by walking in. He's got this air of confidence that just follows him around everywhere. He gets three job offers just from walking into a grocery store to buy bananas and bread. He's always looking out for me, standing up to my bullies for me, and keeps some of the same friends as I do.

Will is our art nerd. Theatre, painting, sketching, singing, sculpting, he can play any instrument  handed to him him, and he'll kill me if I tell anyone he also is amazing at dance. He'll get any lead in a play, musical by pure talent. He painted most of the art in our house, and sketched a family portrait with him in it. He's amazing.

Then there's me. I'm the family optimist, organizer, GPS, and I'm also good at finding the needle in the hay stack, so I'm always finding things my family has lost or misplaced. I have a bit of both my parents and all my brothers in me. I guess after living with people for so long, you just start becoming them. Especially if you were home schooled with two of them.