Living with Jennifer Lawrence

[65:] Sweet Sixteen

Maddie

After a year of begging Jen to allow me to get a job, she finally broke and said yes.

It wasn't easy. My constant pestering didn't make her give in as I hoped it would.

I would wait for the most inappropriate times to do so. One time, she was nursing the baby. Another time, I'd asked while she was watching a movie. Or I'd shoot her a glance when she was on the phone, and she shook her head no every time.

I even attempted to ask Josh, see if he'd be any nicer, but it was no use. "What did your mother say?" he'd always ask me. I could've lied, but he saw right through me. I sighed and put my head down. "No." He looked at me and said, "Then there's your answer."

When Jen's parents would come and visit from time to time, especially during our big dinners, I'd try to convince them. They told me about some of the horror stories they had while working. I guess that was their way of scaring me, but it didn't work.

Times were different now, and I was ready to grow up, and having a job would be a small victory for me.

I know that my parents had more than enough money to last a lifetime, but they raised me to become an independent woman, therefore it'd make sense if I found a job and earned my own income.

Jason and I are seventeen now, and this past year flew by.

It was exciting when Ryan went from creeping, to crawling, to using his wobbly legs to take his first steps. Jen and Josh were beyond thrilled. Jen kept cheering, "That's my baby!" and baby Ryan would often smile at her praise.

Ryan gets into everything now. He crawls beneath the sink, and absolutely loves to play with the metal pots and pans that are within reach. Josh did his best to baby-proof the house, but Ryan was one smart baby. He'd make "music" with kitchen tools, and enjoys grabbing the utensils with his tiny fingers and throwing them on the floor.

I think the worst phase we all dealt with as when Ryan was teething, because he cried all the time. It was a constant thing, and I barely slept, which made me irritable and moody the next day. Jen would always reassure that "this is just a phase," and that "it won't last forever."

It sure felt like it did.

***

As soon as I had finally gotten permission to get a job, I was going through an application frenzy. I checked everywhere I could think of, looking at places nearby and even ones I'd have to take the bus. Or should I say, several. Something even told me to take a glimpse of the Yellow Pages, and sure enough, I fell short.

Jen peered over my shoulder with the baby on her hip and asked, "How's the job hunting going?"

"It's... going," I replied. "Adulting is hard."

She chuckled. "Well, you were the one who rushed to grow up. You're only young once, and you aren't an adult yet. You and your brother still have a few months to go."

"Why do people rush to grow up so fast?" I wondered.

"It seems exciting at first. But then come the bills." She sat next to me.

I tilt the laptop so she can see the screen better.

"A McDonald's application?"

"Hey, you never know," I told her. "I applied everywhere I could think of."

***

Apparently the thought of me being employed for the first time in my life caused Jen to reminisce about the past, and after she scrubbed the last of dinner's dishes, she pulled out an old photo album.

She carefully flipped through pages, laughing at her facial expressions. Not much has chanced.

"My first acting job was for MTV," she said. The commercial was about a sweet sixteen gone wrong. Luckily, mine wasn't like that.

It was a little difficult trying to throw an extravagant party for my brother and I.

Me and Jason are polar opposites, but they managed to pull through. The things we both liked and enjoyed were mashed together and it became something beautiful. I wore a big, beautiful gown and Jason dressed up nicely as well. He brought a date to the event, and I went in single and proud. I even invited my old friends Crystal and Julian, and they looked radiant as ever.

"Didn't you show me that video one time?"

"I might have, but I can show you again." She grabbed her tablet and found the video of her young self on the internet.

"You haven't aged a day."

***

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" I shook Jen's body as she slept. "C'mon, get up!"

Cranky already, she rubbed her eyes and stretched. "What is it?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"I got an email from that McDonald's. They want me to schedule an interview!"

"That's great," she said, clearly tired. "What time is it?"

The clock read 8:37 a.m.

I stepped on the bed with Josh still on it. "I'm finally going to be an independent woman! I'm moving up in the world!"

I jumped around between the two of them, and Josh jumped up and playfully threw a pillow at me.

What ruined the moment was Ryan's cries.

"You woke him up, you get him," Jen said, and pointed her chin at Ryan's room.

I walked over to the baby's room and scooped him from his bed. "Shhh," I cooed. "It'll be okay, your big sister got an interview for a job!"

He rested his head on my shoulder while I did a little happy dance.

I'm so excited, I couldn't stand it.