“Oh hi honey! How was your trip?”
“It was great! Actually, I was planning on just going over to Dylan’s and staying there tonight, is that okay?”
“Are you able to pop over first? And bring Dylan with you since I’ve never met him.”
Okay. My mum is never really bothered about meeting any of my friends ... or is ever eager to see me.
“Sure... mum, is everything okay?”
“Of course it is,” she said quickly, “I’ve just missed you, that’s all!”
“Okay, I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes?”
“See you soon! Bye!”
I hung up and looked over at Dylan who was watching me with an amused expression on his face.
“Do you want to meet my mum?” I asked.
He placed his hand over his heart and sighed. “I would be honoured.”
I leaned over and punched him in the arm as he started the car and we headed over to my place.
~
My parents are pretty average people. They’re not overly friendly, or adventurous, or weird... you might even describe them as boring. We’re not big on the whole family thing, especially my dad, so we all kind of keep to ourselves and get on with our lives.
Therefore, I couldn’t prepare Dylan for what was away to happen as we walked through the door, or be any kind of support whatsoever as I seemed to have gone into some kind of shock.
“Hi! You must be Dylan!” said my mum as she came out of the kitchen as I was closing the door. That was the last bodily function I could muster. Karen Brooke is the kind of person who would wear heels in her own home and be dressed to perfection with the plan for the day to be cleaning the house.
“I’m Karen,” she said as she shook Dylan’s hand while I stood there trying to remember what the act of breathing implied.
MY MOTHER WAS WEARING SWEATPANTS.
SHE HAD HER HAIR IN A MESSY PONYTAIL.
SHE INTRODUCED HERSELF AD KAREN AND NOT MRS BROOKE.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Dylan.
“I’ve made cookies, would you like some?”
“I’d love some,” said Dylan, following her towards the kitchen.
SHE HAS BAKED COOKIES.
DOES SHE EVEN KNOW WHAT A COOKIE IS?
I don’t know how long I stood there till Luke came downstairs and started waving his hand in front of my face.
“Huh?”
“I said, why are you standing there like a creepy?”
“Mum made cookies,” I stated. Just when I thought the day couldn’t get even weirder Luke managed to get his facial muscles to construct something that closely resembled a smile.
“I know right? She’s never done that before! Come on,” he said.
“Don’t you think it’s a little strange?”
“Don’t care. Make the most of it,” he said as he pushed me along into the kitchen.
Dylan was sat at the kitchen table while my mum HAND WASHED SOME DISHES.
“Hey, what’s up,” said Dylan, fist bumping Luke as he appeared from behind me. “Luke right?”
“Yeah,” replied Luke.
“Luke this is Dylan,” I said as I picked up a cookie and examined it. “Is this edible?” I asked my mum.
She gave me a look. “I cook all the time,” she stated.
“Yeah,” I said, biting into the cookie. I didn’t die instantly, that’s for sure. “But not cookies.”
Luke sat down next to Dylan and they both stated talking and munching on cookies. I walked over to my mum and started drying the dishes.
“So,” I started.
“So?” she replied, giving me a confused look.
“What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
I took the bowl she had finished washing and began to dry it. I spoke quietly.
“Not to be mean or anything, but you’re not usually like this; making cookies, wanting to meet my new friends... I didn’t even know you owned sweatpants.”
She sighed and leaned back against the sink. “Okay, so while you were away I just realised that we’re not that close of a family, and you’ll be moving off to college or whatever when you finish school and I don’t want you to resent coming home for the holidays. Or to feel like you have nothing to come home to.”
I looked at her and was speechless. I never thought she had noticed that we weren’t close, or that she even cared, and I never thought she would do anything to try and change that.
“Did something happen?” I asked.
“Nothing for you to worry about, trust me.” She quickly changed the subject. “So where did you meet Dylan?”
“Detention.”
She gave me a slap on arm.
“What was that for?” I exclaimed.
“You know what. What did you get detention for?”
“Punching Cam in the face.”
“Guess I can’t yell at you for that. I’d love to give his mother a punch in the face sometimes.”
AM I ON AN EPISODE OF MUM SWAP OR SOMETHING.
“Anyway, Dylan seems nice. So you’re staying at his tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, well have fun.” She leaned in and brushed he thumb over my cheek before rushing over to grab the plate of cookies from Luke.
“It was nice meeting you Dylan!” called my mum as we headed out of the kitchen.
“You too Mrs.Brooke!”
“Call me Karen!”
“You too Karen!”
When we got to Dylan’s car I deflated into the car seat.
“She was nice,” said Dylan as he pulled away from my house.
“She was strange. She’s never like that. Ever.”
“So maybe this is a good thing?”
“If it lasts. She said that something happened but we didn’t need to worry about it, that she was handling it.”
“Then don’t worry about it,” said Dylan as he reached over and laced his fingers through mine.
YOU ARE READING
Detention Boys
Teen Fiction"Alec, you're drunk and confused. You don't want this," he said, but didn't try to move away. I could feel his breath on my lips, only a few inches separating our bodies. I looked up at him, the dim lighting making his eyes the deepest midnight blue...
Chapter Twenty-Three
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