Sincerely, Charli Day

Chapter 15

"She wasn't." Dad nudges Zuckerman who snorts, covering it with a cough.

"Zoe, you know how much I love you," Zuckerman starts.

"Saving face, huh?" Brenda mutters under her breath, receiving a glare from her trying husband.

"But you were a klutz." He concludes, raising his hands in defense. "Graceful and elegant as a swan until they basket tossed you into the air."

Mom gapes, "Cole, you traitorous snake. I was a good flyer."

Leo leans back in his seat, enjoying the show. Honestly, all we're missing is a bucket of stale popcorn and an overly air conditioned room.

"Hey woman, I said I love yo-"

"Snake." Mom chimes, drumming her fingers along the table. Zuckerman blows her a kiss before returning to his food.

"Oh my gosh," Brenda chokes on her wine. "That reminds me of your senior quote, Zoe. Oh what was it?" Brenda snaps her fingers, trying to remember the exact line.

Mom groans, burying her face in her hands. "Bren, no."

Leo leans forward, intrigued. "Bren, share?"

"Bren..." Mom warns, but of course, Brenda happily ignores her. Dad stifles his laugh, biting his fist as Mom narrows her eyes.

"'I used to be jealous of Harry Potter's ability to talk to snakes, but turns out I've been doing it for years.'" Brenda recites.

Mom pulls the beanie over her eyes, "I was such a huge book nerd back then. Parseltongue was hot."

Laughter goes around the room as I cringe. How Tom Riddle managed to glow down I'm not sure.

"What was yours?" I turn to Dad with a wide smile.

"If idiots could fly, this would be an airport." He announces, proudly. Brenda clenches her sides, laughing hysterically.

"At the time, that line was original." She breathes out between laughs. "I remember how you became popular for like a day."

"It was a nice feeling."

"Have you thought about your quote, Sweetpea?" Mom asks, ignoring Dad and Brenda.

I shrug, "Would you kill me if I went with 'if there's a will, there's a way. If there's a quizlet, there's an A."

Leo chokes on his orange juice, sputtering as he coughs. Mom gapes as she abandons her suffering son to condemn me.

"I swear to god, Charli Briar, if you submit that quote I will kill you." Mom threatens over the other laughter.

I bat my eyes innocently. "But am I wrong?"

She points her fork at me. "Stop."

I stick my tongue out like a toddler, digging into my salad. Brenda fans herself, wiping away tears. "Say, where's Haisley? I want to hear hers."

Eyes turn to me as I chew the lettuce in my mouth faster. "Uh, parents anniversary?" I wince as the room's mood shifts.

'Parents anniversary' has always meant getting locked inside her house as her parents scream and throw around expensive vases, leaving her to clean everything up at the end of the night.

But Haisley has always been Haisley. She hides her pain behind her laughter and smiles, despite how cheesy that sounds. She's so damn good at it that she can even fool me, and I know she has been recently.

I notice the small things, but I know better than to point them out. She picks at the skin around her nails, she bites her lip too hard, she pushes Ryder away and plasters on a smile.