1. Fruit Punch Anyone?
The Cadillac speeded through the neighborhood, not bothering to stop with the signs. It was quite except for the faint purr of the car and snickering of the girls in the back seats.
The sun hit my face where the window was down with the view of overly bright California. Though it's been almost nine years since moving here it still didn't quite feel like home. Home was back in Boston. The small peach house with the little view of the suburb area were in the flash backs of my once happy family. The way I'd watch mom and dad from the oversized front window as they both set dinner on the table every evening as I made my way into the front gate. These were just still photographs in our family album or at least what was left of it in the attic to rot.
As I pressed down the button to the window to shield my eyes from the sun, I caught a glimpse of my aunt Laurie, her hands gripped too tightly on the steering wheel. I tiny smiled tugged at the edge of my lips as I noticed that we finally pulled up to my residence.
"Hurry out the car, I'm already running late." My aunt said as four doors slammed.
"Did you set it up?" Aly asked just as I shushed her not to go on and moved into the house.
"Oh okay" she giggled.
Tori, Paige, Aly, Kass and I took our usual spots in the living room. Laurie dashed to her room while I made a race towards the kitchen.
"What's the plan now?" Tori asked as she Aly and Paige joined me in the kitchen watching me rummage around looking for something interesting.
"You'll see." I smirked "But don't just stand there, make yourselves useful and make me some fruit punch."
"What do I look like, your house keeper?" Tori asked as she took out a pitcher.
"Please and thank you!" I yelled over the running water that I used to clean the huge fish tank.
"Did you just let the fish go down the drain?" Paige asked concerned.
"Could you be any louder?" I complained. "And yes, they were going to die anyways."
"Ash, you're horrible!" Paige replied in a wounded tone.
"What do you expect, it's Ashlynn." Aly said with a roll of her eyes, now pouring the content of the pitcher in the fish tank.
"I am no longer any part in this." Paige said staking off melodramatically
Tori, Ally, and I moved back to the living room, careful not to spill any of it on the designer carpet and place it unsteadily on the top cabinet by the entrance and shut it quickly.
"She's coming." Kass stated flatly from where she hadn't moved and flipped through the channels.
We all stumbled quickly into the couch out of breath and pretended to engage in the style network.
My aunt walked into the room in a light grey suit looking too old for her young age. Her bangs and golden hair were iron flat, such a waste of time, I thought.
"Have you seen my keys?" She asked looking about the coffee table and moving on to the cabinets of the entrance. At any given moment I felt that it would burst open on its own and spill over her.
"You should check the top cabinet" Just as I mentioned it, the girls tried to suppress there laughter but as the cabinet door opened, a river of fruit punch rained and a burst of laughter erupted from the room.
"Ashlynn Kelly Jain!!" She moved around to face us and spat out fruit punch from her mouth causing another encore of laughter.
"This isn't funny at all. I'm getting sick of this attitude! Don't you know when enough is enough?!" Never had I seen her this way, her small fists quivered and a furious look in her eyes.
"Aunt Laurie I can ex---"
"Oh no! I don't want any excuses I have had enough! You knew I had a job interview in about thirty minutes and you still decide to do this today." Without waiting for my reply she stalked off into her bedroom and slammed the door.
"Sounds like someone isn't going to get herself out of this one, now is she." Kass with her eyes fixed on the television stated.
"Well I did go a little overboard this time now didn't I?" I gave them my evil tiny smile.
That was s-s-so epic! Tori managed to say trying to take a breath of air.
"I say we go out to the Juice Bar in celebration of this success!" Aly said jumping out her seat.
"Ashlynn, you're not leaving this house until I come back." Laurie said harshly, no doubt she was still upset. "Where the hell are my keys?" She asked me.
"How am I supposed to know?" I shrugged my shoulders.
"Stay out of trouble, for once, keep yourself occupied and clean this mess up, now." She ordered before grabbing the keys to her other car.
We waited and silence for a while till we heard the Mercedes ease out of the driveway.
"Well, Aly are you going to buy us some fruit punch or what?!" I broke the silence with my signature mischievous smile.
"Are you sure?" Paige was defiantly the goody out of the five of us.
"Absolutely, she will never know." I said dangling the keys of the Cadillac that I intended to drive.
