I Fell In Love With The Boy Next Door (Bryles)

O N E - The Mystery Man

"Briar, come down stairs. Quick!" My Mum shouted, in a panicked tone, which immediately had my nerves going.

"Coming!" I yelled back, as I put my homework aside, & practically leapt from my bed; rushing downstairs to see what was going on.

I found my mum in the kitchen, holding up a plate with a cake on it. The cake was vanilla, with a thick pink buttercream icing. On top of the cake was little flowers made from Royal icing, & swirls of all different kinds; & written in red cursive was, "Welcome!"

Mum eyed the cake, proudly, as she turned the plate around in her hands, trying to take in every detail.

"What's wrong?" I asked, marching into the kitchen, with a concerned look on my face.

"Oh, Briar, dear. There you are!" Mum said, glancing at me briefly, before she placed the plate onto the table.

My mum use to be an accountant, but she often had to work until very late, & sometimes didn't finish until 9pm. She also found the job very slow-going & exhausting. She couldn't spend much time with the family either, so she quit. Now, she works at a local bakery, & has started taking courses for learning how to decorate cakes, & do lots of fancy designs.

"You called for me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"Oh. Yes, I did. We're going to go over & meet the new neighbours & say hi." she beamed, looking rather excited.

"They haven't even been here 24 hours, & you're already bothering them? They've got unpacking to do, & lots of organising... I don't think they'd want to be bombarded right now, mum." I answered, shaking my head. My mum loved to be the 'welcoming' neighbour that shows up on your doorstep as soon as you turn into the driveway.

"Oh, come on sweetie! They'll love the warm greeting." she replied, humming a cherry tune, as she raced back & forth, putting stuff away.

"No, mum, I'm sorry but I can't. I have a heap of homework to do." I replied, as I turned on my heel & started walking out of the room.

"No, no, no, missy. You're coming whether you like it or not." Mum replied in her stern voice, which told me not to argue, but I had to test the waters.

"Abbey! Come downstairs!" Mum shouted, calling out to my younger sister, who was probably in her room, freaking out over not having her full 30 minutes to do her makeup.

"Mum, I can't go. Dance went late last night, so I couldn't study. I have a test tomorrow, & I can't fail it. It's really important." I argued, turning back to face my mum, who gave me a look that said, "I simply do not care!"

"Meeting the neighbours will take five minutes. You girls can come & say hi." Mum said, adding the finishing touches to the cake. Just as she finished sentence, Abbey walked into the kitchen.

"You called for me?" Abbey asked curiously, entering the room in short black denim shorts, & a white crop top that showed off a decent amount of her stomach, & quite a bit of cleavage.

"Yes, we're going to go meet the new neighbours!" Mum exclaimed.

"Didn't they just get here yesterday afternoon? Won't they... ya know... Want some time to unpack & organise their house before being bombarded?" Abbey asked, obviously not at all keen to go meet the new neighbors.

"Goodness me girls.. Just go get ready to go & meet them. We're leaving in five minutes." Mum replied, getting a little annoyed.

"Mum, I can't go. It sounds like fun & all, but I have a date with Ryan, & I leave in like ten minutes. I need to finish doing my hair & makeup." Abbey said, which almost made me scoff. She was an attractive girl, with a good body, but she was so snobby at times.