What is this? An updating marathon?
Dia's POV
So I thought my first day of school this year would be the most nerve-wracking experience ever. Then I thought it would be auditions. Then the protest. But now I know for sure that this is it. Because my boyfriend, my BOYFRIEND, invited me to his house for Thanksgiving. And his entire extended family is going to be there. Yay.
Pip and I have been dating for about three weeks now. When we told our friends, there were various reactions, ranging from a "Congrats" from Evan while Connor pulled Pip aside and threatened him, to Jack screaming "FINALLY, MY SHIP HAS SAILED" at the top of his lungs in the middle of the cafeteria and Crutchie giving Frances twenty bucks under the table. Pretty much the reactions I was expecting.
I knock on the door to the Hamilton apartment before I can chicken out, and a moment later the door is opened by a little boy. And I mean little. He couldn't have been older than six. Must be one of Pip's brothers.
"HI!"
"Hi there. Is Phillip there?"
"Yeah, one second...PHIL! YOUR GIRLFRIEND'S HERE!"
There's a crash further in the apartment, and some yelling that sounds a lot like my clumsy boyfriend. Pip's brother turns back to me.
"I'm Will. I'm five. What's your name?"
Will stuck his hand out to shake mine, which I did, while trying not to laugh.
"I'm Dia. It's nice to meet you, Will."
Just then, Pip came around the corner. His face was red, like he'd been running, or quickly trying to pick up whatever he knocked over, which was more likely. He was still in the process of tying his hair up.
"Hey, Dia, come on in. Sorry about him."
"Oh no, he's fine. We've been having a very nice conversation, right Will?
Will nodded enthusiastically.
"I like her Phil."
Pip laughed at that, finishing his ponytail.
"I like her too, buddy. Now, why don't you go see if Angie will turn on a movie for you?"
Will ran off, probably to go watch his movie. Pip turned back to me, laughing.
"He's one of the more manageable ones, so be prepared."
"Gotcha."
I stepped inside the apartment. The walls were painted a light blue, and the hallway we were standing in was covered in framed photographs. Pip interrupted my thoughts a moment later.
"Hey, um, I was going to kiss you at the door, like I had this whole thing planned in my head, which sounds dumb, then um, then Will opened the door and that screwed everything up and-"
"Yes, you can kiss me, you dork. You don't have to ask every single time, I'm ok with it."
"Yeah, but like if you didn't want me to and I did anyway I don't want to make you uncomfortable or-"
In a sudden moment of bravery I didn't know I had, I leaned forward and connected my lips to his. We kissed for a few moments before Ms. Hamilton yelled from the kitchen, startling us both.
"Pip, honey, don't leave the poor girl standing in the hallway!"
He seemed to realize then that we were, in fact, standing awkwardly in the hallway.
"Yeah, um, you can drop your stuff in my room, and I think my mom has hot cocoa. No one else is here yet."
We walked to his room, which was surprisingly clean (cause if Pip's locker is any proof, that boy does NOT know how to organize) except for the pile of books scattered across the floor. That must have been what he dropped earlier. I threw my purse onto his bed, and then he led me to the kitchen. On the way there, he paused at a door with a handmade sign that said "ALEX'S (AND JAMES') ROOM, DO NOT ENTER". When he opened the door, I was immediately met with the sight of three boys playing an Xbox and eating Cheetos.
"Hey losers."
They all looked up in surprise. Pip turned back to me and introduced them.
"My brothers, minus Will. Alex jr, James, and John. Guys, this is my girlfriend, Dia. Please don't do anything stupid while she's here."
The oldest one, Alex, gave Pip a sarcastic salute.
"Gotcha, Phil. Took you long enough to get a girl, we wouldn't want to scare her away."
"At least I got a girl, Alex."
Alex aimed a nearby stormtrooper throw pillow at Pip's head, but he shut the door before it made contact.
"Sorry about them."
"No big deal. So that's what, four siblings so far?"
"Yeah, Lizzy's taking a nap, so you probably won't see her till later. Angie's in the living room with Will."
We made it to the kitchen, where Ms. Hamilton was pulling a pan out of the oven. A man who must be Mr. Hamilton sat on a barstool nearby, writing. He looks a lot like my dad. Weird. Ms. Hamilton immediately turned when she saw me and gave me a hug. Ms. Hamilton gives really good hugs.
"Dia, it's so good to see you! And I'm sooo happy that Pip finally got the guts to talk to you."
"Moooooom!"
"Sorry, sorry, do you two want cocoa?"
"That would be great, thanks mom."
After pouring us two mugs of cocoa, Ms. Hamilton walked over to her husband.
"Alex, Pip's girlfriend is here."
"Hmmm?"
"Alexander...ALEXANDER"
He still didn't respond. Jeez, that guy was into his work.
"DAD!"
Pip's attempt didn't work, so Ms. Hamilton tried one last time.
"ALEXANDER HAMILTON!"
Mr. Hamilton's head shot up.
"Yes, Betsey?"
"Your son's new girlfriend is here, and you have been so absorbed in your writing that you didn't even notice! It's Thanksgiving, Alexander!"
"Oh, yes, sorry Betsey."
Mr. Hamilton turned toward us and gestured for Pip and I to come sit down.
"Come over here. I want to meet the girl Pip hasn't stopped talking about since the beginning of the school year."
"Daaaad, really?"
"Pip, I'm your dad. It's my job to embarrass you."
He turned back towards me.
"So, Dia, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"I hadn't heard anything about you before this year?"
"I just transferred to Phillip's school this year, on an academic scholarship."
"So you live here in Manhattan?"
"No sir. I live in Jackson Heights."
"Ah. You know, I lived there for a few months after I came to New York. Lots of good people in that neighborhood. Did your parents immigrate here too?"
From anyone else that question would have been offensive, but Mr. Hamilton is an immigrant too, and I could tell he didn't mean anything by it.
"No sir. Both my parents were born here. But my dad's family is from the DR, and my mom's is from Puerto Rico."
Mr. Hamilton seemed like he was going to ask more questions, but his wife interrupted him.
"Alexander, stop interrogating the poor girl. You kids go into the living room and enjoy your cocoa."
So that's what Pip and I did. We sat on the couch with Pip's sister Angie and Will, who was watching Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Twenty minutes later, we were putting our mugs in the sink when there was the sound of the door opening. An unfamiliar male voice called through the apartment.
"WASSUP HAMILTONS, THE PARTY HAS ARRIVED."
The source of the yelling entered the kitchen. It was a man with long curly hair similar to Pip's and freckles. Behind him were Ms. Laurens and Frances, who immediately headed over to us. So THIS is Frances's dad. For a few minutes there was a lot of yelling and hugging as Ms. Hamilton greeted her sister and Mr. Laurens attempted to get Mr. Hamilton's attention by waving a hand in front of his face.
"Alex...Alex...Alex I am your best friend and I want attention."
Mr. Hamilton finally seemed to realize there were new additions to the group.
"Peggy, John, good to see you!"
Mr. Laurens ducked his head inside the boys' room to say hello, then came over to us.
"Hey Uncle John."
"Well if it isn't mini me. How's it going, Pip?"
He then seemed to notice that I was standing there. Mr. Laurens looked confused for a moment, then started counting the kids in the room, looking even more confused when he finished.
"ELIZA, DID YOU GET ANOTHER KID WHEN I WASN'T LOOKING?"
That made everyone laugh. Just to make the situation more embarrassing for Pip, Will decided to pipe up from the couch.
"That's Dia! She's Phil's GIRLFRIEND."
That made everyone laugh harder, and Pip turned the color of my sweater.
A few minutes later, the next person arrived. This was a tall woman in a pink blouse, who I later learned was Ms. Hamilton's older sister, and Pip's Aunt Angelica. After that came Mr. and Ms. Washington, who, according to Pip, were the closest thing Mr. Hamilton had to parents, which didn't make it any less weird that I was having Thanksgiving lunch with my principal. Finally, Mr. Hamilton opened the door to two men who I had never seen, but seeing them made most of the Hamilton children very excited.
"Herc, Laf! I didn't know you could make it!"
"Well, Adrienne is in France visiting family, so no girlfriend, and so I decided to take you up on your invitation, mon ami. And Herc had nothing to do besides annoy me, so he decided to come."
"I brought pie."
Apparently, the two men were Pip's Uncle Hercules and Uncle Lafayette, who he wasn't really related to, but they were like family. I guess it's like me with Dani and Carla.
Now that everyone had arrived, we all sat down to eat. The group was so large that we had to be divided up between two tables, the barstools, and the couch, but the food was really good. As people finished eating, Pip and I escaped to his room with our slices of Herc's pumpkin pie, which was surprisingly good.
"Sorry about my family, they're kinda crazy."
"No problem. You put up with my crazy family at Carnaval. And your siblings seem pretty cool."
"That's the thing about siblings. You love them, but you also regularly want to strangle them. It's like, No one is allowed to mess with my sibling but me."
"I wouldn't know, I'm an only child. My Aunt Nina's pregnant, so I'll have a baby cousin soon, but it's not really the same."
"Yeah."
We fall into a comfortable silence as we eat our pie. Once we're finished, Pip starts talking again.
"I'm really glad you came. It kinda makes it real that we're dating. It hadn't really sunk in that you actually liked me until now."
"Of course I like you, dork. I don't kiss just anyone."
He smiled at that, then leaned in till he was only a few inches away, and whispered.
"Can I kiss you?"
"Sure, Pip."
He closed the gap between us. You know how in books when the girl gets kissed she always says what the other person's lips taste like, like chocolate or whatever? I've always thought that was dumb, but Pip kissing me literally tasted like pumpkin pie. He pulled away, smiling.
"I never get tired of doing that."
A few minutes later we were joined by Frances and Angie, who started a game of Exploding Kittens. Then Mr. Laurens showed up and joined the game, and we played until I had to go home in order to have Thanksgiving with MY family. I was satisfied as I left the apartment, considering I hadn't made a fool of myself in front of my boyfriend's family. Actually, I think they liked me. Mission accomplished.
I added so many characters that will never be seen again.
1946 words