Tip 10: Don't Win the Dork's Family Over...At Least, Not Yet
Before you read, if any of you guys have any questions about what I wrote in the last chapter, don't hesitate to send me a message. I would be happy to answer any questions you have.
Secondly, my friends and I have started a campaign, called Christiani-teen. Please be sure to check it out!
"Urgh!" I groaned, as I dropped my satchel on the living room sofa. I had just come back from another study session with Brett. Isabella had been there, but this time, Mrs Brown had taken care of her whilst we studied.
"Mom! I'm home!" I yelled, as I passed by the kitchen.
"Kayla, won't you come in and let me ask how your day went, at least?" called my mom.
"No thanks, I'm good," I replied as I climbed the stairs. I was done with my assignments; all I felt like doing was collapsing onto my bed, and sleeping till the next morning.
"But I have a guest here I'm sure you want to see!"
Unless that guest was Mr Smart saying that he'd taken back his decision to have me tutor Brett, I was not interested.
"Haven't you missed your brother?" questioned a deeper voice I hadn't heard in what seemed like forever.
"Taylor?" I retraced my steps and burst into the kitchen, almost pushing my mother aside in my hurry to get to my brother. "Oh my gosh, Taylor, I missed you so much!" I cried, as I buried my head into his oversized tee-shirt.
"Don't call me Taylor," he groaned as he ruffled my hair. "Taylor is a girl's name."
Taylor and I had had this argument since he was about fifteen. He had said we should stop calling him Taylor one day, after one of his classmates had made fun of his name, saying that he had the same name as Taylor Swift, a female singer. I argued that he had the same name as Taylor Lautner, a male actor. He didn't seem to see reason. Either way, he insisted we call him by his middle name, Gregory-or Greg for short. I always called him Taylor when I wanted to irk him, which was all the time.
"I missed you so much!" I squealed, hugging him again.
"Well, I didn't miss you at all," he chuckled, as he tried to free himself from my death grip. "Moments like this make me wish I was back in Ghana."
Taylor had just graduated, and together with some friends of his had formed a charity to sponsor the education of needy but brilliant children in Africa. They had started from a relatively small country, Ghana, in the Western part of Africa. The way Taylor talked about the place whenever he called, I was afraid sometimes that he would never come back.
"How was Ghana?" I asked as I released him.
"Amazing!" he smiled, and his eyes shone. "It's just a...spectacular country! Their culture is so rich, different dances, foods-different regions have different languages. I actually brought you all some presents."
"You did?"
"Yeah, I did. I'll give the out when Dad and Mikayla get back." ¨
"I'm just so glad you're here!" I squealed again, hugging him tighter. "Val's going to be so happy, and Oliver too...wait, why didn't you let us know you were coming?"
"I didn't want to worry you. You know our mother; she would have set up a six course meal," he laughed.
"True," I mused.
"Where is Mini-Kayla anyway?" asked Taylor.
"She has guitar lessons," I explained. Before anyone could say anything else though, the doorbell rang.
"Get the door, Kayla," said Taylor. I rolled my eyes but obeyed, only because he had just come back. When I pulled open the door, I almost slammed it shut again. I would have succeeded too, if it weren't for the meddling foot that stuck itself out just before the door slammed.
"Go away Brett," I said, trying to push him away. Unfortunately, my strength was no match for that of the star quarterback of our school's team. Grinning, he walked in.
"Aren't you going to offer me a drink?" he said.
I rolled my eyes again. "I didn't invite you in. Go back to the hole from whence you came."
He ignored me. "You left this," he said, handing me a notebook.
"Why didn't you just call and tell me to come back for it, seeing as you somehow got my number? Or just give it to me tomorrow at school?" I asked.
"I wanted to be your knight in shining armor," he said, flashing me a megawatt smile that may have made most girls swoon, but just made me roll my eyes for the third time in five minutes.
"Kayla, who is it?" my mom called.
"Oh it's just one of my friends! He's about to leave!" I responded, pushing Brett to the door.
"Nonsense!" said my mom. "Let him come in for a drink."
"You heard your mom," said Brett, sticking out his tongue at me. "Let me in."
He walked pass me into the living room, where my mom and elder brother had seated themselves.
"Brett!" exclaimed my mother as he walked in.
"Brett?" queried my brother, raising an eyebrow at me. I shrugged.
"Nice to see you again, Mrs Adams," he said, so polite that I was half convinced that some otherworldly being had taken over his body.
"It's wonderful to see you too, Brett. Are you here to see Kayla?" Mom asked. "Would you like to stay for supper?"
Trust my mother to invite the one person I did not want to see to supper. Seriously, didn't she have some kind of maternal instinct for things like this?
"Thank you so much for the kind invitation, Mrs Adams, but I have to get back home. My cousin is waiting for me. I just came to give Kayla something she left behind when she came over to visit." At the last statement, my brother's eyebrow shot up about a mile. He coughed not-so-indiscreetly, making it clear that he wanted to be introduced.
"Oh, right!" said my mother. "Taylor, this is Brett Hollister, the boy Kayla is tutoring. Brett, this is Taylor Gregory Adams, my son and Kayla's brother. You kids talk for a while, I need to check on the food." With that she rushed out, leaving my brother, my tutee and me.
After about two seconds, my brother said, "So Kayla, I'm gone for less than a year, and you go and get a boyfriend without even letting me know about it?"
"Pff-what?!" I spluttered. "Brett is not my boyfriend! Never! Like, eww! No way!"
My brother smirked. "Brett, is it? If you break my sister's heart, I'll break your pretty face, kapeesh?"
"We are not dating, Taylor!" I protested, but he ignored me.
"Now that the whole threat thing is over, tell me how you met Kayla," he said, settling down on the sofa.
"She bumped into me and spilled strawberry milkshake all over herself," started Brett.
"You tripped me up! You literally stuck your foot out and I fell! It was your fault!"
"Calm down, Kayla," laughed my brother. "But man, I wish I could have seen that! It would have been hilarious!"
"Actually there's a video..." started Brett, pulling out his phone, and tapping on it.
"Brett, didn't you have to get back home? Isn't Isobel waiting for you?" I asked Brett, sending him a death glare.
"Actually, I'll call Aunt Lisa and let her know that I'll be a little late," he shrugged, pulling out his phone. Taylor couldn't control his laughter. I didn't know whether to pout or scream in frustration. What else could possibly make this worse?
Right on cue, my little sister skipped into the living room, and gave a shout of delight when she saw our brother.
"Taylor! I missed you! You never said you'd be coming I would have totally missed guitar lessons to see you. How long are you staying? Oh, hey Brett." She said all this in one breath.
"I missed you too, squirt," he said, tickling her. Mikayla giggled, and squirmed away. "But when will you guys start calling me Greg?"
"When hell freezes over," I said dryly. "Now, Brett, please leave."
"But he just got here," protested my brother.
"Yeah, Kay, he just got here," repeated Mini-me.
"Can it, pintsize," I muttered.
"Actually, I'll have to get going," said Brett, who had just cut his call to Mrs Brown. "My dad is back in town." The look on his face suggested that this was not a pleasant thought. "He wants to see me."
My brother and sister looked like their favourite toy had been taken from them.
"You'll be back soon, right?" asked Taylor.
"If you'll have me," Brett shrugged.
"Of course we'll have you," grinned Mikayla. "Anytime, Brett. And bring your cousin along."
I sighed. I was going to get Brett for this.
I'm sorry I couldn't update last week Friday. I was really busy! Since it seems my schedule is rather packed (and I'm suffering from a mild case of writer's block) updates will be fortnightly, rather than weekly. I am so sorry for any inconveniences. Please don't let this deter you from reading though!