And here is Chapter 2 everyone! Thank you for the reads and votes, every little bit counts! I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it for you :)
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Nothing could pull me down from the high I was feeling. Not when Pam yelled at me for making a mess, not when I had to stay after closing to scrub down the whole place, not even when I ruined my nails thanks to the bleach. Asher's number was now in my phone, so I could call him up any time I pleased. Once again, my magnificent brain and physical prowess served me well. He caved so easily. God, I even impressed myself sometimes.
"I'm home!" I sang as I danced through the doorway, my keys twirling on my index finger. "Anyone want to hear how splendid my day went?"
"Oh, Lane, good! Glad you're home." Maisy leaned back so her hair cascaded down the back of the sofa. Not a strand was out of place thanks to that headband that she swore to high heavens gave her good luck. She wore that thing to every test and volleyball game. She never failed. "Want to grab us some snacks?"
I glanced over and saw her study group aficionadas that consisted of her boyfriend Derek, her best friend Juliet, and a couple of others that I honestly didn't care to remember. I watched as they were laughing about something nerdy, probably some dumb pun, before a trash bag appeared in front of me.
Maisy wiggled the bag. "Please?"
I rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms. "Why can't you take it?"
She held up her notebook and tapped it with her pencil. "Studying. Plus, you're still dressed in your uniform." She plugged her nose. "Yeesh, I can never get used to that greasy smell."
I wanted to hug her to smear every bit of grease onto her but that would mean actually having physical contact with her. I would rather deal with the trash.
"I thought older siblings were supposed to be responsible," I murmured as I took the bag by the straps.
"Did I not just say that I was studying? Plus, I thought youngsters were supposed to help the elderly." She turned back to her friends. "Make sure to grab the sour cream and onion chips, 'kay? Thanks!"
I made a face behind her back and caught Juliet smirking. She mouthed a 'thank you' before going back into whatever subject was tormenting them. At least Maisy's friends weren't as bad as her.
I headed into the kitchen and threw the bag into our bin. I spotted my mom and Toby sitting at the table, building something out of popsicle sticks. I glanced over at the clock. It was already eleven at night.
"Hey Mom," I said as I hugged her over her shoulders.
She jumped. Popsicles flung up in the air and rained down on the tiled floor. She put her head in her hands. "Geez, Delaney. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"We'll never finish it then," Toby whined.
I stared at the mess of glue. "What is it?"
"A bridge." He grinned at me.
Mom shook her head. "It's supposed to be. Why the hell would they give a project already when school just started back up again?" She glanced over at the clock and let out an aggravated sigh. "Toby, why don't you work on these things earlier? It's already eleven!"
He shrugged. "Guess it didn't occur to me." He picked up another bag of popsicles sticks and ripped it open, sending a new wave of popsicles everywhere. "Don't forget Mom, we need to make it sturdy enough so it will take a good amount of tension."
She rolled her eyes over to me. "I suppose you don't want to help?"
I looked down at myself. "I think I better wash up first. But I have some exciting news!" I went over to our pantry and grabbed my stepstool so I could reach the top of the refrigerator to grab those stupid chips. "Want to hear it?"
She took another sip of her coffee. "I don't know if I can handle anything else exciting."
I held the chips tighter to my chest. They crinkled loudly in my ears. "Are you sure?"
Her smile was tired. "How about you wash up first and if we're still up, you can tell us while fixing up this monstrosity."
"Can we make this a monster bridge?" Toby asked hopefully.
"I don't think we can even make this a 'bridge' bridge."
I nodded. "Sure, sounds good. I am pretty sweaty. It was really funny, I actually..." I trailed off as I noticed she wasn't paying attention anymore. I squished the bag in my grip and went back into the living room.
"Here." I tossed them at Maisy.
"Thanks!"
I rolled my eyes as I headed downstairs to the basement. I could already smell the alcohol. I had to feel my way along the wall to find the light switch. Once I flipped it on, I heard a loud groan.
My grandpa laid stretched out on the old beaten, flowery sofa. My dad had repeatedly tried to get rid of the thing as it didn't match any of our furniture, but Grandpa always refused. He won't even sleep in his bed anymore for the fear that his son will dump it during the night.
"Hey, Grandpa," I sighed as I began cleaning up the shot glasses that lined the coffee table. "I see you had a rousing day."
He grumbled, rubbing his face. "Why did you put on the lights?"
"Because I wanted to see that dazzling smile of yours when I told you about my fantastic day."
That got him to chuckle. He burped and lifted himself up to lean against the armrest. "Alrighty. Dazzle me."
"I got a lovely assistant!" I cheered.
He furrowed his eyebrows. I couldn't tell if he was seeing straight. "Is that what you kids are calling 'goin' steady' nowadays?" He shrugged and grabbed a beer from the table.
I shook my head. "No. An actual lovely assistant. Like in magic shows?"
He started coughing and foam dribbled down his chin, adding to the already stained white tank top. I grabbed a few napkins to help him clean up.
"Magic?" he was finally able to sputter out.
I nodded vigorously. "As in, I'm going to compete as a magician. Just like you."
He blinked a couple of times. I knew he would be thrilled. When he performed, it was the happiest time of his life. Who wouldn't be honored when a darling like me would aim to recreate that?
"Since when did you start practicing magic?" was all he asked.
I laughed nervously as I played with my fingers. "Well, never. But that doesn't mean I haven't been studying it! David Copperfield, Houdini, Dante, Mark Wilson, you, I've watched them all and even more. I've got the looks already and now a partner. All I need is the actual magic part. And who better to teach me than the famous Winston Beckett?"
He watched me for a few seconds before taking another sip. He shook his head. "Your father isn't going to like this."
I shrugged. "Dad doesn't like a lot of things."
"Delaney."
I stuck out my lower lip. "Grandpa, please?! Dad doesn't have to know. They can be sweet bonding moments between a granddaughter and her grandpa. Doesn't that sound cute enough to put on a Hallmark card?"
He reached in between the cushions, digging around before revealing the remote. He began flipping through channels, trying to shut me out.
I got down on my knees. "C'mon Grandpa, please? For me?"
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Only if your father agrees to it. He is allowing me to live here, y'know? I don't want to make him any more upset at me."
I shook my head and let out a light laugh. "Dad's not mad at you."
He only grumbled in response.
That was enough for me. I got up from the carpet and dusted myself off. "See? I have a talent for wrangling people in. It'll be amazing, I know it."
He flipped another to another channel. The beer was probably starting to take effect. Oh well, I was able to get out my news about today and I feel better than ever. Some of our family don't take to kindly to Grandpa, but he has always been there to listen. That's more than I could say about the rest of them.
I was not going to fail. Dad was definitely going to let me practice magic, no matter what.
♥ ♣ ♦ ♠
"No."
I nearly choked on my eggs. "No? What do you mean 'no'?"
"It means precisely what I just said." My dad flipped his paper to the next page. "You're not going to get involved in that. It'll take time away from your school work."
Maisy taunted me with her fork that still had French toast stuck to it. "We all know how hard you need to work for those C's."
I took another bite. "Sometimes it's hard to concentrate when there's so much banging going on next door." I smiled. "I guess I'm not the only one getting D's."
Her face went red as she took a sip of her milk.
Dad coughed as he gave both of us the eye. While we were allowed to go forward in our relationships, as long as we had talks with Mom and had regular check-ups, Dad wanted to hear none of it. Especially when we were eating.
"Are you building something?" Toby asked her. "Because if you are, could you do my next project for me? Mom sucks with popsicle sticks."
"You'll manage," Mom muttered through her breakfast. "You're lucky with what you got."
Maisy glanced at the clock. Turning to us, she said, "Alright, you two. I don't want to be late. Let's get going."
I groaned, grabbing my backpack from under the table. As much as I was for saving the environment and all that jazz, I didn't understand why I had to carpool with them. Vienna was already my ride to work as well as home when she got off from cheer practice; why not have her take me to school as well? But no, "family bonding was top priority in this household," says the father who barely listens to anyone.
We gave our kisses and hugs before getting in Maisy's car. Everything was clean and put together, but a bunch of crap fell out when I tried to grab a tissue when I opened the glove compartment.
"Geez," she sighed, shoving things back in and snapping it closed.
As she was turned around to check her surrounding, she asked Toby, "Where's your jacket?"
He shrugged. "I wasn't feeling particularly cold."
I twisted in my seat. "Aren't you going to get cold when you go out to recess?"
He thought for a moment. "Probably. But that just means I'll get to wear one of the one's from lost and found. I hope I get the monster truck one again. I found old chocolate in the pockets."
Maisy looked like she was going to puke. "You are so gross."
He shrugged again. "I think of it as a business. It's like those guys on Storage Wars, you never know what you're going to get. Last week, I found a pile of old stickers and raised the price to one per quarter. They were vintage Looney Tunes."
I rolled my eyes. The school probably thinks we have horrible parents that don't provide warm clothes. Or worse, when they see Maisy pull up in her always fashionable attire, they'll think our parents give Maisy all the attention and money. Well...they wouldn't be too far off.
"I don't have time for this." Maisy swerved around the corner. "I have a class meeting before school."
I put my head against the window. "It must be so tough to be you."
"Shut it. I don't want to hear it from someone who doesn't have a social life."
I glared at her. "Excuse me, didn't you hear me earlier? I'm going to be in a contest for young entertainers. I don't think that qualifies as doing nothing."
"But Dad said you couldn't," Toby remarked.
Dad says a lot of things.
"I'm sure it was just because he hadn't had his coffee," I answered instead. I wasn't going to stay where I was. I was going to make things happen. I was going to stand center stage, everybody clapping and loving me. I could already picture it.
I took out my phone and sent my first message to Asher since getting his number.
We're gonna rock this! Wanna grab the consent form & meet me at mimi's at 6?
It only took a few seconds for my phone to buzz in response.
I was just wondering what I was gonna do for dinner. Thx love ;P
I shook my phone in Maisy's face. "Would a person who doesn't do anything have plans after school at the diner?"
She smirked. "You mean your job?"
"No, I'm off today. I have an official meeting with-" As much as I wanted to brag in her face about my assistant, there was no way I could trust her with my secret. That was precious blackmail information.
She raised her eyebrows, waiting.
"With my boss." I settled on. I could sacrifice my ego a little bit for this. It'll all be worth it when I'm announced as the winner and she'll have to face that she isn't the only one in the family that can win trophies. It's up to me to put her in her place since it looks like Toby is more into the sticker scalping business. I hope that trait doesn't continue later in life.
She had on a small smile as we pulled up to the red light. She concealed it by touching up her lipstick.
Toby screamed.
A mauve line smeared across Maisy's face. "What?!"
"My bridge!" he yelled. "I left it at home!"
I was too busy laughing at Maisy's face. "I like that shade," I commented. "Mind if I borrow it sometime?'
She glared at me and gasped to her horror when she saw it in the rearview mirror. However, she funneled all her anger and fear into shouting at Toby, "How could you leave it at home?!"
"Me?! You were the one who noticed I didn't have a jacket? The least you could do is see that I didn't have my project. Mom worked so hard on it!"
I pointed ahead of us. "Light's green."
"I'm so sick of you two!" Maisy shouted as she stepped on the gas.
"That makes three of us," I deadpanned.
Maisy locked her eyes on him in the mirror. The poor kid was running his hands through his scruffy brown hair, practically on the verge of having a mental break. "You'll just have to say an excuse," she explained.
He shook his head wildly. "They won't buy that anymore!"
"Just how many times have you done this?" I asked. "October just started."
He gave me a flat look. "Laney, I think this is hardly the time to bring up my poor academic records."
"How could you be bad at school?! All you do is read!" Maisy shouted.
"Not my school books, those are boring. Mysteries are more my thing. I have this really good one I'm reading, it's called-"
"Shut up!" Maisy yelled.
"Oooh, Princess is starting to reveal the dragon beneath." I snickered.
Toby was suddenly in between us. "We need to go back!"
"Toby, get in your seat!" Maisy tried pushing him back.
He held fast against the leather backing. "My academic life depends on you! I'll be living with you for the rest of my life if you cause me to fail. I'll be like Grandpa, but I'll be in your living room so everyone has to witness the failure you've made me become just because you didn't help me with my homework!"
She pulled a U-turn in the middle of the street, causing several cars to blare their horns at us in the process. Toby flew backwards and strapped himself in nice and tight. Maisy ripped open the glove compartment, rummaging around before she found a napkin. She spit in it and wiped at her face vigorously.
"Toby," she hissed in between wipes, "you owe me big."
He shuffled through his pockets before holding out his hand. "How does a Bugs Bunny sound?"
Ah yes Dad. Here's your family bonding.
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