My Neighbour

sixteen

James

"What's next on the agenda then" Dad asked looking over at Mum who looked through the games in her box. This woman I swear has too much time on her hands
"What about Taboo? We can do kids against adults?" Mum offered, I looked over at Riley and Piper before holding my hands out to them
"We've got this in the bag" I said nodding at them both to high five which they both did with a small hint of laughter 
"Don't get cocky son" Dad warned
"Oh come on old man, let's see what happens" I said making him roll his eyes as mum took our the deck of cards

"Okay kids your up first. Let's let James go first" Dad said handing me some cards
"Ready to see how its done?" I asked stretching a little bit making Riley laugh as I faced her and Piper
"Your time starts" Mum started
"now" She continued allowing me to flip over the first car
"Okay New york is the big?" I said, Piper look lost but I had a little hope for Riley
"Apple?" She asked and I nodded moving on to the next card
"Instead of a Pen you could use a?" I said and Riley smiled again
"Pencil?" She said making me nod again with a smile

"What did you play in PE Monday?" I asked
"Volleyball?" She said and I smiled nodding again
"And the boys played?" I asked
"Baseball?" She continued we were on a roll. I think at this point, Pipes had given up
"Instead of buying a house you can?" I asked
"Rent!" Both Piper and Riley said at the same time making us all laugh
"What did you say I was when I mentioned fire on the first day of school?" I asked and Riley instantly laughed
"Welll" I said reminding her of the time frame
"Ice" She replied and I nodded moving onto the next card
"It's what you call Piper" I said and they both nodded
"P" they said in time 
"The name of the main ingredient of the snack you are always eating?" I asked and she raised an eye brows before face palming
"Bannana's?" She asked and I nodded 
"Both of you are wearing this colour" I said and they looked at each other
"Purple?" Riley asked and I nodded, I didn't think she would get it because you could barely see Piper's purple top
"What were we celebrating at the bonfire?" I asked and Riley looked so confused
"Come on Ri" I said making her smile
"Football?" She asked and I nodded
"TIME!" Dad called making me look over at him
"Beat thattttt" I said throwing the cards in my dad's direction

--

"We were closeee" Dad whined after realising they only managed to score 2 points
"Sure, sure you were" I replied tapping his shoulder
"Right. I think that is our queue to exit, we don't want to over step our welcome" Harry said making Riley sigh standing up
"If you'd like Riley, you could stay the night. I'm sure Piper would love having you around" Mum said making me smile to myself
Riley looked over at her dad who smiled at her
"Sure thing sweetie, I'll bring over some clothes for you when your mother is home" Her dad said giving her a hug as he left 

"Can we play Taboo again?" Piper asked and I furrowed my brows at her
"Why?" I laughed
"because I know Dad and I can beat you" She smiled cheesily making my roll my eyes
"Oh yeah?" I asked and she nodded
"Riley, care to help me prove them wrong?" I asked and she chuckled nodding 

"Alright Pipes, A coffee?" Dad said and Piper looked instantly confused
"Drink?" She asked and Dad shook his head
"Umm milk?" she said and Dad continued to shake his head 
"Think furniture?" he said and Piper rolled her eyes
"Table" She said making Dad nod moving on
"Half your time is gone" I warned them making Dad nudge me 
"What does james never leave the house without?" He asked
"His keys?" Piper asked, she wasn't wrong
"What no? Have you seen how many times he's been locked out" Dad groaned
"Technology Piper" Dad said
"And Time! The correct answer wassss?" I sung
"Phone" Dad said passing me the cards

I handed them to Riley as she sat up in the arm chair her dad had once sat
"Okay go" Dad said
"You think Miss Anderson needs to fix her" Riley said
"Nose" I replied making her nod
"You hang with the?" She asked
"boys?" I replied and she nodded 
"We are sit in a?" Riley asked
"House?" I replied making her nod once more with a smile
"Oh oh When you brought over muffins what was the first word I said to you?" Riley said making me laugh
"You" I answered 
"What are my walls covered in?" she asked
"Photos?" I replied making her nod
"And Time!" Dad called making me glance over at him before returning to Riley to see her smiling and for once. I was smiling back