Chasing Time

Part || 2

I watched him climb up his driveway for a few seconds, before hiking my backpack higher over my shoulders, trying to shake off the heat from my face as I slowly made my way back to my house.

Our Dodge Caravan was already parked on the narrow, chalk-filled driveway, meaning that Mom was already home, and the other kids would follow soon after.

I sighed at the thought, remembering what Clayton had once told me about treasuring the chaos that was my family. I need his grace to remind me to find my own.

I looked at the colourful rainbows, animals, and undecipherable drawings that coated the cement as I stepped up to the front door, twisting my key through the lock, despite the fact that Mom and Nana were home. They both felt better when it was.

I closed the door behind me, leaving it unlocked for the others, too young for their own keys - not that we'd have enough anyway.

"Hello, Donnie," greeted Nana from her seat in the living room. Her short, grey hair did nothing to cover up her slightly annoyed expression.

Something was bothering her, and I knew the minute I saw her expression that I was bound to get an earful - willingly or not.

"Hey, Nana," I replied, placing my backpack down to hang up my jacket in the small coat closet.

"Donnie, did you know that your mom buys artificial Pizza Pops?" she asked, accusingly. "What's even in a Pizza Pop? She should just make her own instead of relying on that processed company, stuffing who knows what inside of them."

"Yup," I simply replied, not wanting to get involved in another one of their disagreements.

Mom suddenly peaked around the corner from the kitchen. "Are you talking about my packaged food again? Look, they're convenient and cheaper than making my own. You know I don't have the time for that anyway, Mom. Let it go, please."

"I'm just saying, there's other options than giving in to the deceiving convenience."

I quickly moved to the side as I heard the door behind me swing open, grabbing my backpack.

In walked my siblings, all three of them, ranging from elementary to the last year of middle school. We all had the same dark blonde, light brown hair in slightly different shades, but my mom and I were the only ones with true brown eyes.

"Hi, munchkins, how was school?" Nana asked, now distracted from the point she was just making.

I made my way downstairs to drop off my backpack in my room, before climbing them again, walking up to Mom's side in the kitchen. "Hey, Mom. When's supper?"

"It should be ready in about half an hour," she replied, stirring a large pot of some sort of liquid over the stove. "...So, tell me something."

"Uh...I basically failed my math test. But other than that school was pretty decent," I shrugged, leaning my head against her arm, as her long, caramel blonde hair tickled my face.

"What? You failed?!"

"Yeah. I studied, though. I thought I was at least somewhat prepared...but, I don't know. I guess not."

"You know, it's not a bad thing if you need a tutor. Lots of people do. It's nothing to be ashamed of," she coaxed, turning the knob of the element higher.

"Mom, it's fine. I'll ask more questions next time and make sure I know the material better. I don't need a tutor."

I heard the front door open and close, before my dad's voice carried it's way through the house.

"Are you sure? I can arrange something," she tried.

"What are we arranging?" Dad asked, walking in behind us along with Melina and Grant, the smallest of the three.

"Donnie and I were talking about potentially getting a tutor for math."

"-and we decided I don't need one," I added.

"Are you sure, Don? I had one when I was in high school. Math has never been my strong suit, I'll tell you that," he admitted, laughing at himself.

"I'm good. Thanks for the concern," I shut down, taking a seat at the table as Melina and Grant ran around the kitchen, playing some sort of game that resembled tag.

"Are you heading to Clayton's after supper?" my mom asked, knowing to now change the subject.

She always understood me a little better than Dad.

"Yeah, we're planning on doing some homework and studying," I explained, pulling one knee up to my chest.

"Right, studying," Kyra remarked sarcastically, stepping into the kitchen. Her eyes rolled as she reached for a granola bar from the pantry without Mom or Dad noticing.

Kyra was going through a 'rebellious teenage phase'. Pros of being in the oldest grade of middle school. She thinks she practically rules the world. Sometimes I wish I was that naive, but without the bratty ego.

"Clayton and Donnie, sitting in a tree~" Melina chanted.

"Would you guys knock it off? When I say we're studying, it means we're studying."

"Alright, that's enough," Dad called, leaning over Mom's shoulder to get a look at the food.

"You guys, leave Donnie alone. Her relationship with that Clayton boy is none of your business," Nana said sternly, entering the now crowded kitchen. "By the way, how is it going with Clayton?"

I let out a sigh at Nana's contradicting words, realizing they weren't going to drop it.