Hear Me Out

Chapter 5

Yes, I did end the cruise early. I just found that it was making the story go almost nowhere besides Jeremy realizing his feelings for Katie.

Chapter 5

       "Home sweet home," Dad said as we walked in our house. I was so happy that the cruise was over. I wouldn't have to be near Katie almost all day.

       Unfortunately, school was starting for me and I had to go to public school instead of being homeschooled. I could only imagine what everyone will think when they hear that a freaky genius, music and art prodigy is joining the school and he couldn't talk near anybody. How fun.

       "Finally!" Massey said. "I appreciate the cruise and all, but it was so boring."

       "Yes, because going to Hawaii was so boring," Eric said with an eye roll.

       "Yeah, there were no cute boys," Massey pouted.

       "I'm glad that this family vacation was just an excuse for you to look for boys," Dad said sarcastically. "The next surprise will probably be just the same."

       "Next surprise?" Mom asked. "What are you talking about?"

       "I didn't tell you?" Dad asked, though I could tell that he didn't tell her on purpose. "Well, then it will be a bigger surprise."

       "What's the surprise?" I asked.

       "Perhaps there was a mix-up at the hospital and it turns out that Jeremy isn't a twin and we're sending Massey back?" Carter asked.

       Dad snorted. "No, I fairly remember your mother giving birth to twins. But that would make things easier if it was only Jeremy...."

       "Dad!" Massey exclaimed as Mom slapped Dad's shoulder.

       "I'm kidding," Dad said. "Anyway, as for the surprise, I can't really say what it is yet. Matt doesn't want anyone knowing yet."

       "Matt?" Mom asked. "What does my brother have to do with it?"

       "Nothing," Dad said. "And Jeremy, don't go asking Karen because she doesn't know either."

       Karen was my cousin and my best friend. She was adopted from my uncle Matt and aunt Crystal a year after they were married, when Karen was four. We were the same age, so we became close friends.

       Uncle Matt and Aunt Crystal were then able to have their own kid. His name was David and he was a year younger than Carter and Eric.

       I have a lot more cousins, considering Dad had five siblings. But we were closer with Mom's brother since she didn't have any parents. They both died when Mom was sixteen after both being hit by a speeding car. Mom and Uncle Matt witnessed it and was devastated. Dad even saw it happen because he was Mom's neighbor at the time.

       "We'll tell everyone tomorrow," Dad said. "Well, show everyone."

       "And why haven't you told me about this?" Mom asked, crossing her arms.

       "Because suspense," Dad replied before bringing his and Zoey's suitcases upstairs.

       Mom sighed. "Remind me why I married him in the first place." She shook her head and grabbed her suitcase before heading up the stairs.

       "Hey, Jeremy," Massey said. "I just remembered that I have a bunch of homework since I missed a few days of school for the cruise. Mind doing it for me?"

       I scoffed. "Yes, I do mind. I'm not just someone you use for their brains."

      "Why not?" Massey asked. "You're IQ is higher than 140 and I'm your twin. You could at least give me some of your brains."

       "What are you? A zombie?" I asked. "Well, that would explain your dead personality."

       "I really don't like you," she said. "I just want you to do my homework."

       "How about I help you with your homework?" I suggested.

       Massey huffed. "Fine. I'll get my stupid homework." She went to her bedroom before coming back down the stairs with her arms filled with notebooks.

       "How much homework do you have?" I asked.

       Massey shrugged. "A lot. Let's just get this stupid thing done." We went to the dining room to work on Massey's homework. However, as soon as she opened one of her notebooks, she groaned dramatically. "What the heck is PEMDAS?"

       "Order of operations," I said. "How do you not know what it is?"

       "Because I hate math," she said. "Why? When did you know what it is?"

       "Uh, would you hate me when I told you I was three?" I asked.

       Massey slapped my shoulder and trust me, it hurt a lot. She definitely got the brawns of the family. "Ow!" I exclaimed, rubbing my shoulder. "I was just asking...."

       "But now I feel even more stupid!" Massey said. "You knew how to do this when we were three and we're now almost sixteen, yet I don't know what it is."

       "It's simple," I said. "PEMDAS stands for parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. It's the order you do these questions."

       Massey frowned and looked at the first question. "So......" she said. "I do the math in the parenthesis first, right?" I nodded. "So the parenthesis would equal four."

       "Yeah," I said. "Then you rewrite the question but with the new change."

      Massey wrote it down, then looked at the question. "No exponents, so multiplication?"

      "Kind of," I said. "With multiplication and division, you go from left to right."

      Massey sighed. "Why is this so complicated? Can't you do it for me?"

      "No," I said. "It's simple, Mass, come on."

      "No, you know what it is? Useless. It's not like I'm just going to see an equation and I have to solve it to save my life."

       "What if you're held at gunpoint and the only way you'll live is if you solve a problem?"

       "Who would make me do that?" she asked.

       "I don't know," I said. "Just do your homework."

       Massey continued working on her homework, thankfully getting the hang of it. While she was working on one of her questions, she randomly asked, "So what do you think of Katie?"

       I furrowed my eyebrows. "W-what do you mean?" Did she know I liked her best friend? Is that why she was asking?

       "I'm just wondering," Massey said. "She's great, right?"

       "Yes?" I said, but it came out sounding like a question. "Why?"

       "Curious," Massey said. "I'm just curious. Is this question right?" I looked at the question and nodded. "So, you're starting school tomorrow? You excited?"

       "Yes, I'm so excited that I will be forced to be around a lot of people," I said sarcastically. "How fun."

       "If it's any consolation," Massey said, "Karen goes to that school. Just stick with her and you'll do fine."

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This chapter wasn't too bad. But seriously, I'm loving the sass I didn't even know I gave Jeremy. cx