Hear Me Out

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

       Apparently, word got around that there was a paint fight in an art class and considering how I had red paint in my hair, people kept giving me weird looks, which made my anxiety even worse. I couldn't handle all the looks everyone was giving me.

       I was so happy when school was over for the day. My first day of high school was one I would never forget, that was for sure.

       Dad drove into the parking lot where Tyler and I were waiting. Massey wasn't there yet, no surprise.

       "I don't even have to bother asking how school went, Jeremy," Dad told me as Tyler and I got into the van. "By the way, I like the red in your hair."

       "Very funny," I muttered. "Is there any chance I could be homeschooled again?"

       Mom sighed. "Jeremy, you know you can't."

       "I know, but it was worth the shot," I muttered.

       "Why exactly is your hair red?" Eric asked from the back seat.

       "Paint fight," I told him. "Massey just had to make sure I felt welcomed."

       "Does she get any paint on her?" Carter asked. "Please say yes, please say yes."

       "Orange," I replied. "A whole container full of it."

       Carter smiled. "You do me proud, older brother."

       Massey finally got in the car, looking quite agitated. "Can we just leave?" she asked.

       Carter snorted. "I like what you did to your hair, Massey," she teased. "It's very unique."

       Carter saying that caused Massey to get even angrier. And to let her anger out, she decided to slap my arm. "Ow!" I exclaimed. "What was that for?!"

       "My hair!" she told me. "I hate orange!"

       "So I'm told," I said. "You're the one who got paint on me first!"

       "Kids, stop arguing," Dad told us. "We have somewhere to be, so buckle up."

       Nobody else complained as we buckled our seatbelts, getting ready to go wherever we were going. I guessed it had something to do with the surprise Dad told us about the day before. I had no idea what it was since he gave no hints about it.

       After about a five minute drive, we pulled into the parking lot of a rundown restaurant that shut down years ago. "Why are we here?" Mom asked Dad. Even she didn't know about the surprise. "Don't tell me you bought the restaurant."

       "Then I won't tell you," Dad said with a smile.

       "You bought a restaurant?" I asked. "Why?"

       "I love cooking," Dad said. "So I figured, why not buy a restaurant?"

       "Without consulting your wife about it?" Mom asked. "Luke, you can't just buy things you want without telling me, even if you are an adult."

       "Oh, come on, Mel," Dad said. "Owning the restaurant will be great! I'll prove it." Everyone piled out of the car and followed Dad to the restaurant. We weren't the only ones there. Also inside the restaurant was Uncle Matt, Aunt Crystal, Karen, and David.

       The restaurant looked even more rundown on the inside than it did on the out. Cobwebs were in every corner, the paint on the wallpaper was peeling, and a few bugs were running across the ground.

       "Matt, did you know about this?" Mom asked her brother.

      Uncle Matt smiled. "Pretty awesome, huh?"

       "No, not awesome," Mom said. "Even if we were able to fix this place up, how will we run it?"

       "Easy," Uncle Matt replied. "If I do recall, your husband is an expert chef, as well as your eldest daughter. And it's pretty easy learning waiter and waitress skills."

       "And how exactly will we fix this place up?" Mom asked.

       "Mel, fixing it up will be easy," Dad said. "Jeremy could design the place and even paint it to have cool designs that match whatever theme we're going for. Massey would be able to do the interior designing because of her interest in fashion. Tyler can do all the tech stuff and everyone will be able to do everything else."

       Before Mom could reply, Massey screamed suddenly and jumped on a table. "There's a rat!" She pointed to a rat that scurried across the floor. Eric was quick to pick it up since he loved animals. "Eric, that's disgusting!"

       "How is it disgusting?" Eric asked. "It's so cute!"

       "And Eric can even be the exterminator," Dad added.

       "Exterminator?" Eric asked. "Now way. I'll capture them, but I'll let them go outside. I'm not killing innocent creatures."

       "Innocent?" Massey asked. "Their creepy and disgusting!"

        "So you have something in common," Carter said, high-fiving her twin in reply.

       "Ha, good one!" Dad said.

       "Luke!" Mom said as Massey said, "Dad!" Yeah, Dad loved teasing Massey the most, but Mom always got angry at him for doing so. Like I said, Dad was basically an overgrown child.

       "I'm kidding," Dad said. "Carter, don't be rude to your sister. If you have something witty to say, say it either in your head or to Eric so you two can bond over it because family bonding is important."

       Mom just rolled her eyes. "Anyway, back to the restaurant. Are you sure you want to do this, Luke? It will be a whole lot of work."

       "I know," Dad said. "But owning a family restaurant was something I always wanted to do. We can even get my siblings to help. Evan can cook just as well as me, you know that. I'm sure his wife and son would help as well. Laura can also help with designing the place and Eli can help Tyler with the tech stuff."

       Mom sighed. "Alright, fine. So, where should we start?"

       "Well, we can start by capturing the rodents and letting them go," Dad said. "It will be hard for Massey to do anything when she's cowering on the table."

       And so we started.

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As the chapters progress, they get less cringey. cx But seriously, my writing has improved since I started this. cx