Greenridge Academy

Chapter nine

Lachlan's POV:

  "It's this one right here." She says just above a whisper while unlocking her car. It's a — nice car. For normal people I guess... I plop down into the passenger seat and my knees are injected into my chest. "God, who was the last person to sit here? Tinker bell?" I spit out. I close my eyes while moving the seat back, trying to find my inner calm. I don't want to scare her off, we need to work on this stupid project. She seems like she scares easily and I can't be chasing her around all over this little town. "Um – no. Actually it was my fourteen year old sister." She says with a bite. Hm, so she can bite back. Interesting... She starts on the road, "Where am I going?" She asks quietly. I look around her car, taking in how neat and tidy everything is. She has her school books stacked on the floorboard behind her seat, an oversized crewneck sweater laying against the seat, and a pair of vans sitting next to the sweater. "You're house?" I question. She gives a small chuckle, "Sure. But just to give you a warning... I have three siblings: sixteen, fourteen, and four." She pauses but quickly continues before I can get a word in. "They'll be getting back home right about now, so that means my three bedroom, one bathroom house will be filled with seven people. Hope you're ready for some excitement." She finishes with a small smile. I give a reluctant nod, and look out the window. Maybe I bit off more than I could chew... I've never really been around kids before. Or parents really, the only time I'm around my parents is for punishment, or press releases.
  We reached her small house quicker than I thought we would. It's a small mostly brick home, a few windows here and there. Olivia jumps out of the car grabbing her purse and a few textbooks from the back of her car. She pauses before closing the door, "You coming?" She asks with a bright smile. There's a twitching feeling somewhere in my chest as I look at her, without responding I exit the car and follow her up the cemented pavement to her front door. I take a deep breath trying to prepare myself for what I'm about to pull myself through. Before I can calm the anxiety in my stomach she pushes the door in. "Honey, I'm home!" She sings out. I look around with wide eyes, confused on who she would be greeting like that. The first thing I take in when I step through the open door is the smell of vanilla cookies. Seconds later I hear small little footsteps coming faster and faster. "Livy! Livy!" A little boy with long wavy blonde hair comes running into the room and jumps into Olivia's outstretched arms. This must be the four year old. "Hey Auggie bear! Did you have fun with dad today?" She asks quietly. He gives her a wide grin, nodding his head enthusiastically. I continue looking at them with amusement when I notice his eye catching mine. He cuddles closer to her whispering into her ear where I can no longer hear him.
  She turns them around until they're facing me, "This is my classmate Lachlan. We have a school project to work on." She says confidently. He nods his little skull slowly and points to a door. Without any other words needing to be spoken she follows his orders, pushing through a door without looking back to see if I'm following or not. Once I can no longer see her, I hear a few different voices and laughter ringing from behind the door. I wait a few more minutes before realizing that she probably wanted me to follow her and I'm not meant to be hiding. I push through the white painted wooden door, and step into their kitchen. It's bright and has a freshly cooked aroma. I look around the room and find four sets of eyes on me. Four sets of eyes that I've never seen before. A man with graying hair and soft features, I'm assuming as her father clears his throat before speaking, "And who might this be?" He asks with his eyebrows raised into his receding hairline. "This is –" Olivia begins before I cut her off. "Lachlan. Richards. We have a project to work on." I say with a curt to the point voice. Both her father and mother's heads snap toward each other and both begin nodding excessively. What's with this family? Are they all this— weird? "Would you like a drink?" I hear Olivia's soft voice from behind me. I shake my head in response. "Yo grab me one, Barbie!" A deeper but not fully developed voice speaks. My head snaps in his direction, "Ugh! Jessie! I told you to stop calling me that! It's embarrassing." She says half mumbling. My eyes fling back and forth between the two siblings, I've never been nervous or anxious around people before. Normally when I walk into a room everyone's eyes follow me without even wanting to. That's just how it's always been, yet with this family... Everyone seems like they could care less who I am. Like I'm just any other boy coming home with their daughter, they must not have heard anything about me before now. I raise my eyes unintentionally at the revelation.
"We're going to go work on the project in my room." Olivia calls already halfway out of the swinging door. I give the rest of her family a small nod before following her out. She's quiet on the way to her room, looking back only once to make sure I'm still following her. We trot up a steep staircase before turning right and she open's a purple door with little white flowers painted on it.