Rainbow High OC Scraps

The Introverts of the Party

 For once, Julia was dreading finishing the dishes. If the dishes were all clean, then she had no more chores to do. And if she had no more chores to do, that meant...entertaining guests.

She didn't HATE her in-laws by any means. They were fine people. But people were people, and Julia had never been a people person. She got the feeling her brother-in-law and his wife didn't quite like her. Maybe she was too plain. Maybe it was because she read so much. Maybe it was because she's just that sort of person. Never really the type to stand out and be liked.

It's part of why she hated having people over so much. That, and all the pressures of hosting. Cleaning the house, making all the food, keeping the kitchen clean AFTER making the food, getting the kids ready, making sure the guests are taken care of...it all added up to a nightmare of stress. Leo, her husband, knew she didn't like hosting. But he'd invited his brother and his family over anyway. Sure, Julia could have reminded her husband that she doesn't like hosting. But once Leo gets an idea in his head, he's set on it. There's no going around him.

So, she'd spent the last hour diligently cooking dinner for everyone so they could have their food hot and fresh. And then cleaning up after all that, because a messy kitchen looked bad, of course. What if her in-laws saw the mess and thought she was a bad mom? That she couldn't keep the house clean? Stress, stress, stress.

At least she was alone for the time being. While she cleaned, everyone had moved outside to the backyard. She periodically glanced out the windows to check on everyone, but things were quiet out there. Leo, his brother, Anthony, and his wife, Nazia, sat on the deck, chatting away. They each had a beer in front of them, and Julia briefly worried about the alcohol selection. Had they not bought enough for the party? Too much? Did they look bad for having any at all? She tried not to think too hard about it and looked for what was more important. Her daughters.

Her eldest, Rouge, was talking with her in-laws' eldest, Briar. Julia was grateful the two were so close in age. She would've loved having someone like that growing up. Speaking of which, her youngest, Piper, was running around the yard, as seven-year-olds were prone to do. Piper spotted her sister and ran to her. To Julia's delight, Rouge playfully scooped Piper up and put her on her shoulders, letting her feel like part of the older girl's conversation. Piper looked delighted to be so tall.

She sighed. Despite the stresses of the night, it was worth it to see her girls getting along so well. Julia had never gotten along with her own sister. The two had grown up as rivals more than anything else, and they hadn't spoken in years. Last she heard, her sister was in Thailand or something, living some charmed life.

It was part of why she'd wanted at least two children so badly. So she could raise them to be friends. So they could have each other. Julia never really had anyone to rely on growing up. She'd needed it to be different for her girls. It made her feel good. If nothing else, she accomplished that goal. Despite the large age gap, her two daughters got on like a house on fire. Thank goodness they had each other.

Well, with everything in the kitchen done, it was about time she finally rejoined Leo on the porch. She dreaded the small talk she'd have to sit through, but there was no more avoiding it. At least she'd get to watch the kids while they talked. However reluctantly, she hung up her dish towel and made her way towards the backyard.

On her way, she passed through the living room, which is where she stopped. Her youngest niece was splayed out on the couch on her stomach with pages and pages of loose-leaf around her.

"Scarlet?"

Scarlet startled, dropping her pencil. "Oh! Aunt Julia. It's just you." She grabbed her pencil again and returned to her work.

"What are you doing in here? Don't you want to be outside with everyone else?"

Scarlet shifted to sit up straight. "Not really."

Julia eyed Scarlet's setup. She had nothing but a worn school folder filled with loose-leaf paper and her pencil. "Can I ask what you're doing?"

Her niece looked towards her work and started hurriedly gathering up the pages, shoving them into the folder. "It's nothing. Just something stupid."

Tentatively, Julia took a seat next to her niece. "Why would you call it stupid?"

Scarlet shrugged, hugging her folder to her chest. "I was just....writing," she admitted finally.

Julia couldn't help but feel her heart flutter. When she was younger, she'd dreamed about becoming a writer. But life had gotten in the way. "I think it's super cool that you're a writer! What are you writing about?"

"Umm..." Scarlet idly kicked her legs. "It's about a princess...and a knight...and dragons and stuff."

"I love fantasy!" A girl after her own heart. "I would love to read some of what you've written...if you'll let me."

Scarlet seemed apprehensive about the idea. She took a minute to mull it over before digging some pages out of the folder. "Here. I numbered the pages on the top. Oh, and they're front and back."

Julia briefly looked over both sides of the papers she was given. They were COVERED in her niece's shaky young handwriting. Clearly, she's very serious about all this. She read over the few pages she was handed as quickly as she could. She was sure Scarlet would want her review as soon as possible. The writing was the beautifully clunky writing of a child, full of meandering descriptions of clothes and too many synonyms for "said". And it was perfect. Scarlet clearly had an idea for a story to tell, and she understood story structure perfectly.

"This is amazing!" She said, finally.

Scarlet's eyes widened. "You think so?"

"Yes! You've got really great potential, Scarlet. I know this story will be great."

Scarlet beamed and started to take her pages back.

"Just promise me something, ok?"

"What?"

"Promise you won't stop writing. You've got a talent, and I want you to follow that, if that's what you want to do. You could even be published one day if you wanted to."

"Really?" Her niece's eyes lit up with all the stars in the sky.

Julia couldn't help but smile. "Really. Your writing is really good."

Suddenly bashful, Scarlet looked away. "Thank you."

"Alright, I'll let you get back to it," Julia grinned, getting up from the couch. She told Scarlet to ask her for anything if she needed it, and finally turned to her original mission.

The porch. But now it didn't seem as horrible a fate. She felt lighter, somehow. She found herself quickly sliding into place next to her husband, waving to her sister-in-law as she sat.

Leo barely blinked as she arrived. He and his brother were talking about baseball. His "real" true love, they would joke.

Her sister-in-law glanced over to her nervously. "You haven't seen Scarlet, have you?"

"I have. She's inside."

Nazia visibly relaxed.

Julia couldn't help but fondly continue, "It looks like you've got an aspiring author on your hands."