Only We Know

Chapter Four - Home

When I arrive home, no one is here. I put my things down on the floor of the entryway and head in to the kitchen and grab a can of pop. I head to the living room and turn on the TV. I stare blankly at it, letting out a short laugh occasionally when one of the stars on the reality show makes a stupid remark. I hear the door open and slam closed as the episode is ending and I turn to see Katie walking towards me.

"How was school?" I ask as she plops down on the arm chair

"It sucked" She grins "I just want to get home schooled and then maybe I won't end up with crumby teachers like Mrs. Masse. Or better yet, Ill just drop out"

"Same" I smile and look back at the TV

"I definitely thought Delaney would be here filling you in on all the juicy details of the summer"

"I think she has piano tonight" I lie, knowing she dropped piano over a year ago

"Oh, well mom and dad aren't going to be home until five or six, so we might as well just make our own dinner. What do you want?" She asks and I shrug

"I don't know, lets go look" 

I turn off the TV and we walk over to the kitchen and start to rummage through the cupboards and the fridge. There is a very sparse amount of food, seeing as we just got back from a two month vacation and my parents immediately returned to work. By the end of our search, we end up having breaded chicken and lettuce in a tortilla. We sit down at the counter and I listen to Katie as she tells me all about her day. 

"... And then she gave us, like, three pages of homework!" She says loudly "It's the first fricken day!"

"I know, but don't worry. I got Mr. Reek for math again" I roll my eyes and watch hers widen a little "He gave us ten questions for homework and made us copy this ridiculous note from the board. I can't tell if he just hates teenagers or the world"

"Maybe he's just not getting any" She shrugs and I slap her arm

"Katie!"

"What? Guys get grumpy when they have to use their hand" She says and I laugh

"If that's the case, he hasn't been getting any for three years and I think he needs to find another wife" I say and we both laugh

As Katie starts to talk again, we both hear the door open. I glance over at the clock and see that it is already five thirty. My mother enters the kitchen first, her blonde hair shining under the pot lights. She walks over to Katie and kisses her on top of her head.

"Hello darling" She says to the both of us

"Hey mom" We say in unison and smile as our dad walks in the room

"Ladies" He greets us "How were your days?"

"Good. We both have crappy teachers and a ton of homework. How was yours?" Katie asks

"It was alright, nothing to brag about" My dad sighs and looks around the kitchen for food

I finish eating my wrap and walk over to place my plate in the sink. I wash it quickly and place it in the drying rack.

"Im going to go do my homework, so I will be upstairs" I tell everyone

They all smile and I walk back to the entryway and grab my backpack before heading upstairs. I walk to my room and close the door so that there is only a small gap left. My mom has a rule about the doors being completely closed. She thinks it looks suspicious and that when we close them we are obviously misbehaving. I can't even think about it without rolling my eyes. I walk over and plop down on my bed, grabbing my math textbook from my bag and stare at the next question.