Starbird

Chapter 12

The rest of the day passed rather slowly, unfortunately. Mom and I wandered about town, slightly disinterested in everything we found. The weather was being a little ridiculous with this sort of mist that Londoners call rain. That was not rain! Rain is fat drops of water that fall from the sky and you need an umbrella. This stuff was just floating around you just making you cold and miserable and wet. Eventually, we slid into a taxi and headed back to the house. Mom went off to her office to call Dad, while I remained in my bedroom, sketching random pictures of London’s bleak weather. I guess pencil can capture that quite nicely.

As evening inched on, I waited impatiently for the boys to arrive. They were probably still reveling in their own prank, thinking how genius it all was. Well just you wait boys, I got a plan. Mom was in on it, telling me to grab her when I started it, but I had a feeling she would be fast asleep before we got to that point. Pointless doodles were covering an entire page of my sketchbook and Mom had already made dinner, however we weren’t allowed to touch it until the boys came home. The taco materials just sat on the counter and stove, untouched, and I could feel my tummy rumbling. Where were they? I was getting anxious for them to get here and go to bed so I could put my prank in motion.

“Mom, can’t we just eat?” I whined. “The boys can eat later. Puh-leaze?” 

“Cammie, we can wait. I’m sure they’ll be here soon.”

“But what if they’re not here for another hour?”

“James said they’ll be home by eight.” I looked down at my phone. Quarter to eight. 

“It’s close enough though!” I remarked. “Seriously, I doubt they will care if we eat without them.”

“No. We can wait.” I groaned and shot a quick text to James.

To: Jamesie Poo

Get your lazy butt home. I’m hungry and the tacos are getting cold.

It was a few moments later when my phone beeped with a new text.

From: Jamesie Poo

Five minutes away! Ooooh tacos!

“James says five minutes.” I groaned a little more, feeling like that was way too long.

“See? Not long at all.” Mom replied, going completely against my feelings.

“But Carol.” I whined.

“Whoa!” I grimaced, instantly knowing what was coming for me. “I am not your BFF.”

“Don’t say BFF, Mom.”

“I am your mother, and you shall address me as such.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And now you’re sassing me!”

“Sorry! I’m sorry. I just don’t see what the big deal is when I call you by your name.”

“It’s because it is the equivalent of bringing your parents down to your level, demeaning their authority and making them equal to a kid.” A sense of realization went off inside me.

“That actually makes a lot of sense.”

“I know. I don’t mind if you call me Carol in a casual sense, I don’t. But once you use it disrespectfully or with sass, it’s a no-no.”