Bottle It Up [HIATUS]

Chapter 1

-- 6 years later --

These are the good days: waking up whenever and then doing whatever forever. This is summertime. Full of long, sunny days, no actual mornings, relaxing afternoons, and late nights. Free to do anything the heart desires without the restriction of school.

Too bad it won't last long. School is coming up in a week or so. To be exact, 9. I have been counting since Christmas in July. And, in my procrastinating ways, I still have to finish some summer homework.

After waking up at 9 AM, I ate breakfast over Netflix. Just the way to start the day! At 10 AM, I decide to finally start on the rest of my homework. Thank goodness I did the majority of it in late June, or else I would really be suffering here. However, even before I opened up one of the assigned books to read, I heard the loud noise of a truck backing up. I rushed to my window to close it, but then I realized that our new neighbors were moving in!

My mom had persuaded me to bake "Welcome Cookies" for them. I do like to bake, so it was fun. Unfortunately for the neighbors, a few of the double chocolate chip cookies were "accidentally" eaten, so they had a little less than 2 baker's dozen. My father would have eaten some, too, had I not stowed the cookies away out of sight!

I hurriedly dressed in a t-shirt and shorts and did my hair in a ponytail up in my room. Then I went down to the kitchen and grabbed the cookies about of the pantry. My parents work during the day, and my younger sister Lauren goes to a day camp sometimes, so it is just me during today. I slipped on my flip-flops and went out the door to greet the neighbors.

"Hello!" I shouted cheerily over the noise of the moving truck. "How are you?"

The neighbors looked at me in surprise. There was a couple, with a boy who looked to be around my age. There was also a golden retriever laying by the boy's side. Darn: Lauren wanted a new playmate. The two parents seemed to be a little cross, but maybe they are just stressed from the moving process. The boy, however, smiled and nodded his head.

The man finally said, "Hi there! I'm Michael, this is my wife Julie, and here is our son Max with his dog Thomas. Feel free to call us by our first names, but we're the Thames. And you are?"

I replied, "I'm Leanna, but you can call me Lea. My family lives next door. I'm sure my little sister, Lauren, will love Thomas. Here, I baked some cookies for you! I hope you guys are not allergic to anything?"

Julie spoke this time, saying, "No, we're perfectly healthy. Thank you! Thank you! Will you be going to the local public school? Max will be attending there, and it would be nice for him to already know someone."

Michael and Julie appeared happier than earlier, while Max started to look a little annoyed. Maybe it was because his mom mentioned school, the all-time forbidden subject. I suppose he can't be too happy about switching schools in the middle of his high school journey.

"Yes, I do. I will be a junior this year," I answered.

"So will Max!" Julie exclaimed. "When we were searching for the house, I was hoping to be in a good school district. I've heard that this district is pretty good, and now that he already has a friend next door, this house is even better."

"Great then. So, Max, how are you?"

Max looked up from the grass with a blank look in his eyes. Either he really likes grass, or he was not listening for the past minute. I thought including him in the conversation would have been a good idea, but maybe I should have left him with his grass, considering the moment of silence. Finally, he replied in a quiet but deep with the ever-so descriptive "well". Boys.

I was starting to feel a little awkward, so I explained that I needed to leave and go do the rest of my homework. Of course, Max had already finished his. Julie hugged me, Michael shook my hand, and Max just waved good-bye.

I couldn't wait to tell my family and friends about the new neighbors. Actually, I hadn't seen the group in a few weeks! Becky had a marathon she was intensely training for; Callie was working on paintings, which she sells to a local shop-owner, and Jemma was studying for something or other important. Only Marissa was available because she does not do much. With school starting, though, maybe I'll get to see them more. 

Maybe life will get a bit more interesting with Max around...

A/N:

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