Social Experiment

09 | The Rolling Stones

 I woke up and laid in bed for awhile on Saturday morning as I recounted the night before. The sunlight spilled through the opening of my curtains and lightened up a strip of my hardwood floor in front of my bed. Even though my mind still raced with other questions, I couldn't help but think about something Nathan said last night. It's sexy when you're confident. 

I knew he had a flirtatious personality, and the likelihood of him having said things like that to who knows how many girls before was high. Yet it still lingered in the back of my mind instead of ignored. And eventually I got out of bed and pulled a sweatshirt on before exiting my room to head downstairs. The house was eerily silent, and I briefly wondered if I was the first one awake.

Of course, Luke wasn't up yet, considering it wasn't past noon yet. My mom, however, was an early riser, so she was likely to be up. I went to the kitchen and then the living room, but nobody was to be seen. I checked my mom's office and didn't see her there, either. In the middle of looking for her, my mom walked into the front door and then the kitchen as grocery bags filled her arms.

When she saw me, she smiled widely. "Good afternoon, honey. Will you help me unload the car please?"

I nod and walk out with her. "Afternoon? What time is it?"

My mom raises her eyebrows at me. "Almost twelve. Don't tell me you just woke up?" When the look on my face gives me away, she whistles jokingly. "Lauren, were you partying or something last night? It's very unlike you to sleep in."

I filled my arms with grocery bags from the trunk and think about her words while biting my tongue from telling her how wrong she was. I was the opposite of partying last night. I was babysitting my wasted little brother and make sure he didn't get in a fight with Beefy and Meaty, not to mention tuck him into bed at the end of the night.

"Well, at least I woke up to new food," I smile at my mom as she chuckles and grabs some bags from her trunk. "There's nothing better than that."

I head back and forth between he house and the car until the trunk is unloaded and the kitchen counter is overflowing in plastic bags. Once my job is finished, I grab the new milk and cereal, then head over to the other side of the kitchen to make myself breakfast. Or lunch. Or whatever the hell this meal was to be considered. 

I watch Keeping up with the Kardashians- what can I say, I had a weakness for trashy reality TV- and my mom joins me after she puts food away. We frequently indulged in the Kardashian's life, and even Luke loved Khloe. In fact, I was certain that when my mom goes away for a book signing or interview, she spends her nights in the hotel room with Dianne watching while drinking red wine.

"What are you doing today?" I ask after a minute of thinking of my plan-less day. "We can go get our nails done. Or lunch."

My mom looks at me sheepishly. "I have plans with Dianne."

At the rejection, I muttered, "Why do you have a fuller social calendar than I do?"

"Do you want to come with us, honey?" She asks with a nudge of her shoulder. It was so lame that I just received her pity invite. 

"No," I supplement immediately. "That's okay. I'll find something to do; go and have fun with Dianne, but don't get too drunk."

My mom swatted at me with a playfully mad expression. "Oh, shush, Lauren."

I smirked and continued watching with her for another hour before she got up to get ready for her night in the city. I, on the other hand, had zero plans. I sat on the couch and contemplated my next move: lay in bed and watch Netflix or go out. For some reason, the idea of going out appealed more- really, I always choose to lay in bed and binge on Netflix, so the change was weird- so I went to my room to change, too.