A Narration from the Brain of Jewel Quinn

Chapter 3: The rock and the caterpillar

Chapter 3: The rock and the caterpillar

Tuesday, June 24, 7p.m.

This was how The Beast has been greeting me lately: "Hey Rock!" And yes it is annoying. Not that he cared when I had told him to stop, repeatedly.

How could I not have noticed what he was while we were growing up? Talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Get cooking, Rock. I'm hungry." Ryan commanded barreling into the kitchen.

He swung himself on the counter and helped himself to some of the candied walnuts I made for the salad. Like he didn't know it was going to make me mad.

"You eat that and you don't get to eat the lamb curry I made for dinner." I informed him grating parmesan cheese on the salad greens.

I wasn't going to eat disgusting food just to spite him. Although, I did try slipping detergent into his portion last night and got soap on mouth for my troubles when he insisted that I taste his food like those egyptian slaves on the national geographic.

He just raised a caterpillar eyebrow in response and popped in another walnut. 

If he doesn't watch himself, he'll wake up one morning and find that caterpillar plucked to extinction.

As I watched him pop nut after nut into his mouth, I can't help but think about how much he'd grown. Ryan and I were almost the same height and weight all through middle school. He was always the quiet kid so while I'd be boisterously laughing with my friends, he'd be sitting in a corner reading a book.

At first I did feel sorry for him and tried to include him in our games, but then he fell and scratched his knee. 

The grown ups pretty much ganged up on me and punished me for getting their golden boy hurt. I never went near him again.

Until last summer that is. When I learned how little golden boy had a heart that was pitch black.

It was very disturbing to realize that he had gotten hot. Well not Blake Lee hot, Blake Lee being the hottest guy in Mission Hill. But still. It was kind of disturbing to realize that the kid that you used to ignore has gotten hot.

Not that it stopped me from trying to avoid any interaction with him. It was very important not to let hormones get in the way of survival.

"And stop calling me Rock." I said plucking what was left of my nuts and slid them over the bowl to toss in the salad.

"If the shoe fits," he said shrugging and accidentaly knocking over a metal bowl. It crashed loudly on the floor.

Which caused grandpa to sway over with his head bobbing to some imaginary beat. "Stop being a dick and head over the dining table." he said while picking at the nuts on the salad.

I loved Grandpa. He's the only one who actually sees through Ryan's bullshit. It was kind of sad that my only ally is an aging 73 year old man who everyone thought was senile. But beggars can't be choosers. 

He just glares at his grandfather and starts swinging his feet back and forth.

"Grandpa" I said, grasping his spool-thin arm before he topples over the chair. I grabbed the extra bowl of candied nuts I put in the refrigerator. "I made an extra batch for you. What have you been drinking?" 

I sieze the water bottle from his grasp and smell its contents. It was one of the family agreements that alcoholic beverages be banned from the house. Since this had resulted in many "incidents", usually involving grandpa flashing an innocent by stander.

This causes Ryan's mom endless embarrassment and has since banned alcoholic beverages from the house. But he always manages to get a hold on the "good stuff". He's crafty that way.

The smell of vodka instantly hits me as I sniff the bottle. No wonder he was swaying. I pretend that I don't smell anything for Ryan's benefit and hand the bottle back to grandpa. "You better not get caught or we're both screwed," I whisper.

"Don't worry Linda thinks the new meds the doctor gave me is making me woozy," he whispered back. "Don't ask me if this compromises my meds, I was a doctor once you know."

"You've mentioned that at least a thousand times." I rolled my eyes and smiled affectionately at him.

"And I'll only stop saying it when people start remembering it." He huffed taking a swig of his bottle.

Ryan started banging his feet loudly on the side of the counter. Obviously tired of being ignored.

I ignored him and marched to the dining room carrying my salad. Maybe I had to do his chores for him but it doesn't mean I had to interact with him anymore than what was strictly necessary.

**********

Have I mentioned, on how much I hate this place. Last time I stayed here, they wouldn't let me in because I was wearing shorts. Mrs. Oaks doesn't like to see people wearing cutoffs at dinner in her fancy house. I had to go back up and sort through my luggage to look for a pair of pants.

I told my other friend Desiree about this and she said that was very telling. She said it revealed that Mrs. Oaks has some very unresolved issues and to counter that, tries to control the environment around her. Desiree's parents are psychologists so she probably knows what she's talking about.

This all happened pre-Mission Hill Fair last year. And Mrs. Oaks hated me even more post-said event. But you couldn't really pin everything on me.

Although I was the one who accidentally gave the DJ to play Jenny's break up video instead of the pictures of Mission Hill slideshow, I wasn't the one who came marching in and accused me of breaking up Jenny and Ryan because I wanted Ryan for myself while the camera man who was taping the event was there.

Ok, maybe in my steady denial of her accusations, I may have let what I really thought of Ryan slip out. Just a little bit. Ok maybe a lot. But I didn't know that the camera taping us was connected to a live feed on the projection screen.

To say the least, dinner was an awkward dance of "Could you please pass___? and Thank you" s. 

******

The phone line was busy and the only person I knew who had his own separate phone line was across the hall from me.

"What do you want, Rock?" Ryan asked as I entered his room.

"I want to talk to Desiree. Please go offline. So I can call her." I pleaded leaning on the doorway for support. I just needed to talk to someone who didn't constantly radiate animosity towards me.

"What do you want to talk to her about?" He asked.

"None of your business. Just go offline, please." I answered. 'You can't hog all the lines of communication to yourself. It isn't fair."

"No one ever said life is fair, Rock."He said crossing his arms over his chest. "What's the matter? Dream boy didn't call?"

"Who's dream boy?" I asked.

"You know, your post-zombie apocalyptic life mate and my best friend, Blake Lee."

Jenny told him! I can't believe she told him! I'm going to kill her.

"Would you go offline so I can call Desiree?" I asked going over the subject.

"What's the matter, Rock? Did I strike a nerve?"

I turned around and shut the door. I don't even know why I bothered to ask him.

*********

Desiree's ways to avoid a Nervous breakdown:

1. Suck it up. You're not the only one with problems.

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P.S. Do not follow Desiree's advice. If you are ever on a brink of a nervous breakdown seek professional help.