X-Kid

A Daydream Away

The rest of the week was pretty painless. It took awhile to get used to Luna and Alex together, but soon it just seemed normal. Our lovely group of 6 hung out at my house again that Friday, and Jack and I made a plan for me to go over to his house the next day for a study session. I was surprised to find his house was only a couple streets away from mine, so I walked there around 2 in the afternoon, backpack in tow.

I rang the doorbell and stood on the porch awkwardly for a moment. The door quickly swung open, and a friendly looking woman stood there. “Oh, you must be Nora. Come on in,” she greeted.

The inside of the house was normal looking, at least more than mine seemed to be. Pictures hung on the walls throughout the house, depicting the happy family. The living room had a fireplace, a plush couch, and a few game consoles sitting in front of the TV. The smell of food beginning to cook wafted from the kitchen, and there were dishes stacked on the dining room table, ready to be set. I thought of my family and my home, and how atypical they were compared to this. I felt a little inferior.

“Thank you for having me over, Mrs. Barakat,” I said as my eyes continued to survey my surroundings.

“It’s no trouble! After all, you will be helping Jack out so much. Do you plan to stay for dinner?” she wondered.

I shook my head. “I’d hate to be a bother.”

“I insist,” she grinned, before turning toward the stairs. “Jack! Your friend is here!”

“Just a minute,” he called back. “I’m just getting out of the shower.”

Jack’s mom began explaining all of the various pictures on the walls, telling me when and where they were taken. It was only a few minutes before Jack came pounding down the carpeted stairs, hair still damp and clothes a little askew.

“Nice for you to make an appearance,” his mom commented. “I was just showing Nora the pictures from your 5th birthday.”

He threw his head back and groaned. “Really, Mom?”

“Oh come on! You were so cute,” she replied. She headed back to the kitchen to work on dinner some more.

“Yeah, you were adorable. What happened?” I joked.

“Fuck you,” he said.

“You wish,” I mentioned. “Where should I set up?”

“We’ll just go in my room,” he commented.

“Leave the door open!” Mrs. Barakat called as we went up stairs.

His bedroom walls were covered in band posters and old Polaroid photos, t-shirts and pairs of jeans scattered across the floor. He quickly pushed some things off of his bed to give us both somewhere to sit, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Shit, I should’ve cleaned.”

“Oh well,” I shrugged. “Your mom’s really nice though. I like her a lot.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool,” he said. “You’re gonna meet my dad, brother, and sister later too.”

“You’re lucky, you know,” I stated.

He tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I love my family more than anything, trust me, but sometimes...” I sighed. “I wish we were a normal family, like you have.”

He laughed. “Nora, my family is not normal.”

“But they are the social kinda normal. You’ve got both parents in your life, and two full siblings. I definitely don’t have that,” I mentioned.