Survival Skills: for Dating || ✓

Survival Skill 1: Thou must expect the unexpected

(R E W R I T T E N)

Survival Skill 1: Thou must expect the unexpected

Waking up bright and early, I stretched my arms out before climbing of my bed. Yes, I know it was Saturday. I just came accustomed to waking up before sun comes out. Wasn't that weird for a hormonal teenager? Yes, I was aware of that.

With a bright smile on my face, I walked downstairs. Yes, smiling in the morning wasn't normal for hormonal teenagers too.

I spotted my step dad, sipping his usual coffee by the counter and quickly approached him. Technically, he was only Mom's boyfriend since they weren't married yet. "Good morning," I greeted him.

Since I was ten, my parents had been legally separated due to certain family problems I'd rather not recall. They decided to have a legal separation instead of a divorce which was why my mom still uses her married name but in all honesty, I don't see the point. It was obvious my mom and dad weren't getting back together with everything that's been going on. Divorce sounds probable and I was sure it would mean a lot to Jim since that could give him the chance to finally marry my mom in legal terms. Unfortunately, my father resided at Thailand at the moment and I haven't seen him in years. As much as my parents would like a divorce, the distance and the time were prime factors as to why they hadn't done the process yet.

And no, it wasn't a tear jerking, sad family abandonment story. My parents were highly civil with the separation and they weren't any need for dramatic tears and full blown screams. At an early age, I already realized that their marriage was going down hills. I just simply took it as a blessing in disguise. I mean, if it wasn't for this we wouldn't have the twins.

The twins I was referring to were my four years old brother and sister, Tutti and Tim, my mother's children to Jim. Tutti and Tim were absolutely adorable and were not as spoiled as how Mom described Jamie and me when we were in their age. Despite that, I love to spoil them, though. Jamie was only two years younger than me which meant that we practically matured at the same time. I didn't really experience the "big sister" thing with him which was why I was spoiling my two cuties.

"Morning," Jim responded as he eyed me. "Have you brushed your hair yet?"

I shrugged because I was well aware that my hair resembled a huge bird's nest. My action made him chuckle before he went back to reading his newspaper. Bored, I looked around and saw that my brother and the twins were already engrossed on the TV. I smiled at my siblings and sat beside them placing my feet on Jamie's lap.

"You are so heavy,"Jamie groaned. Yes, he woke up early, too. I guess, it ran in the family.

Flipping through the channels, Jamie accidentally passed through Dora the explorer and that simple action made the twins wail. They obviously wanted Dora. Jamie, being Jamie, just stuck his tongue out at them.

I rolled my eyes. "Real mature, Jamie,"

"What?" he asked, annoyed. Unfortunately, unlike me, Jaime wasn't a cheerful riser.

"Let the twins watch Dora."        

Jamie shook his head defiantly. "No, I don't get to watch the TV that often. People here hog it."

Rolling my eyes, I crossed my arms over my chest. "Mom!"

"WHAT?" Mom asked, annoyed as she stepped outside the kitchen. Yep, I knew where Jamie got it.

"Jamie is being a jerk."

"Dora! I want Dora!" Tutti said, backing me up.

Mom placed her hands on her hips as she turned to Jamie. "Seriously, Jamie?" she asked, "It's barely seven in the morning and you're already causing ruckus,"