chapter 3: meeting the teens
to the right you'll see a picture of Violet Rhys ^_^
Chapter 3
It doesn’t take long to unpack my things, and the sun is just setting. The teenagers outside amass, and I even see the makings of a bonfire. Is tonight special here or something? I feel kind of left out, holed up in my little room here. Perhaps I could join them now?
Usually I dress for comfort. Most of my clothes consist of old shirts and worn out shorts and ancient pyjamas. However, I did plan for moments like these and brought a fashionable tank top and brand new jean shorts. How clever am I?
Feeling like a film star, I strut out, posing and acting like I’m on the red carpet. I don’t realise that Henry is in the kitchen cooking, with full view of my stupid antics, until I hear chuckling. I freeze and whip around, horrified to see Henry holding in laughter. A hot blush rises to my cheeks. Well, f*ck it.
“Ah….sorry about that!” I call out, “I was just…um….I’m going to the beach?”
“Now?” His laughter is quickly replaced with a stern expression that I’ve seen on Dad’s face a thousand times. Oh no! I thought he was chill!
“Yeah, I could see they were…gathering, outside my windows”
“We’re setting down some rules” Uncle Henry says. This chap has a lot to learn about me. Hasn’t Mum talked about how idiotically responsible I am? I never drink, I tell all my friends not to cheat or be mean to others, and I never go to parties because I genuinely don’t enjoy them! I don’t need rules! And Mum and Dad have known that. God, I can’t believe I miss them already.
“Go on” I sigh, leaning against the worn out wooden countertop. The kitchen is beautifully classy, like a set of an old film. The walls are chipped with faded blue wallpaper, it’s smaller than the average American house nowadays (reminds me of our old flat in England, with its smallness), yet some appliances are fairly new, like the fridge and stove. It creates a striking balance between old and new, a lovely combination.
“Right, first: no drinking”
“Obviously” I reply, rolling my eyes.
“No s*x”
“Uncle Henry!” I gasp, another blush colouring my face. Ohmygosh, how embarrassing! Dad and Mum never had to have the s*x talk with me! I mean, we agreed that I knew everything already (having pervert friends like Kelly) F*ck, Uncle Henry!
“Hey, I thought we needed to establish that” he says, holding down his embarrassment through a platonic persona.
“OK, continue” I’m eager to avoid this topic!
“And thirdly, you’re curfew is midnight”
“I like to set my curfew at eleven” I inform him, “Midnight is too late”
This seems to finally take him by surprise, and I hope he realises I’m not that type of teenager.
“Alright, well that’s all I’ve got” Henry says, flipping the fish pieces on the pan in front of him, “Have fun”
“Thanks” I bound out of the house, but then walk slowly to the beach, relishing the cool sand underneath my bare feet.
It doesn’t take long to join the festivities outside. The bonfire is all set, and there’s beer that teens are chugging down like water. The cool sound of lapping waves is joined by a large stereo, playing out the latest tunes. I hate this type of music.
