Come on Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners
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I walked up my front porch step and opened the door. My mom was cooking in the kitchen with music blaring from the record player in the corner. The savory smells of dinner could pull me in from miles away.
"Say say two thousand zero zero party over, oops, out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999"
My mother sung along, her blonde curls pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her voice was sweet and melodic; I always wondered why she didn't join a band. Her hips swayed gently to the tune. She looked at peace and beautiful. She was always beautiful. Stunning.
"Hi Mama," I kissed my mom on the cheek before turning around to set the table for her.
She smiled sweetly, "hello Brandy, Dear. Freddie told me you were hanging out with some friends. Was it Bev?"
I shook my head, "no. I was hanging out with Richie Tozier and Eddie Kaspbrak." I bit my lip. Both of them had reputations in this town.
Mom smiled sadly, "people always talk about that Tozier boy being a trashmouth, but nobody ever seems to talk about how his father hits him." She sighed, "poor boy. The Kaspbrak boy too. His mother is a lunatic I tell you. Ever since her husband died she's gone mad!" Mother looked up from her cooking and made eye contact with me, "are they good kids? I really can't judge any of them by their parents."
I nodded, "they seem to be very good kids. I don't know them too well, but they're nice."
My sister, Eileen, entered the house. "What's for dinner?" she called from the front door.
"Soup!" my mother yelled back to her.
Eileen came skipping into the kitchen, "what kind?"
"Chicken noodle."
Eileen nodded and sat down at the table.
"So where were you?" I asked her, interested in her thirteen year old whereabouts.
"Bridget and I were talking at the park. She told me to tell all of you hello."
I smiled at my little sister as she laid her head on the kitchen table. Her button nose was red from the coldness of outside.
"Bridget is such a sweetheart. You should really spend more time with her, Eileen."
Eileen rolled her eyes, "I love hanging out with her, but she always talks about boys. Sometimes I want to talk about things other than boys!"
I giggled, "what about that ooone boy?"
Eileen smacked my arm as I was setting a plate in front of her. "Shut up," she hissed.
Mom looked up, "boy? What boy? Does Eileen like a boy? What's his name?"
Eileen glared at me, "gee, thanks Brand," she mumbled.
I looked over at my mother, "nope. You misheard me. I said nothing about a boy."
Mom looked back down at her soup, "oh. Okay then."
I winked at Eileen. She muttered a quick thanks and rolled her eyes in annoyance. Eileen and I were fairly close. She told me things that were off limits to Mom's ears, and someday, I'd probably tell her things she couldn't tell mom, either.
Mom took the pot off the stove and brought it over to the table.
"DINNER!!" she called.
Dad came from his lazy boy in the kitchen and sat in his seat at the head of the table. He sniffed the food and looked at my mother, "it smells wonderful, Jude."
Freddie came thudding down the stairs and sat at the table. He took the ladle and dished himself a bowl of soup.
We all ate our soup in silence at first, but then Freddie spoke.
"Hey Mom," Freddie began, "me and Kenzie are going to the movies tonight."
"Okay. Don't stay out too terribly late. Tomorrow is the last day of school before Winter Break, and I don't want you to be too tired for finals."
Freddie nodded, "okay Mom."
Kenzie was his girlfriend, and together her and Freddie were a walking stereotype. Mr. and Mrs. Popular in the flesh. Quarterback and The Cheerleader. As lovely as they were together, Kenzie was a bit of a bitch, and Fred could do better than just a pretty face.
"Mom how come Freddie gets to stay out late?" Eileen complained.
"When you're Freddie's age, you'll get to stay out that late, sweetheart," Mom breathed out, taking another sip of her soup.
Eileen groaned, "but I'm old enough to stay out late."
I rolled my eyes, "come on, Eileen. It's not that difficult to understand. He gets to stay out later because he's older."
Freddie nodded, "yeah, it's only fair."
I looked at my empty bowl of soup in front of me and got up from the table. I placed my bowl in the sink and proceeded upstairs to my room, shutting the door behind me.
My bed looked very inviting, but I couldn't lay down and doze off quite yet.
I yanked off my thick winter clothes and threw a men's XL t-shirt on my 5'6" self, putting my long, light brown waves into a lopsided bun. I pulled a pair of wool socks onto my bare feet and climbed into my cozy bed.
My bed was pushed up against the wall so I could look at the stars during the night. I loved the stars. I loved most of nature. Exploring all the back roads and woods in Derry has always been one of my favorite things. The thrill of adventure was amazing, and I could never get enough of it.
I snuggled down and tried to sleep.
Unfortunately, it was only 6:30, and my mind kept falling back to two people:
Richie and Eddie.
Was me hanging out with them just a one time thing, or was I their friend now? Would they talk to me at school tomorrow at all?
I got up from my bed, giving up on getting twelve hours of sleep on a school night because I had nothing better to do. I wish I had evening plans. I bet if I called Bevvy she'd sneak out with me. I shrugged that thought off. I was already in my cozy clothes, and I really didn't feel like putting on pants.
I grabbed my boombox and got a deck of cards Walking over to my giant stack of mix tapes, I grabbed one and shoved it into my boombox.
Shuffling my deck of cards, I pressed play on my boombox. My mix tape blared into my ears. I loved music. Like mother like daughter.
I laid the cards out on the floor and started a game of Solitaire.
Me playing Solitaire in my room wasn't uncommon. Solitaire was a great pass time for bored beings without company. Not the most fun way to pass time, but it would do.
I sighed.
Another night spent in contemplation.
Eventually, my eyes began to droop and I crawled into bed, snuggling down in the warm blankets and falling asleep.
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A/N
Guys I have a lot of plans for this book :)))
This chapter was basically just so you could get to know Brandy a little better. I hope you like her bc I'm a hella Proud Mom for Brandy. Do you guys like the Hunts? What are your opinions? Let me know what you think. I'll probably update soon soon.
