Kiss Me [COMPLETED]

Chapter 2

 "Is that you, Stephanie?" my mother shouted from the living room.

"Yes, Mom," I called loudly and took off my shoes.

"How was your first day?" She actually got off her chair and walked to the door.

"It was good," I nodded, thinking that I was really grateful for the fact that my mother could never read me, and she would spend all her time chatting with her friends, watching TV, or shopping.

"Good," she nodded. "See? I told you it would be fun!" she smiled at me with her unreal white smile. "Did you make any new friends?"

"I spent all day with Trisha," I shrugged, and carefully set my jacket on the hanger.

"Trisha is a great girl!" my mother said enthusiastically, and suddenly, she looked eerily similar to my friend. "You two can shop together and she knows a lot of people! I just love her personality!"

"Yeah, Mom," I said absent-mindedly. "It'll be great."

"Mandy made your favorite pie," she said. "It's in the kitchen."

"I am not hungry," I lied quickly, thinking that pies and such were going to be a complete taboo from now on.

"Okay," she shrugged indifferently. "I am going to do some research on internet, so if you need anything..."

"I'll let you know," I nodded.

'Research on internet' translated into, 'I am going to check out upcoming sales, and don't bother me for the next seven or so hours,' which was fine with me. I walked into the kitchen and tried my best to ignore the peach pie that was sitting in the middle of the table.

"Hey, Steph," Mandy said with a wide smile.

"Hey, Mandy," I said. "Do we have any yogurt?"

Mandy was our housekeeper. She's been with us for the past seven years. My mother was trying to keep the house in order, but the whole cooking and cleaning thing was taking away her precious shopping time, so she told my Dad to find someone to help her out around the house. He didn't care and told her that she could hire whomever she wanted. He always firmly believed that the man's job was to sign checks and provide his family with enough cash, so they wouldn't pester him with ridiculous requests such as talking, understanding, and spending time together. He spent almost all his time at work, with his computers, clients, and office buddies, and he was happy. My mother loved this arrangement and never bothered him with unnecessary questions or demands. Her only condition was that he gave her enough money to buy anything she wanted anytime she felt like it, and he happily obliged. So my family was a perfect one. There were no fights, no arguments, no tears. Everybody was happy, including my eleven-year-old brother who spent all his time on the computer, playing one of those MMORPG games online.

"Yogurt?" Mandy frowned. "Are you feeling okay, kiddo?"

"I am fine," I nodded, trying to ignore the insanely seductive aroma of the peach pie. "I just want some yogurt..."

"Since when do you care so much about yogurt?" she squinted her eyes at me, and I shrugged.

"I just want to watch what I eat," I said casually. "Want to get in shape, you know..."

"You are in a good shape," Mandy said, finishing cleaning the stove. "You look great!"

"I want to look better," I said, opening the fridge. "I need to lose some weight."