Have Some Hope

Chapter 10

I flip the pancakes on the stove. Andy and Simon are in the living room watching cartoons. I hear footsteps coming down the stairs and turn to see Meadow, Valley,and Rain walking down.
"Where are you Hope?" Meadow calls out. I flip the pancakes again.
"I'm in the kitchen! " I call back. I put the first batch on a plate. The others sit down at the table. I set the batch down and give them plates. They dig into the food.
I pour more of the mix into the pan and start the second batch. Kai and Chip stumble down the stairs just as I put the second batch on the table.
"Good morning lovebirds!" Valley says through a mouthful of food. Chip glares at them and plops down in a seat. Kai sits down beside him. I sit down and put a couple pancakes on my plate.
Andy and Simon come in and have a few but then go back to their cartoons. We finish eating and go into the backyard.
Kai chases Chip around, trying to tickle him. Valley and Rain talk in the shade of the birch tree. Me and Meadow think of something that we could all do.
I take out my phone and search up places to go in town. There's an amusement park downtown that looks like fun. I show it to Meadow and she nods.
Meadow stands up. She cups her hands around her mouth and leans her head back.
"We are going to an amusement park!" She screams. Chip stops running to look over at her and Kai catches him. He glares over at Meadow as Kai tickles him.
"C'mon guy. Let's go!" Rain says pulling Kai off of Chip. Kai smiles and blushes. We walk inside and over to Andy.
"Can you take us to the amusement park downtown?" Chip asks excitedly.
"What am I? Your personal driver?" He asks sarcastically. I flinch back slightly and his eyes narrow.
"Sorry. Of course I'll take you guys," he says. We get in the car and he drives off. I turn the radio on.
'They tell me I'm too young to understand
They say I'm caught up in a dream
Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes
Well that's fine by me
So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself and I, didn't know I was lost
I tried carrying the weight of the world
But I only have two hands
I hope I get the chance to travel the world
But I don't have any plans
Wish that I could stay forever this young
Not afraid to close my eyes
Life's a game made for everyone
And love is the prize'
I turn off the radio as we pull up. Andy lets us out and hands me some money.
We wave as he drives off. We walk up to the booth. A girl about our age sits there looking bored.
"Hello. Welcome to Lopli's Amusement Park. How many tickets would you like?" She asks bluntly. I see Meadow blushing from the corner of eye.
"We would like seven please, " I say. She looks over us. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion.
"There's only six of you," she states. I nod.
"Would you like to come with us?" I ask. She smiles brightly. She looks over at Meadow and grins.
"Sure. If your cute friend over here is going to be accompanying us," she says flirtatiously. Meadow blushes and hides her face in her hands. I nod.
"Of course she is, " I say. I pay the girl for the tickets and she goes to clock out. Once she's put of sight, Meadow slaps me on the arm.
"You're mean Hope," she says glaring at me. I laugh. She pouts and turns away from me. The girl comes out of the room and sees Meadow pouting.
"Aw. Who made the little angel pout?" She asks. Meadow points at me accusingly. The girl turns to me and smiles. She wraps her arms around Meadow.
"I don't believe I ever got your name angel," she says. Meadow pulls out of the hug and turns to her.
" I'm Meadow, " she says. The girl smiles.
"A fitting name. I'm Caroline," she says. Meadow blushes harder and the others groan. We all introduce ourselves and afterwards Caroline continues to flirt with Meadow.
"Let's go!" Chip yells impatiently. I laugh and walk after the couples. I point over at a rollercoaster.
"We should go on that!" I exclaim. Caroline laughs.
" That's the most dangerous one we have, " she says.
"Are you saying you can't handle it?" I challenge her. She smiles.
"Bring it on! " she yells running towards it. I run after her. The others walk after us. We stand in line for about an hour before we get on the ride.
The couples all sit next to each other so I have to sit next to a random dude. He's about our age.
I look over at him. He has slicked back blonde hair and green eyes. He smiles at me.
"Hey," he says. His eyes light up as the instructions for the ride finish.
" Hi, " I reply just as the ride starts going. We can't talk over the wind so we just enjoy the ride. The car stopped at the top of one of the loops, leaving us all hanging upside down. I hear Chip scream and I laugh.
The guy looks over at me confused but I just flash him a smile. The ride keeps going and eventually we get off. I stand over by the guy waiting for my friends.
"So what's your name?" I ask. He smiles at me.
"I'm Florence, but you can call me Flo for short," he replies.
"I'm Hope," I say. He sticks out his hand and I flinch back. Valley sees this as they're walking up and runs in front of me.
"What did you do to her?" She yells at him. He frowns slightly.
" I was just going to shake her hand, " he says. Valley looks over at me. I nod.
"Okay. I'm sorry for yelling at you," she apologizes. He smiles at her.
"Nah it's fine," he says. Valley moves out of the way and I stand beside Flo.
"Guys. This is Florence. Or Flo for short. We sat beside each other on the rollercoaster ," I explain. The others introduce themselves and shake hands.
We walk off and go on a few other rides. We got done and Caroline convinced one of her co-workers to give us a couple of free cotton candy swirls.
She hands one to each of us and we sit down at the tables talking. I pick up my phone and look at the time. It's already going on eight o'clock.
I go to Andy's contact and press the call button. I put it on speaker mostly to hear it better but also so the others can talk to him.
A- Hey Hope.
H- Hi dad. Can you pick us up?
The other line goes blank for about a minute.
A- Did you just call me dad?
I freeze in my spot.
H- I'm sorry I probably wasn't supposed to. I won't do it again I'm so so sorry and-
A- Hope. Listen to me. It's fine. I'm happy that you think of me as your dad. And yes I can pick you up.
H- Thanks... Dad.
A- Always. I'll be there in about half an hour.
I hang up the phone. The others stare at me.
"You've never called Andy and Simon your dads?" Kai asks. I shake my head no. Everyone except for Caroline and Flo seemed to understand.
"Wait. Why haven't you called him your dad before?" Flo asks. I look down. Would it be weird to tell him if I just met him?
"I'm adopted. I got adopted about a week ago," I explain. He nods. I'm happy that he isn't going to press about it.
"Anyways, do you guys want to spend the night?" They all nod. We walk over to the parking lot and wait for Andy. He pulls up a few minutes later and we get in the car.
"Okay. So where to?" He asks. Flo and Caroline give him their addresses. They grab their stuff and we drive back to my house. We go inside and sit at the table.
Suddenly I remember a certain someone from an assembly.
"Hey Chip?" I ask. He turns my way.
" Yeah? " he replies.
"What ever happened to Jack?" I ask. He freezes in his spot. Kai grabs his hand.
" Uhm. Well Kevin didn't like that I liked him so he... He threatened his family until they moved, " he says. He shakes slightly and Kai holds him.
"Sorry for asking," I apologize but Chip waves me off.
"It's fine. Jack was a jerk anyways," he explains. Simon comes into the room and puts a card game and a bag of chips down on the table.
"Thanks dad," I say as he walks out. He stops in his tracks and turns around.
"Well she's on a roll today, " Rain mumbles. Everyone laughs at her comment. Simon gives me a hug and then leaves us alone to play.
"No way! It's Cards Against Humanity!" Caroline exclaims. We play the game for a few hours, going through a total of three bags of chips.
When we're done we put the game away and go to my room. Carolina and Meadow take the bed, Kai and Chip take the beanbag, Valley and Rain take the loveseat, and me and Flo take the couch.
Chip turns on a movie and I cant seem to keep my eyes open. I drift off to sleep as Flo plays with my hair.