"Play it! Play it!" Mark cried, nearly spilling the bowls of popcorn May had handed to him from the kitchen.
"Hold up!" Layton said, carrying a tray full of all manner of junk food which he'd bought on the way over. He set it down on the coffee table in front of the couch.
"Martin, close the curtains!" May called as she plopped down hot nachos smothered with dip and cheese and then went to get a kitchen roll.
She stood back to watch the boys all settle down in front of the TV. Maybe a trip to the cinema with classmates would have been more exciting but this was pretty good too. Mark and Martin were beside themselves with joy, clearly loving the change of pace and the promise of a movie. And the food was better and more value for money, so that was a bonus. She'd told Mum her friend would be coming over last night and Mum, in her usual tired and forced-cheerful way, had said that that was nice.
"Are we ready?" she asked.
"Yeah!" Martin hollered.
"Come on, May!" Layton said, beckoning her over. "Sit down!"
Smiling at the younger boys' giddiness, she squeezed in and Layton played the movie. They had to have the volume on extra loud, because their small house was situated on a main road and the front door opened into the living room, which meant the sound of cars going past could be deafening, especially since the after-school traffic had yet to die down.
The boys were so energetic, pointing out everything they saw.
"What a creepy woman!" Martin yelled, leaning back a little as if said woman was going to reach through the screen and take a swipe at him.
"I know!" Layton said. "What a weirdo!"
"Weirdo! Weirdo!" Mark happily chimed in.
"She is pretty freaky," May agreed. "All right, settle down and watch. Mark, stop jumping on the couch."
"But this is so fun!"
Martin laughed at the younger boy. "Stop it, idiot! I'm going to spill my popcorn!"
Layton, sat between the two boys, chuckled and patted their heads. "You guys are adorable."
May found her gaze drawn to him instead of the screen. She would never admit it out loud but she liked seeing him being nice to her brothers – of course, she was their bossy big sister so she couldn't let on that she had a soft spot for them, could she?
She had a few memories of Dad tucked away and, in that time, she could remember good times with Mum too since Mum hadn't worked when Dad had still been around, but the boys didn't have that. They were annoying and loud but they were just little kids and they didn't deserve being neglected. She was a selfish big sister – she'd much rather read and focus on her studies than spare them any time, but seeing how excited they got over the littlest things made her feel bad. They had movie nights with Mum on Fridays, but those happened when Mum got back from work, after eight, and they almost always fell asleep halfway through.
Layton reached out to grab some nachos and ended up dripping some of the dip onto his lap. The beginnings of a cuss formed in his mouth but he bit his lip, looking at the boys to make sure they hadn't noticed. May chuckled and he looked around at her. "What are you laughing at, Hatfield?" he demanded.
"Nothing." she grinned.
"Here, have a nacho." he whispered and, without warning, he reached over Martin and shoved one nacho laden with cheese and dip into her mouth. She nearly choked and some of the dip dropped onto her chin. He chuckled and got a tissue and wiped it for her. "Sorry."
YOU ARE READING
Book Girl and Chestnut Boy
Romance"If you want me to be your friend, sure. But you have to tell me what's going on. Why all this secrecy? Why the fighting? Did you get into another one just now?" She looked at his hands, half-expecting more bandages and bruises, but there were no fr...
