The Pretend Boyfriend

Chapter 3

It was the second day of school holidays, and I was already exhausted. The day was to be spent cleaning the house, and garden, prepping for the arrival of Tina Bell. She was my mum's best friend, and had been so since the two of them were seventeen years old. I couldn't say I hated Tina, but I did strongly dislike her. She was a very fancy woman, rich too. I didn't understand how my mum could like her, let alone survive her presence! Anyway, Tina was to arrive the following day. I remembered the last time she visited, we had many fights about the smallest of things. For example, she was up in arms when I didn't cut the Christmas cake equally, and gave myself the bigger piece. After that incident, I commenced counting down the days till she left.

‘Sienna! Please come up here and clean the bathroom, toilet included,’ my mum roared. ‘Coming,’ I groaned. I arrived at the bathroom, and was greeted by my mum, who was wielding sprays, scrubs and sponges. She handed me a pair of yellow rubber gloves. I reluctantly pulled them on, and realised they were slightly too big, probably an adult size. My mum left the room, leaving me alone with a monster of a mess.

I spent hours washing, scrubbing and rinsing. I was thoroughly soaked, due to stepping into the shower cubicle, and accidently turning on the tap. Nevertheless, the bathroom was sparkling. Or at least, it was in my eyes. The toilet cleaning was a nightmare. The place reeked of poo, and the stench was absolutely unbearable. I resolved to clasping my nostrils with a peg. I then decided to take some initiative, and clean the visitor’s bedroom, which Tina would be occupying. I vacuumed the floor, made the bed and cleaned out the closet. I stunk like cow manure, and my white t-shirt had turned black with dirt and dust. Feeling proud and pleased, I strutted back downstairs. Unfortunately, my job wasn’t yet done. My mum was outside watering the garden, and caught sight of me. She motioned to the huge black garbage bag, sitting near the kitchen trashcan. The bag was bulging with rubbish, and I could smell the rotten fish from where I was. Sighing, I feebly picked it up, and walked outside, to put it into the bin by the driveway.

Stepping outside, I felt like a bear waking from hibernation. The sun hit my skin, and I actually jumped back, as if I had gotten an electric shock. That’s how long I was locked up inside, slaving away. It was around six pm, so it wasn’t too bright. A loud guttural sound made me flinch. I flicked my head to the right, my hair slapping my face. My jaw dropped. My eyes blinked rapidly. There was a moving truck parked out the front. Two brawny men were moving furniture into the house. Four people, who appeared to be a family, were loitering around. People were moving in to 16 Riversdale Road? I couldn’t believe it; no one had lived in that house for years! Even better, two of the people looked like kids… people I could actually talk too. There was no one else in the neighborhood who was remotely close to my age. I felt elated, and suddenly became aware of my appalling state at that moment. I couldn’t walk down to the bottom of the driveway; they would see me for sure! Be as is may, I had no choice. I mustered up all the courage I could, and tramped down my hilly driveway, garbage bag in hand, which, by the way, was encircled by buzzing flies.

I made it to the rubbish bin, without being noticed. That was when my luck changed. I was just opening the bin lid, ready to drop the bag in, and make a run for it, when I heard a voice call out. ‘Hey!’ The voice sounded deep-ish, but soothing too. I spun on my heels, completely freaked out. The bag in my hand instantly dropped to the ground. Was I dreaming? My mouth must have been hanging open, because he said, ‘Be careful, or the flies might get in.’ I just managed to close my mouth, before panic made my blood run cold. I knew how important first impressions were, and I had screwed mine with that guy. He stood a few centimeters above me, and looked down on me with the softest, most adoring look. His big, bright, blue eyes looked so exquisite, as if they were photo-shopped into his sockets. Despite myself, I felt my heart ponding at breakneck speed. He had rich, coffee coloured hair, which was stylishly spiked. I ultimately returned to my senses. ‘Hi,’ was all I could mutter. He stumbled a little, and I relaxed, realising he was nervous too. ‘My name is Sienna,’ I said.

‘Declan,’ he replied, shaking my hand. That caught me off guard, but I carried on with poise. ‘So what are you doing?’ he began.

‘I was just helping my mum clean our house; we have a visitor arriving tomorrow. Are you moving in?’

‘Yes, my mum, dad, sister and I.’

‘That’s great! No one has lived in that house for years.’

‘Why? Is it haunted or something,’ he asked, suddenly looking queasy.

‘No, no,’ I laughed reassuringly. ‘It’s just been that way.’

‘Oh good! So do you go to school near here? Just wondering, because I am moving to a new school next term, one around here.’

‘Oh yeah, I do. I’m in year eleven. What about you?’

‘Same!’ he beamed.

‘Cool!’ The moving truck began backing out, and Declan stepped closer to me, to get out of the way. If he could smell the fetid fumes I was exuding, he made no sign of it.

‘Well, I’d better head inside now. I’m glad we’re neighbors. So, I’ll see you around?’

‘You bet!’ I replied cheerily. We both returned to our respective homes. My mind was buzzing with fresh excitement. ‘Sienna!’ a voice called. Despite having known him for only a few minutes, I recognised Declan’s voice at once. ‘You left the garbage bag on the ground.’

‘Oh, oops, silly me!’ I rushed back down the driveway, and finally put the bag in the bin. ‘Bye Declan,’ I called, sprinting up the driveway. He laughed endearingly, and vanished from sight.

‘Mum, mum! Guess what?’ I yelled. ‘There is a family moving in next door!’ I continued, before my mum could even blink. ‘Really?’ she asked skeptically.

‘Yeah, I just met one of them, his name is Declan.’

‘Well, this is great news!’ My mum took off her cleaning gloves, and placed them on the bench. ‘I know!’ she beamed. ‘We should host a welcoming dinner for them.’ I stood, transfixed for a moment. A welcoming dinner? It seemed like a nice idea, but I wasn’t too sure. ‘Next Friday sounds good,’ she blabbed.

‘Okay, sounds perfect,’ I replied, hesitantly. How bad could it be? It was just that I was a terrible hostess, and whenever we had dinner parties, I was left to entertain the kids. They all ended up falling asleep in my parents’ bed. However, Declan wasn’t a kid; so maybe that meant entertaining him would be even harder?  And there was his little sister to worry about too. Not only that, but I had a very important plan to cook up! I needed to win back Aaron’s heart before prom, and I was still clean out of ideas.

I decided to sleep on things. I would have to be up early the next day, in order to pick up Tina from the airport. I was so not looking forward to it. I thought to myself, ‘Maybe I’ll run into Declan tomorrow,’ and the thought sent me into a deep sleep.