by Writing Shark
What do we say to the enemy? Not today.
You turn to the shore and see Denise, who gives you a scathing look. It is so cold that you fear that you will freeze in the lake. But the burning hatred that their attitude radiates would thaw you again. What is this girl’s problem? All because of that stupid joke? But it doesn’t help. She storms – her hands clenched into iron fists – with far-reaching Steps into the house, the McKinleys on her heels, arguing what just hapend. You are just beginning to think about how you can get this situation under control, when the next challenge swings into the driveway of the house.
When you covered half the way to shore – Megan is already there and Emma hands her a towel – you can see how your sister visibly stiffens. At first you don’t understand, but then you see the reason and you also get a queasy feeling in your stomach. A green Jeep is standing next to your car in the parking lot and out of it steps your sister Maureen and a man you don’t recognize. Your steps accelerate automatically, but you’ve already lost the race. Before you come out of the water, Maureen is already between the friends and is looking for Millie. Fortunately, the man stops by the car and leans coolly against the radiator grille.
“Hey little sister,” you hear from afar. When you join the group, Millie hangs in the arms of her older sister and is hugged tightly. Your little sister has a real smile on her face and doesn’t notice the mines of you and Megan. For Millie, it’s just a perfect day. She is happy that her big sister is there instead of worrying about her. The fact that she takes in Maureen so warmly moves you, but you won’t get rid of the gnawing feeling that something is wrong. It is difficult to say for whom of you Maureen is a stranger. Millie hardly saw her in the years of separation because the lifestyle of the two sisters couldn’t be more different. Your princess has always sought protection from wild parties, constantly changing friends, alcohol, tattoos and loud music. You have to admit to yourself that it was you who unwittingly and unwillingly pushed you between the two. You don’t know if Millie sees it so too. Megan also knows the lifestyle of Maureen. And she detests it. She never explained why, after all, Megan likes to party as much as her big sister. But still the two of them get in each other’s hair because of their more or less chosen life paths. But now you have no time for such thoughts.
“It’s nice that you could come Maureen. I’m so happy to see you.” Millie hugs her big sister and looks up at her happily.
“Oh sweetie, of course. I couldn’t miss your nineteenth.” She sounds honest, but she’s also used to pretending with the motherly side of her family.
“But you missed your eighteenth” Megan says, and you can already see a catastrophe looming on the horizon. But Maureen only looks at Megan coldly, but then turns back to the birthday child. Apparently the dispute in the mall has not been completely forgotten. The way the two behave, they may are also accusing each other of the extinction of the dinosaurs.
“Here, I have something for you.” Maureen pulls out a small bag and Millie looks into it with wide eyes. The logo of the Mall in Seacrest is clearly visible on it and that only makes Megan angrier. After all, she has not forgotten the date, you think and watch Millie pull her gift out of the bag.
“Wow, a new case for my cell phone” She is amazed and hugs Maureen again. “Thank you big sister.” That must hurt Megan, but at the same time you are amazed at how much Millie involves Maureen.
“It’s good to see that you care for the environment and don’t wrap your present,” Megan teases and stands next to you. Her shirt gets slightly wet on the arm as your shoulders touch. She has her arms crossed and leans slightly towards you, whether she are trying to exclude Maureen or to get your support. Again Megan is ignored and the other girls group a little uncomfortable in a circle around you. Like the McKinley strife, the troubled relationship of Maureen with the rest of the Lynchwood family is well known.
“I have to deal with daddy’s pocket money and can’t afford as fancy stuff as your sister and brother, sweetheart, but I’m glad you like it.” Maureen hugs Millie again. Her voice sounds a little accusatory and you understand the feeling she must have. Megan takes your hand openly. First you flinch a little, but then enclose her fingers with yours. It’s not an illusion that your sister’s posture relax a little immediately. Maureen looks at you, but in her eyes you only see… worry?
“Do you want to stay here longer?” Carrie asks in a reserved voice. Maureen looks at her first, then her eyes move to you.
“Well, I don’t think we’re so welcome here,” she replies with a forced cheerful face. Megan wants to say something, but you squeeze her hand a little harder and she falls silent. Both sisters are now looking at you as Millie goes into the house to show her friends her latest gift. Internally you are torn between the possibilities, but then decide on the – hopefully – minor evil.
“Nonsense. Don’t you want to sit with us? Cake is over there and I’ll get you something to drink. “Mauren looks satisfied and maybe even a little relieved. A good start.
“If you really want that Lollipop.”
“Lollipop?” Rachel giggles and looks at you doubtfully. Yes, you didn’t look like a small child throughout the day. She pulled a top over her still wet bikini and wrapped a scarf around her waist to make it look a bit more presentable. On paper, everyone knows about your concern for Millie and her mental health. Sometimes they find it a little funny how you romp around like an excited chicken to protect her from all the evil in the world, but everyone abides by your unspoken rules. Or maybe it’s because of the scene in the bathroom, you think. With all the alcohol in the house, it’s a miracle that nothing worse has happened so far. The slip last time was just that, even if Denise apparently sees it differently. Maybe you should also offer her to undress in front of you. This apparently helped the friends of Megan…
You have to fight down a grin while Millie breaks away from Maureen. If anyone knew what was going on in your head… Your parents were right. A boy alone among girls, that’ll be… interesting. Then Maureen looks behind her and waves to the man in the car.
“Josh is looking forward to getting to know Millie and the others,” she says, as the man casually pushes himself away from the car and slumbers casually over to you, burying his hands casually in his pockets.
Like Moses divided the Red Sea, the girls are now dividing and making room for the new arrival. He casually strolls in the middle of the circle and casually holds out his hand to you. The man first? OK…
“You must be Finn. Josh.” He grabs your hand tightly and you return the gesture with the same pressure. “So”, he sees the girls in the circle in the faces. Carrie introduces herself first, Karen and Rachel follow. “What is there to celebrate?” he then asks.
“Didn’t my sister tell you anything?” Megan asks back with annoyance in her voice.
“Are you Millie?” he wants to know. Oh cool, ignore her question. Seems to be a common theme with Maureen as well.
“Megan,” she almost spat at his feet. Josh looks at your girlfriend appraisingly and you feel uneasy. You don’t miss the look on your other sister’s face either.
“Oh that one,” he says. An embarrassing silence arises and again all eyes turn on you. Josh misses this, however, because he has fixed his eyes on the chest of Karen, who hesitantly pulls on her shirt. You have to swallow. Megan apparently broke her bikini with her action in the lake. It seems you didn’t have that much blood in your head anymore, because only now you notice that there is no bikini under the white shirt, which lies close to her body due to the wetness of her skin. Oh shit… Your first reflex is to stare Karen on the tits too. But your chest hurts with guilt when you notice her embarrassed looks.
Karen was always a girl who could get everyone off with her assets and never made a secret of that fact. But now she doesn’t seem anything like the woman you encounter in the lake. She dodges people’s eyes, wraps her arms around her chest and smiles forced. When you realize that she thought you were the only boy today who sees her naked, pride and disappointment fight within you for supremacy. Great pride, since the girls honestly meant that you would belong to their circle of friends, and so did Millie. Disappointment because: How could you allow Josh to come here?
“Hey Josh.” You clear your throat. “There are drinks and food over there. Come on, let’s get your girlfriend something.” You wave him over to a table full of groceries and leave the group behind you. The girls’ eyes haunt you and dig into your back. Earned…
“You didn’t answer my question,” Josh smiles gently from the side. “What’s to celebrate?” You estimate him a little older than you, maybe a year or two. To you, his face seems to resemble that of a… reptile. A snake! Stop, wait, you call yourself to order. You don’t know him. Be open-minded and friendly. For Maureen.
“My little sister’s birthday is today.” You try to sound friendly, in which you will certainly succeed. You are not as good as Carrie in pretending, but you will get that one down.
“Hot.” Ah Shit…
“Did Maureen tell you about her?”
“Is that the one who always argues with her or the little one who is afraid of the night?” Okay, that doesn’t lead to anything.
“It’s the young one”, you just say and try to change the subject straight away. While you give Josh a non-alcoholic beer and shovel potato salad and sausages on his plate, he asks you: “Don’t you have anything stronger?” Oh, so he’s one of those. You negate and he snorts: “Children’s birthday what?” Then he laughs out loud and draws everyone’s attention. “Well, don’t worry.” He looks over at Maureen who is currently talking to Carrie and Rachel. Karen stands next to them and apparently is thinking about how she can sneak past you and Josh. That she sees you as an obstacle – even if it is forced – makes you angry with yourself. “There are other things I can enjoy myself with.” While you’re preparing a plate for Maureen – with your opinion with Josh sinking into the bottomless – it turns out that asking him about his work is also not a good idea.
“Do you know the slaughterhouse just outside the city?” He asks when you come back to the group. Fortunately, he breaks off the topic early when he puts his arm around the neck of his girlfriend from behind. She turns around smiling and kisses her boyfriend, which somehow hurts your stomach. It’s the kind of kiss that you never want to give to someone, but for Maureen that seems like something quite normal.
“So… Josh? How did you get to know each other?” Carrie asks to interrupt the fuss of the two.
“Well, where do you get to know each other today?” Maureen asks rhetorically and looks out at the lake. Apparently she doesn’t want to talk about it, what’s not a good sign. It doesn’t matter because Josh overlooks the sign.
“Oh come on babe. The story is really good.” He laughs out loud again. “So, I was partying with my colleagues in the city. The girls that night were really lame and I wanted to go home, but then I saw the hottest rack that I’ve ever come across.”
“Oh babe…” Either Maureen is flattered or embarrassed. Or both.
“I’ve had a lot of chicks, but this one… I can tell you stories bro…” Josh puts his arm around your big sister and kisses her on the cheek. But this time, she doesn’t return the gesture. Some beer spills on her arm when Josh turns her around again. Apparently he expects to be accommodated and when her lips are pressed against his, she can only break off the kiss with a mock laugh.
“Not in front of the guests darling.” His lover makes a throwaway hand gesture but gets himself together. But the situation is not resolved as quickly as you hope.
Giggling and laughing, Susan and Claire come running out of the house, Denise still glowering in tow. They have brought several glasses out of the kitchen, you see. The three stop when they see the new arrivals. Millie walks up to her friends and introduces Maureen and Josh. You take a step towards the young man as he starts to move, but Carrie holds you by the arm.
“Ladies, you look good,” he greets the girls and shakes hands with everyone.
“Thank you,” giggles Denise, strokes a strand behind her ear and makes a slight curtsey. She’s wearing a pretty eye-catching red shirt that looks more translucent than obscuring. You frown. Even with her back to you, you can recognize Josh’s movements. He stares at her breasts. The girl turns a little red, but stand her girl in front of the boy. Susan and Claire walk past him and put the things on one of the tables, looking at each other. The behavior of Denise is also strange. From one second to the next, she appears much more cheerful and you fear that you may have made a bad mistake.
“So, are we going to start?” Josh asks, looking at the food provided.
Writing Shark 