Only Girl in the World (4)

After school, when I got to my house, I flung the door open and three of my cats ran out.
Chewing my gum loudly, I hollered, "Joey! The cats escaped!"
"NOOOO!!!!!" My five-year-old brother, Joey, came running down the hall and out the door. I closed it behind him and tossed my bag onto the couch.
"Hey! Where are you, Liz?" I yelled.
"Shut up, Kathy!" Liz called from her bedroom.
"What are you doing?" I yelled back smartly. 
Liz came from her room, a curling iron hanging from her hair. She threw a pillow at my face. "Stop bugging me, Kathy."
I shrugged, "Hey, have you seen Beanie?"
Liz shrugged back. Was the curling iron in her hair smoking?
I decided to go look for my little sister, *Beanabelle. 
"Beanie!" I yelled.
Beanie came running down the hall, screaming. Her hair, clothes, face, arms, and pink feathery accessories were covered in peanut butter. 
Beanie stopped in front of me and stared into my eyes. I blinked. She blinked. She started crying loudly. 
I crossed my arms, "Hey, Beano. Did you get on Joey's bad side again?" Joey is her twin brother, by the way. 
Beanie nodded, whimpering loudly. I said, "Here, I'll get Lunkwill."
I yelled for my twelve-year-old brother, *Lunkwill. "Hey, Lunky!"
"Don't call me that." Lunkwill emerged from the hallway, his red hair spiking up this way and that.
"Hey, Lunky, clean off Beano, okay?" I passed the peanut-butter-covered five year old to him and patted both of their heads. "Good job, kiddies."
"But-" Lunkwill started to say.
I shook my finger at him, "Ah ah ah! Be a good boy and get all the peanut butter out of Beanie's hair. Okay?"
"Sure thing, Sis..." Lunkwill huffed, taking Beanie to the bathroom.
I walked down the hall to Dad's office. I opened the door and yelled, "Hey, Dad!"
"What is it, Kathy?" Dad asked me without taking his eyes off the sci-fi show he was watching on the computer.
"Where's Cammy?" I asked cheerily.
Dad didn't answer for a second, but eventually said, "Cameron? In his room, probably."
"You should really redecorate this place." I said flatly, looking around the room, "It looks like a storage room in Geeks 'R Us."
I smirked at my own clever comment.
Without turning around, Dad snorted and said, "What? You don't like it? This is 18 years of
collecting!"
"Dad," I said gently, "Cool people don't spend 18 years collecting Star Trek merchandise."
"Don't forget Star Wars," Dad said,  "Hitchhiker's Guide, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly...." 
"That's nice, Dad." I interrupted, pretending to care.
I started to walk out of the room and Dad said, "Hey, Kathy. Close the door."
I closed the door to Dad's office and wandered down the hall to my older brother Cameron's room.
"Hi, Cammy!" I yelled, flinging the door open.
"What do you want, Kathy?" Cameron said, not lifting a finger to turn off his ipod to talk to me. Classic.
"I just wanted to come say 'hi' to my big brother, Cammy!" I said, hugging him.
"Stop calling me that." Cameron said, shrugging me off and going back to his computer games. Hmm.... He's no fun either. I thought, Maybe I'll go try to find Lunky again.
I skipped to the bathroom, where Lunkwill was getting the last of the peanut butter out of Beanie's hair.
"There." He said, "All done. Now go play, but don't make Joey mad again, okay?"
Beanie nodded half-heartedly and jumped off the sink. She yelled as she went out the front door, "I'm gonna get you, Joey!"
I smiled at Lunkwill, "Hey, Lunky! What's up?"
Lunkwill sighed, "As of now, I'm never eating peanut butter again."
I shrugged, "That's nice! So, how's school been?"
Lunkwill looked down, looking sadder than usual. "Um..." He said, "Some of the older kids... they threw my sketch pad into a puddle."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Lunky!" I said, hugging Lunkwill tightly and shoving my cheek against his.
"Will you stop calling me that?" Lunkwill said, trying to get out of my hug.
I released him and said, "I'm sorry that happened, Lunky. Mom can get you a new one."
"Of course you won't." Lunkwill said to himself, "Thanks, Kathy."
I smiled at him, "No problem, little brother!"
Lunkwill didn't say anything as he went back to his room.
Oh, he's such a weird kid, eh?












*Lunk-will. (A character from Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy)
*Bee-na-bell. (A name I made up XD)

Learn To Be

When I was younger, nothing bad ever seemed to happen. I mean, sure, sometimes I was afraid or sad and angry or confused, but nothing really bad ever happened.
When I entered first grade, I met Mary Dorty. She was a bully to me and my cousin, Christa. But for some reason, I almost wanted her to be mean to me and I didn't know why.
Years later, I figured it out. My life was boring. Having a girl that bullied me made it more interesting.

Why is there always a villain in T.V. shows? Why does every show have an Angelica Pickles? Here's why.

Every movie has a problem because if everything was just fine and dandy all the time, it wouldn't be interesting.

Life gives you detours because if you had no problems, you would never learn and everything would be boring.

Life is hard, but you wouldn't be given a challenge if you couldn't solve it.

Cool with Charlie and Androids ;) chapter 4

Alice, Leo, Chris, Mouse, and I got out of Mom's car and she smiled at us.
"Have fun, kids." Mom said, beaming.
I groaned, "Mom..."
She giggled, "Sorry, Honey. Well, I hope you enjoy your first day at work. Don't worry about Charlie and James, I can take them grocery shopping with me."
Chris and I exchanged a look and I started to wish I hadn't taken this job.
Mom drove away and my friends and I went into the park building.
A woman with blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, who was probably 17 or 18, greeted us.
"Hey," She said, smacking her gum loudly and smiling, "Welcome to the park program. I'm Caitlin and I'll help you plow through all of this! Ready to watch over little kids and try not to get tied up in jump ropes and poisoned with tainted Kool-Aid?"
Caitlin laughed loudly and Leo mouthed 'I told you so'.
I rolled my eyes at him and smiled at Caitlin.
"Yep, we're ready!" I said, smiling politely.
Caitlin nodded and said, "Come on, let's meet the kids!"
Leo's face paled and glanced at me.
I shook my head at him and we followed Caitlin.
"This is stupid," Mouse whispered, "Remind me why I'm here?"
"Because you can take down the kids if they get out of control." Leo said, adding in a whisper, "They do that sometimes."
We all gave him a 'you're a moron' look.
Caitlin stopped at a door and said, pushing it open, "Here they are!"
We went into the brightly colored room. Kids ranging from roughly age seven to fourteen sat at three large polished wooden tables. There were large windows in the room and drawings clearly done by little kids covering the walls.
The kids went around the table and introduced themselves.
There were a lot of seven, eight, and nine year olds.
After a blonde little seven-year-old girl named Chloe introduced herself, there was a girl with really long jet-black hair and brown almond-shaped eyes.
"Hi," She said, "I am twelve years old and my name is-"
"Bailey," Said the curly-haired boy sitting next to her, "Her name is Bailey."
The girl  raised an eyebrow at him and said flatly, "I think I know my own name, Emmet."
The boy, Emmet, shrugged and rolled his eyes.
The girl, Bailey, smiled tightly and said, "Yep, call me Bailey."
The boy next to her said, "Okay, my name is Emmet Peterson and I am twelve years old. Please excuse my friend here, Tails- Er, Bailey, for some of her odd or rude comments. You know, weird stuff about robots or space aliens. Hehehe..."
"Okay," I said, trying to add to the conversation, "Is there anything you want to say about yourselves?"
"Umm... Bailey's crazy?" Emmet said, and Bailey punched his shoulder.
"Something about yourself." Bailey said.
"Baliey's Korean-American."
"No one cares!" Bailey said, rolling her eyes.
I glanced at Caitlin for help and she shrugged and leaned over to whisper to me, "They're mingling, getting to know each other. It's good for them."
"Sh-she's just af-fraid." Leo said timidly, "She's afraid of the k-kids."
"Oh, and you're not?" Mouse said, grinning.
Alice smiled at the kids and said in her sweet-little-anime-character voice, "Well what do we have planned next? Do you kids want to go outside? Or play some games?"
The little blonde girl, Chloe, walked up to Alice and tugged on her skirt.
"Can we watch a movie?" Chloe asked, sucking her thumb.
Alice bent down to her level and said gently, "Um, wouldn't you rather go outside and get exercise? Go out and play?"
Chloe stared at Alice like she was crazy. She stared for a long, long time before turning back to her seat.
Alice blinked and glanced at Caitlin.
Caitlin shrugged and said in a hushed voice, "Um, you should probably let them do what they want..."
"I think going outside to play is an excellent idea." Bailey said, standing up and beaming at Alice, "Sorry, what did you say your name was?"
Alice smiled, "Oh, I'm Alice. Thank you, Bailey, for supporting my idea."
Geez, Alice. Way to sound like a voice-recording. I thought.
The blood drained from Emmet's face and he said, "Hey, uh, do you think there's anything else we could do?"
"Like watch a movie?" Chloe said, sucking her thumb and boring holes in Alice.
Alice avoided the seven-year-old's glare and cleared her throat.
"Um," She said, "How about we go outside then?"
The kids in the room all exchanged looks with each other and Caitlin said, "Yeah, you should do what Alice says. She's a smart girl."
Alice smiled proudly and led the kids outside.
Once the kids were all on the field, Bailey pretty much 'owned' all of them. So, she's good at sports. That's good to know.
Leo stared at Bailey throughout the whole game of softball. He was breathing heavily and starting to sweat.
Chris rolled his eyes and said, "Leo, calm down. Those kids aren't going to hurt you."
"You don't know that!" Leo said, "And look at that Bailey girl! She's kicking some little kid ass!"
"Shh, Leo!" I hissed, "Watch the language."
Leo shrugged and said, "Doesn't make a difference. Mary already swears like a sailor."
"Your sister?" Alice asked, "Isn't she five?"
Leo nodded grimly, "One of the worst ages a child can be."
We all rolled our eyes at Leo and he said, laughing hollowly, "Oh, okay. So that's how it's gonna be, eh? Well, when you get brutally murdered by these kids, don't come crying to me."
Alice and I looked at each other and we started laughing. Chris and Mouse laughed too and Leo pouted.
When the game was over, Alice, who was definitely the most interested in this whole program, smiled cheerily and said to the kids, "Okay, time to go inside now!"
Chloe and a boy who looked about her age exchanged a look and followed Alice.
We all went inside and back into the first room, where the kids all sat around their tables.
We could hear yelling coming from outside our room and I exchanged a look with Leo. What?
Mouse opened the door and Kathy stuck her head in the room, "Hi guys!"
Chris stifled a shriek and Kathy came in, pulling her brother, Lunkwill, by the wrist. I had met him a few times before. He was twelve years old.
"Oh my gosh, what a coincidence!" Kathy said, giggling, "I had no idea you guys worked here!"
"Mm-hmm." Mouse said, rolling her eyes. 
Kathy didn't seem to notice and she continued cheerily, "Okay, Lunky! Are you ready for a summer full of fun?"
Lunkwill groaned and said, "Kath, this is for kids. I don't want to be here."
Kathy sighed and said, "Look, Lunkwill, I know you don't like people, but this is a good way to meet people and get them to maybe like you. Maybe you'll even get to meet some girls and go on your first date-"
"Kathy, shut up!" Lunkwill said, "You're not my mom..."
Kathy pouted and said gently, "Would you be happier if I brought your diary, Lunky?"
Lunkwill blushed beet red and said, "I-it's not a diary, Kathy."
Wow, poor kid. I thought.
"What a loser." Mouse whispered, chuckling.
"Lunky, you're acting like a baby." Kathy said.
"You're the one calling me 'Lunky'!" Lunkwill said, "Seriously, can we please leave?"
Embarrassed, Lunkwill glanced around the room and his eyes fell on Bailey.
Lunkwill's face got redder and his eyes got wider when he stared at her.
Emmet noticed Lunkwill's dreamy stare at his friend and his jaw sagged a bit. Emmet looked really creeped out.
Bailey glanced at Lunkwill and looked away quickly.
Emmet started laughing and said something to Bailey, and she punched him hard on the shoulder.
Kathy also noticed Lunkwill's gaze and she said, "So, are you sure you can't stay for just a little bit?"
"I-I can stay..." Lunkwill stuttered, staring at Bailey, who put her head down on the table.
Kathy gave Lunkwill a little push and he ran over to sit by Bailey.
Emmet stared at Lunkwill from the other side of Bailey, disgusted.
Bailey seemed to be trying really hard not to look at Lunkwill, but she eventually turned to him and said, "What?"
"N-nothing." Lunkwill blushed and smiled dreamily at Bailey.
Leo whispered to me, "Puppy love."
I laughed and Chris hissed, "Kind of like you with Charlie."
I turned to him and gave him a disgusted face.
"Hypocrite." I scoffed.

Cool with Charlie and Androids ;) chapter 3

"You gotta admit, they were pretty cute." I said once we were back in my room.

Chris rolled his eyes and said, "That's none of our business. We weren't supposed to be there."

I smirked, "You know it was adorable.... In a heartbreaker sort of way."

Chris glared at me and said, "I feel terrible. We invaded their privacy."

"Good morning, kids." Mom said cheerily, entering from the kitchen.

"Mom!" Chris whirled around and fell off his chair.

Mom gasped and said, "Um... Is everything alright, Honey?"

"He's fine," I said, "Just low blood sugar. He's twitchy because he needs food."

Wow, could I possibly have come up with a lamer excuse?

Mom nodded like she was going to pretend she believed.

Charlie and James came into the room, half asleep. James leaned against Charlie's shoulder and I whispered Aww! to Chris.

"Morning, you two." Mom said, smiling.

Charlie startled and elbowed James, who snorted sleepily and stood up straighter. Hehe, straighter. Get it? Hahaha.... Never mind.

"Be polite," Charlie hissed at James, sticking a smile on his face.

Chris and I exchanged a look and bowed our heads over our cereal at the same time.

Charlie and James looked at each other, blinked, and smiled at Mom..

"Here, sit, sit!" She said, pulling out two chairs across the table from Chris and I.

"Do you boys want breakfast? We have cereal." Mom said in that cheery Mom way she had.

Charlie and James nodded politely and Mom set two bowls of cereal in front of them within about three seconds.

"So," I said, smiling tightly, "Did you guys sleep well?"

Chris kicked me under the table and I said, "Ow! What the hell, Chris?"

"Language!" Mom called from the kitchen.

"Sorry!" I said, totally not meaning it.

"Yes, we did." James said.

Charlie's jaw tightened and I think he kicked James too, because James said, "Ow! Charlie..."

Charlie smiled tightly and said, "Oh, what about you kids? Er, pardon me, young adults, teens, whatever you want to be called."

He laughed and I laughed with him, but his laugh was sweet and perfect, mine was more of a nervous 'you're hot why are you gay' laugh.

"I slept really good." I said, "Like a baby in the night.... When it sleeps."

Chris gave me an 'are you serious' look.

Charlie smiled uneasily and said, "Oh, good."

"You know, guys." I said, leaning in toward the table, "If there's anything you want to tell us, you can just say it."

"Shut up, Angie!" Chris said, kicking me again.

"Stop that!" I said, punching his shoulder.

"No hitting!" Chris cried, kicking me again.

"No kicking, either!" I said, kicking him.

Soon we were pulling each other's hair and yelling like little kids.

Mom came in and said, "Hey, stop that! You two are way to old for that!"

At the same time, Chris and I froze, looked at Charlie and James, and let go of each other's hair.

We sat up straight and smiled cheesily.

Charlie and James stared at us for a second, but then they both smiled.

"Ah, I used to fight with my sisters all the time when I was younger." Charlie laughed, "It's part of growing up."

I laughed a loud fake laugh.

"Ha ha ha, couldn't agree more, Charlie." I said, punching my brother's arm hard.

Chris glared at me, but smiled at James, who smiled back weakly.

We all sat their smiling for a long time and, as if on cue, all four of us looked down at our cereal awkwardly.


Chris, Charlie, James, and I were sitting in the living room when "Telephone" by Lady Gaga started playing.
Chris smiled awkwardly and said, "Excuse me, guys."
I rolled my eyes when he answered his cell phone and went into the hallway.
"Oh, hi, Alice!... Yeah... Of course!.... What?.... Oh..." Chris blushed and glanced at James, "Um... Okay, but then I can't invite Geoffry... Are you sure?... Well, you've got a point- Wait, what?... Okay... Yeah, sure, I'll invite them."
Chris closed his phone and smiled widely, "Hey, do you three want to come to the mall with me and Alice?"
"Sure! I'm in!" I said, beaming.
Charlie and James exchanged a look and James said, "Really? You want us to come?"
Chris blushed and said, smiling, "Of course, James. After all, you are practically part of the family."
The way he smiled at James and his 'part of the family' comment was so creepy that I had to turn away and blink for a second.
Charlie and James smiled and James said, "Sure, we'll come."
Chris smiled widely and said, "Really? Oh, how awesome! And, er, would you guys mind if I invited Geoffry? I mean, I don't have to, but I might..."
"Of course you can. I mean, he is your boyfriend." James said, smiling politely.
Chris gritted his teeth and said, "Well, when I said boyfriend I didn't mean boyfriend. I-I meant friend... Who's a boy... And, uh, we're not really like in a relationship or anything. H-he's not really my type, I have more of a thing for... Redheads."
"Hey, Chris!" I said loudly, getting up from the couch, "How about you go call Geoffry now!"
Chris stared at me for a second and nodded slowly. 
"Okay, I can do that." He said quietly, turning to leave.
Chris flashed a smile at James before leaving and I pushed him into the hallway.
I turned and smiled at Charlie and James, "Please excuse my brother, he's not feeling the best today. He's so silly, falling off of chairs and babbling nonsense and stuff."
I laughed a loud, nervous laugh.
Charlie and James both smiled tightly.
I stood there in silence for a long time before I saved myself by saying, "I'll be right back."
I left the room and sat on the floor, next to the wall behind the living room, in the hallway.
They didn't talk about anything good.


Alice, Chris, Charlie, James, Geoffry, Leo (Who I dragged along), and I all went to the mall by our house.
"So, there's this park building a few blocks away from Withrow, you know?" Alice said, pulling some papers out of her purse.
Chris nodded and Alice said, "Well, I was wondering if you guys would like to sign up for jobs as-"
"Count me in!" Leo said, "Anything that'll get me paid!"
Alice grinned and said, "As park program counselors."
Leo's face fell and Alice said, "Still wanna sign up?"
"No." Leo said, sighing.
"I'll sign up." I said, glancing at Leo.
Leo groaned and said, "Fiiiiiiine."
Alice turned to Charlie and James, "I'm guessing you two don't want to? You don't have ot, it's just for fun."
Charlie shrugged and said, "Well, we still have some papers we need to file... You know, for college... We're both getting PHDs, that's why we're going to college longer."
He smiled uneasily and I nodded, "Fun."
Chris beamed at Alice and said, "Of course I'll sign up! Geoffry?"
"No thanks, Honey. Not my thing." Geoffry said, smiling.
Chris glanced at James and wrote his name on the sign up sheet Alice had in her bag.
So Alice, Leo, Chris, and I all signed up.
"Are you gonna try to get Mouse to sigh up?" I joked, laughing.
Alice nodded, "Yes."
We all stared at her and she said, "Mouse has a hard outer shell, unlike me and Leo and Chris. Sorry, Chris."
Chris shrugged, "I'm used to it."
Leo sighed and Alice continued, "So, I'm thinking Mouse might be able to handle the situation better than us."
"The... Situation?" I asked.
Alice nodded, "These kids can be pretty scary, Ange."
There was a long silence before everyone except for Alice started laughing, even Charlie and James.
Alice looked at me questioningly and I said, putting my hand on her shoulder and still laughing, "I'm sorry, Alice, but how old are these kids?"
"It's a pretty big range." Alice sighed, looking kind of annoyed with us, "You know, ages seven to fourteen."
Chris, Leo, and I paled.
"I'm sorry?" Leo said, "Did you say... Ages seven to fourteen?"
Alice nodded and Leo looked like he was going to faint.
"Don't be such a baby, Leo." Chris said, rolling his eyes, "They're just kids."
Leo put his hand on Chris' mouth and said, looking around nervously, "Shh! Never say that! They can hear you..."
Leo gestured to his ears and Chris raised an eyebrow at him. He peeled Leo's fingers away from his mouth and said, "You're nuts, Leo."
"So, who wants to go to the food court?" I asked, smiling.
So, we went to the food court and Leo explained his crazy theory about little kids.


Our job at the park program started next week.

Cool with Charlie and Androids ;) chapter 2

JUNE.

It was June and I was at the airport with Mom, Chris, Leo, Alice, and Geoffry.

We waited by the baggage claim with a sign that said 'Charlie and James'. Those were the exchange students' names.

Soon enough, we saw two college-age boys. Maybe nineteen, twenty years old, even. They were dressed like they were from the 1800s. You know, earth-tone vests and white shirts, etc.

Chris started waving frantically to them and I tried to pretend I didn't know him.

Leo leaned over and whispered to me, "I didn't know they dressed like that in Ireland."

I shook my head and whispered, "Shh, don't be rude."

The exchange students came toward us and smiled warmly. 

One of them had brown, neatly brushed hair and blue eyes. The other, who was a bit taller, had wavy, bright red hair and brown eyes. To tell you the truth, they were both on the hot side. Yes, I just went there.

Leo whispered, "Do they speak English?"

I elbowed him and whispered, "They're Irish, not German or something."

I turned to the guy with brown hair and said kindly, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Angie, you'll be living with my Mom, my brother, and I."

The brown-haired guy smiled politely and shook my hand. He said, "It's nice to meet you, Angie. I'm Charlie."

Oh my gawdddd. Irish accent! 

I smiled stupidly and Leo eyed the exchange students suspiciously.

I shook the red-haired guy's hand and he introduced himself as "James."

Charlie shook Chris' hand and they both smiled politely.

When James shook Chris' hand, Chris smiled dreamily and looked like he was going to pass out. So, I wasn't the only one who noticed how freaking gorgeous they were!

We all shook hands with them, etc etc.

They shook hands with Geoffry and Chris said, "Charlie, James, this is my boyfriend, Geoffry."

Charlie and James exchanged a look and Chris looked like he regretted telling them he had a boyfriend. 

But, the exchange students just smiled sweetly and Charlie said, in his charming irish accent, "It's nice to meet you, Geoffry."

James nodded politely to Geoffry.

I exchanged a questioning glance with Alice and she shrugged.

Charlie turned and looked at the baggage claim. He said to James, "Oh, we should get our bags, Seamus."

James nodded and said, "Excuse us for just a moment."

We all nodded and they went to get their bags.

Seamus? I mouthed to Alice, who shrugged again.

We all went to a coffee shop on the way home and talked.

"So," I asked, "What's it like in Ireland?"

Charlie and James exchanged a look.

Leo eyed them suspiciously and Charlie said, smiling sweetly, "Um, it's not bad. Better... Than it was. We've been good lately.... It's nice to see America."

He and James smiled at each other and Leo narrowed his eyes.

I stood up, "H-hey, I'll be right back."

Everyone nodded and I grabbed Leo's sleeve, "Leo, can I talk to you for a minute?"

He nodded and I dragged him outside.

"What is your issue?" I asked Leo.

Leo shrugged and said, "N-nothing. I was just trying to figure out..."

I eyed him and he said, "Ange, I think they're gay."

"Aw, really?" I said, disappointed.

Leo looked at me weird and I said, "Oh."

I smacked Leo in the head and said, "You pig! That's why you've been so rude?"

"No, no, of course not!" Leo said, rubbing his head where I had hit him, ".... Well..... Yeah. That and the fact that they've been acting really weird."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," Leo said, "You asked them what it was like in Ireland and they looked like they were hiding something."

I eyed Leo curiously and said, "Like what?"

Leo shook his head, "I dunno."

I sighed and mumbled, "Well, that's helpful..."

"So, Leo." I said, crossing my arms, "Do you think their secretly gay serial killers that have come to murder us all?"

Leo shook his head, "No, but-"

"Then we're fine," I said, patting his shoulder, "Good work, detective."

Leo sighed and we went back to the table where our friends were sitting.

We sat down and stuck cheesy smiles on our faces.

After that, Mom, Chris, and I took Charlie and James home.

We showed them their room, which was separated by a room divider. Mom apologized that they had to share a room.

I glanced at Charlie and thought about what Leo had said at the coffee shop.

Charlie bowed his head and I could've sworn I saw him smile. 

James cleared his throat and said politely, "It's no problem, Mrs. Harper."

He shot a quick smile at Charlie and I glanced at Chris.

Chris gave me a confused look and I mouthed, I'll talk to you later.

Chris and I smiled at the exchange students and we all said goodnight.

Charlie and James went to their separate beds and Chris, Mom, and I left the room.

Chris and I rushed to my room and we closed the door. We sat down on my bed and I said, "Okay, so, Leo was giving Charlie and James nasty looks today, so I pulled him aside when we were at the coffee shop..."

"Yeah?" Chris said anxiously.

I said in a hushed voice, "Well, I asked Leo what was up and he said he thinks Charlie and James are gay."

Chris' eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "What? Really?"

I raised an eyebrow at my brother and said, "Chris, you have a boyfriend."

Chris sighed wistfully, "And they're like six years older than me...."

We were both quiet for a second and I said, "Now, now, Chris, don't be ageist."

Chris eyed me and said, "You like them too, don't you?"

I shrugged, "James doesn't really appeal as much to me, but Charlie is hot."

"Really?" Chris said, "I think James is the cutest! With his red hair and his accent..."

"They both have accents, Chris." I said, a bit ticked off that Chris had a better chance with them than I did.

Chris looked at me, looking like he had an idea.

"What?" I said.

Chris said, "Ange, what if Charlie and James are boyfriends?"

Wow, I hadn't even thought of that.

I blinked stupidly and said, "You think so?"

Chris nodded, "Maybe."

"How will we find out?" I asked.

Chris cocked his head to the side, "Find out? What do you mean?"

I gave him a 'you know what I'm talking about' look and he said, "Oh, geez, Ange... You're not serious, are you?"

I gave Chris the look again and he sighed, "Fine, okay, I want to know too, I guess."
I grinned and said, "Okay, so here's what we're gonna do..."


At about 4 A.M., Chris and I crawled on our hands and knees to Charlie and James' room.
"Ange, we shouldn't be doing this." Chris hissed in a whisper, "We can't just go into their room."
"We're not gonna go in," I said, "We're going to open the door and peek in."
Chris shook his head, "Ange, we can not do this!"
"Yes, we can!" I whispered, "You want to know if they're gay or not, don't you?"
"How can we tell by looking in their room?" Chris asked.
I narrowed my eyes at him and opened Charlie and James' door a crack.
"Ange," Chris hissed as I crawled into the room a few inches, "Get back here!"
"Come on, you big baby." I said, gesturing for him to follow me.
Chris shook his head and crawled after me, "I can't believe I'm doing this. We'll get in so much trouble!"
"Shh!" I said, slowly standing up.
My jaw dropped.
"What?" Chris said, standing up next to me.
His jaw dropped too.
Charlie and James were sleeping in James' bed, all snuggled up. James had one arm draped over Charlie's side and Charlie's hand rested gently in his.
I gave Chris an 'I told you so' look and we got the hell out of there.

Cool with Charlie and Androids ;) chapter 1

"Now, class," Mrs. Green, the French teacher, said cheerily, "The sign-up sheets for exchange students is on the door. You can sign up after class."
Right on cue, the bell rang and Chris got up instantly, rushing to the classroom door.
The rest of the class left lazily and slowly.
Leo, Mouse, Alice, and I met Chris at the door.
"Hey, Buddy." I said, "Shouldn't we ask Mom before signing up to host exchange students?"
Without taking his attention away from the sign-up paper, in which he was reading, Chris handed me his phone and said, "Here, text her."
"Why me?" I said.
"I don't want to get it trouble for texting in school." Chris explained, "You're used to it."
I shrugged and Chris took his phone back. He said, "On second thought, use your phone. I don't want mine to get taken away."
I scowled at my brother and took my phone out.


Hi mom. can we host 2 exchng stdnts frm irlnd? Chris wants 2. <3 Angie


I put my phone back in my pocket and Chris immediately said, "Did she text back?"
Just then, my phone buzzed and I checked it.


Well, I'll have to speak with your father. Tell Chris he can sign up later if Dad says yes. He's already at the sign-up sheet, isn't he? Tell him to wait. Love you, Sweetie. Put your phone away. Love, Mom. :)


"Yeah, she did." I said, putting my phone in my pocket (but not turning it off), "She said you need to wait and she's gonna ask Dad."
"Darn it!" Chris said, sighing, "I just think it would be so fun. And plus, extra credit!"
"Why are they from Ireland?" Mouse said, "This is French class."
We all looked at Mouse; That was a pretty good question. Good job, Mousey.
"Well, Ireland is in Europe." Chris said, "So is France. The students are from Ireland, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Poland, and Spain."
Mouse shrugged, "Shouldn't have asked."
There was a pause and Chris almost squealed, "Oh, I wonder what they'll be like! Do you think we'll get boys or girls? How old do you think they are? What do you-"
"Chris," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder, "You're getting way ahead of yourself. Mom didn't even O.K. it yet."
Chris sighed and said, "Ange, Dad is going to be on a business trip for the whole summer."
I shrugged, "So?"
Chris rolled his eyes like I was an idiot and said, "The exchange students only stay for the summer."
"Oohhhh..." I said, feeling stupid, "Should I text Mom?"
"Later," Chris said, "I have to go to math, you have to go to social studies. See you in study hall."
"Later," I said, waving him off and going to fifth hour.


On the bus, Chris would not stop texting Mom and asking about the exchange students. He pointed out the fact that Dad wouldn't be here for the summer and Mom said she had called Dad earlier and he had pointed that out to her as well.


Hi, Mom! So did u ask Dad about exchng stdnts yet? Well i remembrd Dad wont b here 4 the summr!


Yes, you're right, Sweetie. I think it would be just fine if the students came for the summer. Love you, Mom.


REALLY? thnk u mom <3 U!!!!!


We got off the bus and Chris was jumping up and down, saying, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I can't believe it! We can host exchange students for the summer! Oh my gosh, I'm so excited! I can't wait! I can't wait! I can't wait!"
"So, Chris," I said sarcastically, "Are you excited?"
Chris stopped jumping and said, "Well, duh, Angie!"
I got a text message from Leo.


LEO: So u guyz r doin the exchng stdnt thing?


ANGIE: Yea wanna come w/ us 2 the airport in June?


LEO: K. Guess what?


ANGIE: ?


LEO: Luv u.


ANGIE: Thats nice.


LEO: :)


I closed and put away my phone, "Leo's coming to pick them up at the airport with us in June."
Chris' face fell and he groaned, "Whyyyy?"
"I invited him." I said flatly.
Chris groaned and took out his phone, "Okay, I'm inviting Geoffry."
"What the hell? Whyyyyy?" I whined, trying to take his phone.
Chris texted Geoffry with one hand and put the other on my face, pushing me away.
We probably looked pretty stupid while I waved my arms around frantically, trying to get Chris' phone.


CHRIS: Hey Sweetie! Want 2 come 2 airport in June 2 pick up exchng stdnts?


GEOFFRY: Sure Honey. Sounds fun!


Chris smiled and put his phone away, "He's coming."
I groaned and said, "I'm inviting Alice! HA!"
Chris looked confused and said, "She's my friend too, how is that bad for me?"
I sighed and said, "Dang it."
So, we were getting exchange students in a month. Fun.


Let's see this last.

Dear Diary.... (Chapter 2)

I slammed the door behind me, throwing my backpack at the floor in rage. My mother came into the room, wearing her flowing, long purple dress and a colorful scarf.
"Is something wrong, dear?" She asked calmly.
I looked at her and one glance at that serene, gentle face made me break down. I ran over to my mother and cried on her shoulder, feeling stupid.
"It's alright, Sweetheart." She said gently, smoothing my hair, "Is there anything you want? What can I do for you?"
I pulled angrily at my bright red hair, "I want to die my hair! Any color but this, any color!"
"Oh, no, absolutely not." My mother said bluntly, patting my head, "It's bad for the environment. I love you, Sweetheart."
"Love you too, Mother." I said flatly.
My mother turned around and smiled, shaking her finger at me, "Now, now, Lunkwill...."
"Love you too, Rainbow Destiny." I said, a little bit mockingly.
My mother smiled at me and nodded, leaving the room. Once she was gone, I groaned and collapsed on the couch. "Why can't I have a normal family?" I groaned. 
Cameron came in, walked right past me, and went into the kitchen. He came back with three cans of soda and a bag of chips.
"So, Lunkwill," He said, "What have you chosen to mope about today?"
"Why are we so weird, Cameron?" I asked, staring up at the ceiling, "Why can't we have a normal family?"
Cameron opened the bag of chips and took a handful out, "What do you mean?"
"Maybe it's just me," I said, not really listening to Cameron, "Maybe I'm just mentally ill. Maybe there's something wrong with me."
"You always say that." Cameron said, stuffing his face with more chips, "Try to relax."
"Maybe that's why no one likes me." I went on, "I'm always freaking out about something or other."
Cameron nodded and said with his mouth full, "Yeah, you gotta stop doing that."
"That's it," I said, "I'm sure of it. That's why everyone hates me."
"Not everyone, Lunkwill." Cameron snorted.
I sat up, "Oh, yeah? Name one person who doesn't hate me."
Cameron thought about this and said, "Kathy."
I groaned, "She doesn't count, she's my sister."
Cameron chewed his chips loudly and I practically yelled, "Will you stop?!"
"Stop what?" Cameron said stupidly.
"Chewing so loud!" I said, "God! Am I the only sane one here?"
Cameron shook his head and I laughed nervously, "You're right, I'm not sane. None of us are sane! Not mom, not dad, not me, not you, not Kathy! None of us! We're a family of nut cases!"
Cameron studied me, chewing loudly as he thought, "Um.... How about you go look up diseases online or something. Try drawing, do something creative."
I thought about this and shrugged, "Yeah, diseases are cool."
I went to my room and sat down at the computer. I clicked on the bookmark labeled "List of Mental Health Disorders" and scrolled through the list. Acute Stress Disorder, ADHD, Agoraphobia, Amnesia, Anger Management....
Hmm... Paranoid schizophrenia. I clicked on it and read the symptoms. Yeah, that sounded like me.
I took out my journal and wrote:


Dear Journal,


Hey, it's Lunkwill again.... Well, obviously. So, I decided that I have paranoid schizophrenia. Cool, isn't it? Still don't have any friends (lot like the schizophrenic thing will change that). Not much has happened. Kathy is still telling me to cheer up, Cam is still telling me to relax. Nothing's different.
Love, you already know who wrote this. I said at the beginning.


I sleepily looked over what I wrote and decided that it was time for schizophrenic Lunkwill to go to bed.