Chain Reaction 2.4: Raina

     Without a doubt, Emily is 'Daddy's little girl.' They sit and cuddle while watching TV. To be honest, I'm jealous. Not of the cuddling! But before Emily was born, Dad and I would go out and do stuff together, just us. I'm not saying he ignores me, but it's not the same.

     "How is everything going?" he asks me when I sit down with some food to watch TV.
     "Good," I reply with my mouth full. "I brought my grades up to B's."

     I put my plate on the floor, and he gets a knowing grin. "Is Claire your girlfriend yet?"
     "Uh..."
     "Your mom and I keep waiting to hear. After all, you call her every day even though you'd just seen her at school. You sure do talk about her a lot, but we've not heard whether or not she's your girlfriend."
     "Uh... Kinda?" I answer. Claire and I haven't officially defined ourselves yet. We went to a party at Kelsie's house. She lives right across the street. Claire and I spent most of it sneaking off somewhere to go make out. She still won't let me hold her butt for long, but I keep trying. I've discovered I can get my fingers to the second knuckle in the back pocket of her shorts. The back pockets aren't very deep at all.
     "Do you need some money to take her out?" he asks.

     I almost say no, but then I know I'd kick myself later. "Yeah. Sure. Thanks. We mostly just go hang out with everyone else though. Maybe we should go on a real date."
     Dad smiles.
     Yeah... That wasn't awkward... >.>

     Emily looks happy the next morning when she tells me, "They put down a house in that empty lot over there." She means the one caddy-corner from our house. "And there's a boy there. I saw him."
     "They put in a house there?" I ask. Why didn't I notice? I turn around and look, and sure enough, I see a house.
     "He has an older sister," Emily says with a mischievous smile now.
     "Oh," I reply.
     Branden can't stop being a jerk, and I wonder if he had a girlfriend if he'd be more mellow. He just gets worse every time I see him. Maybe I should introduce the two...
     I look over at my sister and see her watching me, kinda freaking me out. It's like she can read my mind.

     Mom sits down and gives me 'her' brilliant idea. "Maybe you should introduce her to some of your friends. It can't be easy being in a new town, especially as a teenager."
     Emily chimes in. "That's a really good idea, Mommy!"
     I chew my last bite of food, watching the two females in front of me. Do they really think they're managing me? I came up with that idea on my own. Whatever. It's still a good idea.
     Still, just to test them, I say, "I'm sure I could at least introduce her to Claire."
     Mom smiles simply, and I decide she's not trying to play cupid. I can't read Emily's expression.

     I manage to convince Branden to come with me to meet them. When we get here, the mom and dad start making out, obviously not caring if anyone watches. Branden watches at an uncomfortably close distance. I learn they're the McCulloughs. The girl introduces herself as Raina. Her little brother is Braydon.
     "And those," she pauses, gesturing to them, "are my parents, Antonio and Mica. I'm sure they'll say hello in a minute. Maybe."
     I chuckle. "No biggie. My parents get like that too sometimes."

     She looks at me with a small smirk. "Yeah, but do they do it when the neighbors are coming over to meet you?"
     I rub the back of my head. "Well, I don't remember. I was a kid when we moved into that house." I point to my house, and she turns to look for a second.
     "That's a big house," she states plainly.

     "Yeah. I remember how empty it was when we first moved in. We couldn't move most of our furniture for some reason. All I had was a bed at first. I remember laughing about it with my friend Branden here." I gesture to Branden. "Haaaaaaaave you met Branden?" I ask in a funny way.

     "Oh. I thought he was your brother," she says.
     "Noooo.... We've been friends for a long time," I answer. Do we look like brothers? Maybe she thought that because he came with me.
     Branden stiffens up like he knows we're talking about him. I can't help but think he looks kinda mad.

     So, I stand here while Raina goes to talk to Branden. Her mom stands awkwardly between them, turning her head back and forth as each one talks like she's watching a tennis match.
     Branden claims he all of a sudden has somewhere else to be. He glares at me as he walks by, and I just grin back at him.
     Well, I tried.
     They invite me inside.

     The dad and son don't come inside, but Raina's mom comes in and starts cooking something. We have a seat on their very red couch.
     She turns to me and gives me a calculating look. "Sorry, Ethan, but I'm gonna tell it to you straight: Your friend is a jerk."
     I laugh out loud. "Wow! And you've only just met him."

     "My friends aren't all like that. You should hang out with us sometime. As for Branden, well, he's been acting like he has a stick up his-" I suddenly remember her mom is right behind me. "For a long time," I finish. "Have you met Kelsie yet? She lives over there." I point to her next door neighbor.
     "A little. She seems a bit...flaky to me."
     I have to laugh again. "You really don't leave any doubt what you think about people."
     She shrugs. "Life's too short to pretend."
     I get a text from Claire. She wants the group to meet at The Narwhal Arms. I invite Raina.

     We get here, and I walk up to Claire and kiss her on the cheek. "Hey, Claire. I've been saving something for you." Then, I burp in her face.
     "Monkey boy! You are so gross!" she yells, holding her nose and fanning the air around her while I laugh so hard I almost can't stand up.
     Then, I act a little more my age and introduce her to Raina. Surprisingly, Branden shows up, but he doesn't say one word to any of us.

     In fact, even when he orders food, he's sure to sit far away from us. Claire and Raina happily help themselves to the french fries I'd ordered for all of us.
     Raina turns to me with a smirk. "Monkey boy?"
     Great, I think sarcastically. "I have no idea what you're talking about," I answer, not looking at her.
     "Right," she says like she doesn't believe me for a second. Then, she gets up to go dance.

     When the two of us finish eating, I pull Claire over to me. "Did you really have to call me monkey boy in front of the new girl?"
     Claire laughs. "Yes! Especially if you're going to pull a stunt like that."
     I pout, hopefully adorably. "It was for old times' sake."
     "Then expect to be called monkey boy," she grins.
     "Okay, daisy."

     I kiss her before she can yet again ask me why I'm calling her daisy. I quickly brush my hand over her butt so that I can get away with it without her pulling my hand back. She groans into my mouth while I laugh in my chest.

     We decide to work off some of our angst on the dance floor. Two spots on the dance floor seem to collect sims, each sporting three sims a piece. This apparently freaks out the computer, and it does one of its awful noisy-crashes.

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Odd ending. Yeah, but that happens.

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