"I HAVE NO CLEAN SOCKS!!!" Tay screamed at the top of his lungs. This is the third hissy fit he's thrown today. Can this boy get any more annoying?
"Who cares about your socks Tay? Certainly not I!" Ah Isaac, my older brother. The 'peace-maker'. Surely he can put a stop to this insanity.
I swear, my whole family are ding bats. It's like on TV we're all nicey nicey, but real life sucks. My brothers aren't human. They can't be. Only humans have feelings, and can stand going barefoot for a day. Also, they don't obsess about their clothes and talk to inanimate objects in the late of night. Yes, I do hear Ike talking to his guitars. I even caught him kissing them several times before. We gotta get him a girlfriend.
"Zachary! Can you come here for a minute please honey?" Cringe. That women is gonna make me hurl one of these days. Can't she understand that I'm 15? I'm not honey nor do I want to be. She still refers to herself as 'mommy'. Ew, sick.
"Coming..."
"Zachary dear, I'm going next-door and I would like you to come too. We just got new neighbors. We need to be friendly."
"Why me? Can't you take Jessica or something?"
"No Dear, I would like you to come. All summer you've been sitting like a lump in this house. You don't have any friends, your not on tour, and your not making an album. You are dead weight. Maybe they have a son your age too."
"That's cause all my friends are on vacation in like Florida or something like that. Don't make me go mom, come on!"
"Your going, and that's the end of it. Here, take this." she said thrusting a jello-mold into my arms. "And I don't want to hear you complain about your friends being on vacation in Florida, because all you and your brothers do is complain about how your never home. Now you want to go on vacation? Make up your mind already!"
So I guess I have to go. Why can't she just butt out of my social life? Man!
We walked down the sidewalk to our neighbors house. That is my mom walked, I just kind of scuffed my feet along the sidewalk.
My mom knocked on the door with me hiding behind her. Of course that's not very logical, beacuse I've been taller than her for the past 4 years. Oh well, nobody's going into detail here I guess.
Slowly the door opened. Then came into my view the most horrid site I have ever seen. An old man appeared in his underwear saying something in Italian. Whoa! I jumped back in complete shock. That's sick! I didn't expect that. It's like your mom coming over to you, saying she wants to talk to you so please sit down and listen to me because I'm about to tell you that I'm pregnant for the seventh time. Man, I hate it when that happens. Well anyway, getting back to the old man in his underwear. My mom spoke up first. She didn't appear to be in shock. Well, at least not as much as I did. I guess she's used to old men in their underwear by now with my dad around the house. Plus, Isaac is getting pretty up there in years considering he's 20. I guess he counts as an old man too.
"Hello!" my mom said while extending her hand. "I'm Diana Hanson and this is my son Zachary. We are your neighbors!"
The old man looked at her hand, then at her, then at her hand again, said something in Italian, and walked back inside the house obviously not understanding a word that she said. An old woman came to the door. She looked nice enough I guess. My mom introduced us again. It looked as if she spoke english. Good. That makes two good points about this woman so far. She spoke english and she wasn't in her underwear.
"Oh hello Diana and Zachary!" she said in a very heavy Italian accent. "My name is Isabella. It seems you have already met my husband Antonio. He can't speak the language yet. We have just moved to this wonderful little town from Italy. Come in, come in. You must be getting a chill out there. Make yourselves at home."
Isabella herded us into her house and literally pushed us down on the big white sofa in the living room. The whole house smelled oddly of tomato sauce and moth balls. She then said something in Italian to her husband who then yelled "Quaker!!!!!!!!!!!" really loud up the stairs. I wonder what Quaker means.
"He cosa desiderate? (What do you want?)" a female's voice yelled down the stairs. It sounded annoyed as if 'why did you bother me?'
"Sceso qui ora, caro (come down here, dear)." Antonio yelled back up the stairs.
Slowly a girl made her way down the stairs. She was dressed in all black, with black hair (obviously dyed), nails, and lipstick. She had deep beautiful brown eyes, the kind that pierced right through you and seemed to read your most personal secrets. I immediately fell in love. I didn't know it was this easy, but it was. She was sexy baby!
"Che cosa il hell voi desidera? (What the hell do you want?)" she asked her father, annoyed. I had no clue what anyone was saying, but I loved to hear her voice say whatever she felt like making it say.
"Watch your language young lady! Quaker, these are two of our neighbors, Diana and Zachary Hanson. Diana and Zachary, this is our 16 year old granddaughter Quaker."
"Hey...." Quaker sighed out. She glanced at us, looked me up and down, and gave me an odd look. It was almost a confused look. I wonder what I did.
"I felt the hate rise up in me, kneel down and clear the stone of leaves." I sang along with my Slipknot cd.
Life sucks. Another Saturday spent at home doing nothing as usual. I wish my grandparents didn't move to America. Why couldn't they of just left me an exchange student here from Italy and let me live the rest of my life alone?
"Quaker!" my grandfather was calling me. What did he want?
"Che cosa desiderate?" I answered back not wanting to be bothered. Why is it that they always have to disturb me in my little happy time. I hope this isn't about the smoke. Oh, I hope that they can't smell it.
Out of paranoia I quickly opened the window, put my fan inside it facing outwards and turned it on trying to ventilate my room from the strong smell of pot smoke. That distinct odor that anyone (especially my grandfather) can smell from a mile away. That odor that takes my problems away, and that I crave so much. I know it's a very bad habit, and also that it is illegal, but I need it. When I was younger I swore I would never touch the stuff, but here I am. Look at me now. I should be ashamed of myself.
"Sceso qui ora, caro." he yelled. What does he want now?
I slowly walked down the stairs as to not give off any signs that I was nervous. That's how it is with me. Suspicious. I'm always like that. Some people consider me a gothic. I don't think that's totally true. If I was, then why do I sometimes talk to people, and why do I go outside and skateboard.
Once I got downstairs, I noticed that I wasn't in trouble. I saw two strangers sitting on the couch. They both had long blonde hair, the woman's longer than the boy's. The boy looked up at me and gave me a weird look. I can't really describe it. He also looked quite familiar. I don't know where I know him from though. This is odd. I looked him over again, but I still can't seem to put my finger on what it is about him that I know familiar to me. He did look like a girl though.
"Quaker, couldn't you be a little more friendly than that? Why don't you take Zachary up to your room, while Diana and I have a nice little talk?"
"But grandma I..."
"No buts about it, take him upstairs. Make a new friend! Have fun instead of being a hermit inside your room all the time. Now go"
Poor poor nieve grandma. If I bring him up to my room, he might smell the smoke. Plus little sissy boy might get scared of all the frightening black goulish stuff in there. We don't want him wetting his pants all over my carpet do we? I didn't think so.
But, I guess I don't have a choice.
"Come with me." I said to him.
He got up and followed me quite shyly up to my room. I could feel the tension between us. Gee, when he stands up, he's actually taller than me. He was wearing khaki shorts that were cut just below the knees, and a Led Zeppelin tee shirt that was pretty tight on him. I opened the door and went inside. He just stood in the doorway taking in his surroundings.
"Well, are you going to come in or not?" I asked him.
"No." he said now starring at the ground.
"Why not? I don't bite strangers."
"Because it's a unknown girls bedroom. That's just plain wrong."
He's an odd one. "Zachary, come in...now!" I said firmly. Now it's bothering me that he's just standing in my doorway.
"It's Zac, and no." he said unintimidated, and didn't move an inch from where he was standing.
Now I was starting to get really pissed. I walked over to the sissy boy, pulled his arm out of his pocket, and pulled him over to the bed while pushing him over on it. I sat on the other end. He moved over to the very edge nervously, trying to back away from me. I wonder why people are always scared of me.
I was scared. I have never been in a place like this before. Looking around me I saw that the whole room was painted black. She had many posters on the wall, mostly of bands like Slipknot, Black Sabbath, and some bands that I have never even heard of. Her shelves were like a science project. They were lined with skulls from various different animals, one of those eyeballs that kids would buy that when you put them in water they grow, and a fountain pouring red water all over a statue of a demon holding a human head. I felt very uncomfortable sitting on her bed with her starring at me like that contemplating what she'll do to me if I say or do something wrong. Yet in a weird way, I liked it. I was getting attention from a real girl. Not one that was screaming their head off and throwing themselves at me trying to touch me, but a real girl who obviously didn't know who I was. I was loving this. I didn't care weather the attention was negative or positive, it was still appreciated in any way shape or form. Nevertheless, I am shy, so I kept looking down aimlessly at my feet in complete silence.
"Speak!" she said in that same tone of voice. The one that she always speaks in. It's like she doesn't know any other tone at all.
"Um......der?" I said. I choked. I can't say anything around her. She's just to scary. Yet so pretty. Must stare at her, must stare, must sta... NO! I can't! To dangerous. Must look down.
He won't look at me. I succeeded! YES! Sissy boy doesn't like me. Ha-ha, I won. Victory is mine. Now if we just get him outta here, because the silence is killing me.
"Speak!" I demanded. I want to know what is going on in his head. He keeps starring at a dirty sock on my floor. I wonder if he has a laundry fetish.
"Um......der?"
Is that all he could say? What an idiot! I want him out of my bedroom.
"Quaker! Zachary! Could you two come down here please?" we heard my grandmother's ear piercing voice yell from down the stairs.
Zac and I simultaneously looked at each other, then leapt to our feet sprinting down the stairs. Finally, rid of him. This little 'vist' of ours seemed like an eternity.
Once we got down there, my grandmother was the first to speak.
"Quaker, go get ready because Diana has just invited us over for dinner. We're leaving in a half hour."
"How's grandpa going to talk to anybody? The old man is stuck in his ways and refuses to learn the quote unquote new language.
"Non sto andando. Il cant รจ importunato con esso. Sono abbastanza vecchio ottenere il mio proprio alimento! Humph! (I'm not going. Can't be bothered with it. I'm old enough to get my own food! Humph!)" he said
"Old? Nah, ancient is more like it." I replied sticking out my tongue at him. He just gave me a confused look because he had no clue what I was talking about. I saw my chance and bolted up the stairs. "Non sto andando! (I'm not going!)" I yelled at them halfway up, then continued the flight. My grandmother just rolled her eyes at me then turned to Diana. Crazy old coot.
"We'll be there in thirty minutes, both of us."