Just a few more updates until the story is over....keep the comments coming
We walked into the living room and sat on the couch. “So, are you going to tell me what’s really going on?” I asked him.
“No,” he replied, “because there’s nothing to tell.”
“Ha! You tell me to wait downstairs, just trust you, something weird going on? And there’s nothing to tell?” I looked at him like he was crazy.
He laughed. “Come on, you’re a smart girl. I can’t believe you’re still figuring this out.”
I heard muffled noises coming from upstairs. I leaned closer to Damian. “How long have they been planning this?” I asked quietly.
“A while now,” he said, grinning. “I guess we got back too early, though. I’m a rotten secret keeper.”
“Yes, you are!” I declared. “And really bad at good timing.”
A knock came at the door, causing both Damian and me to jump. I stood up and went to open it—and couldn’t believe who I saw.
“Keith Harkin.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “I wondered why it’s been so quiet here. You weren’t here. Of course.”
“Jenny!” he exclaimed, pulling me into a hug. “Happy sweet sixteen! Speaking of which, did Damian do the little song and dance for you?”
“You mean has he sung Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen? No.”
Keith looked at Damian and winked. “Wow. You’re some boyfriend, all right.”
Damian grinned and walked up to him, giving him a ‘man hug.’ “Hey, man. What’s the craic?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just comin’ to celebrate little Jenny’s birthday, here.”
I just smiled and rolled my eyes. “Do you want to come in?”
He accepted the invitation and walked in, looking around. “It looks exactly the same.”
I shut the door and was returning to the couch to wait when there was another knock on the door. I went back and opened it. Dee was standing there. “Jenny! Happy birthday!” she said, giving me a quick hug. “Where’s Mom?” she asked breathlessly.
“Um, I don’t know.”
“I do.” She pushed past me and ran upstairs. I just shook my head in amusement and sat down again.
“So,” Keith said, plunging right in, “any good tales to tell me?”
“Well...what do you want to know? My aunt and cousin tried to kill Dami here.”
Damian’s eyes got wide. “Not Dami,” he mouthed. I just grinned.
“Wait, tried to kill my man? No way! That’s so...well, interesting. And wait, what did you call him?” Keith looked mischievous.
“Damo. I definitely called him Damo.” I said it firmly, and Keith shrugged it off, not quite believing me.
“How did they try to kill him?” he wondered.
“They were drowning me,” Damian said. “In her grandparent’s pool.”
“Yeah, it was great craic,” I said, winking at Keith. “Very amusing.”
“Oh, did you get any good pictures of this drowning that I can put on the you-know-what website?” Keith asked with a gleam in his eye.
“No.” I laughed. “I was in the pool also. No cameras in the pool.”
“Aw, that’s too bad.” Keith was silent for a moment before starting up again. “So, any other good stories that can be used as ammunition?”
“Well, we took him to Crater Lake.” Damian groaned as I continued, “He didn’t realize that the water was melted ice. That we recorded on the camera. It was awesome.”
“No, it wasn’t! It was cold!” Damian complained.
I glanced at my phone. “I’m supposed to be at the DMV in ten minutes.”
Keith looked confused. “Wait, I thought that today was her—”
“Keith!” we both yelled.
“What?” he asked. He looked at me. “Why did you stop me? Do you even know?”
I did a facepalm and tried to just shut everything out. It worked until Damian tapped me on the shoulder. “You’re doing the thing you did at Sweet Life,” he informed. “And Keith’s no Callie.”
“So you can handle him, right?” I sighed.
“No, he knows how to speak ‘Irish’, unlike her.”
Keith looked confused at this exchange but decided to go with it, anyway. “Hey, I’m no girl,” he said coolly.
I eyed his hair. “Well, you could use a haircut. Get one soon? For me?”
Keith just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right.”
I laughed again and looked at Damian. “Do you think it would be alright if I just went outside and walked around?”
He nodded. “I’m sure it would be fine.”
“Thank you.” I stood up and walked outside without another word. Keith and Damian did not follow me.
I walked down to Smith Street and cut through Sixth. I was just singing to myself and trying to clear my head. I realized that I was not going to get to the DMV that day, but that was okay. Just as long as I got my license, I was fine.
I was crossing my home street, ready to get back inside from the heat, when a car careened down the street. Another car was behind it, chasing it down. I jumped back, startled. The car barely missed me and the second swerved, as if to say “Get off my street.”
“Stupid drivers,” I whispered. I realized that I was shaking. People think that they can drag race on my street all the time, just because it’s quiet. I shook my head and crossed the street quickly. I tried to open the door and found it locked.
“What on earth?” I said, trying it again. “Oh, well. I’ll just use the back door.” I walked around to the back and tried it. Also locked. “What is going on? They must know that I know something.” I pulled out my phone. “Who should I call?” I wondered to myself. I grinned and dialed.
“Hello? Jenny?”
“Hey, Keith! I just thought I would call you and tell you to get up.”
“Um, I am up. But thank you for your consideration.” He sounded confused.
“I meant, please get up and unlock the back door?”
“No can do. Sorry.” He hung up on me.
I stared at my phone for a few moments before putting it back in my pocket. I sat on the stoop for a few minutes before walking to the apple tree and picking an apple. I sat down and started eating, knowing that it would be a while.
Fifteen minutes later, the door opened and someone I’d never seen before popped his head out. He looked somewhat like Damian. I suddenly realized that the unknown person was Conor. “Hello,” he said.
“Hi.” I stood up from the swing.
“Hi. I’m Conor, which you might know by now. Anyway. I’m supposed to take you around and get in your sister’s car.” He motioned towards the gate to the alley. “Come on.”
I followed him willingly. “Where are we going?”
“Your sister is taking us somewhere.” He broke into a jog. “Come on, we should hurry.”
I looked around when we reached the front of the house. “Where are all the cars?” I asked.
He winked at me. “Get in,” he said, opening Rachelle’s car door.
I got in the back and said, “Hi, Rachelle. Where are we going?”
She laughed and pushed the seat back. “Climb on in, Conor. Way to not fall for her puppy dog brown eyes. Don’t tell her.”
“Look, I know that it has something to do with my birthday. But what’s going on?”
Rachelle and Conor simply laughed. Rachelle put the car in gear and we drove away. I sat in the backseat and tried to figure out where we were driving.
A few minutes later, I had it figured out. We were either going to Zack’s, or to my grandparents’. I sat back and wondered what we were going to do there, especially as I didn’t bring a swimsuit.
The car passed Zack’s house and slowed down as it neared my grandparents’. I grinned. “Why are we coming here?”
Rachelle glanced back at me. “Well, you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Conor simply grinned at me and said nothing.
Rachelle parked the car in the driveway and we got out. There were a lot of cars, but I didn’t see anyone. Rachelle said, “Wait a moment and don’t go anywhere,” and disappeared inside.
I stood outside silently. Conor seemed uncomfortable. I turned to him. “Why are you here?” I asked him.
He looked at me in surprise. “Didn’t Damian tell you I was coming? I’m on holiday and don’t have school for a month yet. So when Damian invited me down for your birthday, I accepted.”
I shook my head. “He never told me that.”
Conor grinned. “I know. He said he wanted it to be a surprise.”
I stared at him. “Didn’t you just ask me about whether or not Damian told me I was coming?”
He nodded. “Ya, but I forgot he said he wasn’t going to tell ya.”
I nodded and went back to my silence.
Conor leaned up against the car. “So, what do you do around here anyway? I was looking around this tiny town and it seems like there isn’t anything you can really do.”
I laughed. “That’s what everyone thinks. Believe me, there’s plenty to do here.” I thought about it for a moment. “Okay, there really isn’t.”
He laughed and we fell into silence again. He checked his watch and said, “Will you show me around?”
“But Rachelle said—”
“She was only saying not to go in the house. Can you show me the barn?”
I shrugged. “Well, if you’re sure it would be okay.”
He looked at his watch again. “I think it would be all right.”
I smiled. “Okay.” I led him to the barn. “We used to have two barns, but one burnt down. It wasn’t the one with all the animals, but my grandpa decided to get rid of the animals and just live a quiet life—”
“SURPRISE!”