Joy POV:
The moment I came downstairs, I saw my little 8-year-old brother, Jack, sitting on the couch reading a book.
Jack was my half brother, my step-mother's child, she did her best to make sure he stood out in front of the family.
"Hey, how was school," I said.
"It was great, we had a pop quiz today, and I was the only one who got a good grade"
"That's cool"
Show-off, I thought.
Jack was extremely smart for an 8-year-old and skipped 1st grade. He had a bright future, but most of his childhood, he only gets to study and not make any friends whatsoever. He was way too loyal to his mother and made sure she stood out from all the other moms from his school.
"I wanna ask mom to enroll me in a private school, but she said, its great to be socially inept to do better in school," he said.
What a joke, she doesn't even let him be friends with anyone unless they have benefits.
"Cool", was all I could say.
"Joy!", my mother screamed.
"What is it"
"What are you wearing"
"...clothes"
"You should have worn that purple dress I bought you it would look great with your hair down, now hear, put on some earrings,"
"Mom, I fine"
She sighed and gave up.
"Go say, Hi to your brothers"
After I walked away, I went to the dining room, where everyone was seated.
Our dining room was huge and had a chandelier in the middle. It was fall, orange themed, my mother usually renovated our house usually every year. We had a lot of guests at our house, so she had to make sure everything was beautiful and pretty.
"Joy, there you are," My brother Josh said with glee.
It's been a good 2 months since I've seen him. He and his wife lived a little far from us, and he was also on a business trip.
His wife, Lily, smiled when she saw me. We weren't close, she was usually very quiet and didn't speak much, only to my father and her husband.
"Hello, brother,"
I hugged him and then sat in front of him. Jack came to the dining room and sat next to me, staring at all the delicious food on the table.
That's when my other brother caught my eye, Justin. He moved out two years ago and stays at his college dorms. My father always brags about how smart he is. I personally never liked him, he always gave me a cold shoulder and never paid me any attention. He noticed me staring at him, and I quickly turned away. My mother and father both came in at the same time. Seeing them together always made me uncomfortable, my stepmother was quite young and pretty, while my dad was very old. He looked like her uncle next to her.
"Well, it seems like everyone's here," My mother said joyfully.
My father smiling at Justin and Jack, and completely ignoring everyone else, sat at the head, while mom sat next to me at the other side.
"Well, what's everyone's waiting for, lets have dear pray for us so we can eat,"
My father cleared his glasses and stood up, he had a very stern and dark aura and was also very strict.
"Everyone stand up," he said with a stern voice.
He was pretty scary looking, he was old but was fit and muscular, and always wore a clean suit, he says real men should always look there finest no matter rich or poor.
Everyone around the dining table held hands and bowed for prayer.
Peaking at the clock, it was only 5:34, and I knew it was gonna be a long night.
Luna POV:
"MOM!"
My mother sighed from frustration, me and Lucas were fighting because I "borrowed" his x-box for a while, but since I couldn't pass a level of Bortnite, I hid it, where he can't find it.
"Mom, tell Luna to give me back my x-box," Lucas said.
"Mom, you said we had to share it remember," I said trying to defend myself.
"Luna you know very well to never steal anything from your brother or from anyone in general."My mother said disappointed.
"pftt- ste-steal I only...borrowed it"
"Borrowed...you literally hid it in your underwear drawer, with a lock on it, and then hid a paint bomb trap that splattered in my face if I was able to break the lock,"
My mother looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. I sighed.
"Alright finnnneee"
I went back to my room, annoyed, and went in my drawer to get my x-box undoing the lock while trying to not get myself in the trap. When I was able to open it I saw in the corner of the drawer my leather red jacket with all my comic stickers on it.
I sighed with a sad look on my face, I got the x-box and left my room so I can give it to my annoying brother.
The moment I knocked on his door, he opened it then snatched it from me and slammed the door.
"Dick" I mumbled.
That's when my mother called me into the kitchen, taking something out of the oven.
"Luna dear, I made blueberry pie, do you mind giving it to our new neighbors I decided to make a few friends in our neighborhood."
"Seriously mom, a pie that's so cliche here in America, in Canberra, we would just knock and say Hi"
"Well we live in a rich area, we can't just knock at doors without having something"
I sighed.
"Let Lucas do it"
"No, your brother says he's studying to catch up in school"
"More like playing video games"I mumbled.
"Hey, you owe him anyway, if you go ill reduce your punishment of no phone for 5 days"
That's a pretty good offer, I thought.
"DEAL!"
My mother chuckled.
"Go get your jacket, its cold"
"It's in the washer, Lucas spilled Slushie on it yesterday, he's mad at me so he won't give me his right now, "I said while stretching my hands forward.
"What about that red leather one, you used to wear that all the time"
I turned back to her, before leaving the kitchen.
My mother saw the weird look on my face.
"Is everything fine"
"No its just, I don't think I'm ever wearing that again"
Joy POV:
I had never been more glad to see my brothers, even though I didn't like them, if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been able to escape. After dinner, my father was too occupied discussing school with Justin, and my mother talking to Josh and his wife. Me and Jack were able to sneak to the entertainment room which was next to the living room.
To kill time before the new episode of White Clover came out, me and Jack decided to read a few books. Even in a different room, the walls weren't thick enough to keep us from hearing our family's discussion.
"So Lily, when are you and Josh gonna give me and my husband a grandchild," my mother said.
Josh coughed up his wine, while Lily was in shock.
"a chi-child," Lily said stuttering.
"Yes, I was meaning to ask, it's been 5 years since you and Josh got married, we should at least have a baby now," my father said while siping his wine.
"Well I always thought about having a child, but Lily's director of her law firm right now, it will be quite the problem if she had to work while pregnant" Josh said coughing a little.
"I'm sure we can give you a child sooner, maybe when my term is over," Lily said smiling.
My father sighed while sipping his wine.
"This is why a woman shouldn't try to get jobs like these especially when they're married, the children birth rate has gone down these past years, all because the woman decided they can ge-"
"Oh my, I think the cookies are ready let me get them out of the oven, "My mother said cutting him off.
"Lily came help me put the frosting on," she said.
"Oh yes mother," Lily said a little uncomfortable.
Justin reading the mood, stepped in.
"So we're having a winter festival at my school if you don't know dad,"
"Oh that must sound fun," Josh said.
While they talked about their festival, me and Jack were just casually listening to their whole conversation. That's when I closed the door. Jack then looked at me confused.
"We shouldn't be eavesdropping on an adult conversation," I said.
Jack sighed.
"What's the matter"
"I feel bad for Lily, she was forced into this marriage by her parents, and now our dad is forcing her to get pregnant to a man she doesn't love," he said.
"That's not true, Father and Mother just want grandchildren and if she never loved Big brother, they would have been divorced by now"
"Sure"
"Look I may not trust mom, but I'm sure you do, she wouldn't lie to us about there relationship"
"Mom has nothing to do with this only dad does, and what do you know about love sis"
"I know more than an 8-year old that's for sure"
Jack rolled his eyes and went back to reading his book.
DING-DONG
"JOY GET THE DOOR!"My mom yelled.
What the hell, can't she get it herself.
I sighed.
As I walked through the hallway, I didn't feel like peeking through the window, and there I just opened the door.
To my surprise, it was a tall girl with a black bob, she seemed to have P.J's on with a big jacket on top and holding a pie. That's when I recognized those piercings and face structure.
"LUNA!"I screamed.
She seemed as surprised as me and almost dropped the pie if it weren't for her reflexes.
"You're my-my...NEIGHBOR!"