Ethan searched high and low, vertically and horizontally all over his room. Alas, he could not find his golden bracelet that held a key charm. The early smell of waffles filled the house as he looked left and right.
Much to his right, his sister sat on the end of his bed, kicking her small legs up in down in a careless fashion. "Why do you keep looking, Ethan? No way could it have been that important? Silly, silly brother!" The girl giggles, kissing her toy baby that laid in her arms.
"Oh, Marriane. It is that important and— hey! No jumping on the bed." He sighs and grabs the girl, setting her off his blue covered bed. She giggles and runs off somewhere else in the house to reek havoc.
Ethan gets on his knees and looks under the bed for the seventh time.
Again, he finds that spruce box which was alinged with a nice gold finish around the rims and one of his sister's toys.
"Ethan, come down for breakfast!" He hears his mother call from downstairs and he inwardly groans, standing straight up. He goes over to his mirror and fixes the small nick picks of his chestnut hair and clothing before heading downstairs for breakfast.
"No more school!" Cried Marriane as she stomped angrily in the middle of the living room, on a dull green carpet. "Oh, Mari, must you be so stubborn? Just hearing you gives me a headache. Hurry along and get dressed upstairs unless you want me to help you?" His mother hums, diligently setting the table.
"No, no, do it myself!" She inflates her cheeks in a pouting manner and snatches her pink polka dot dress from the sofa before running upstairs.
"Good morning, dear." Mrs. Pinwick smiles and pecks her husband's face before turning to Ethan. "Oh, fix your collar, boy." She chides, leaning over the table and neatly folding Ethan's collar.
"Now, me and your father have discussed what happened yesterday and all we have to say is that you need not stir up anymore trouble, boy. If it so happens, you shall be grounded." Mrs. Pinwick says as she wipes down the countertop next to the sink.
Ethan nods silently before sitting down at the table. At least he didn't get grounded, he had supposed.
A hot plate of thick and fluffy walffles, accompanied by syrup on top with a dollop of butter was set in front of him. Amazing, he thought once he took a bite.
"I love it, mother. Your dreams of becoming a chef will surely be close." He says with a smile before digging into his breakfast with his fork and knife.
"Haha, you flatter me, child. I hope to be along the best, but this is just some waffles, it is only a childish dream…" She trailed off dreamily before snapping back into reality at the sight of her little girl still in her pajamas as the girl came back down stairs.
"Marriane!" Mrs. Pinwick cries, making the little girl giggle and run around avoid her grasp.
Ethan silently eats the fluffy, golden brown waffles while his mother and sister run around the house.
"Ethan, you are getting bigger now. You need to start thinking of the future. What I mean is, in the near future, we will discuss getting you a job." His father says, not looking up from his newspaper.
Ethan briefly glances up at his father before taking another bite of his waffles. After he swallows, he speaks. "I suppose it would make the most sense with my ambitions. But, I turn fourteen in about two weeks." Said Ethan as his green apple eyes trail away and out to the window, where the sun was begging to show more and more.
"That doesn't mean we can't look into jobs now. Hurry along to school." His father grunts as he speaks in the same indifferent manner as he always did. If Ethan were to be honest, if he was a stranger, you would think his father didn't care about anything.
Ethan silently got up and adjusted his hair slightly before setting his plate in the sink.
"Na, na, you can't catch me!" Marriane sticks her tongue out in a teasing manner as his mother tries to catch the rebellious girl.
"Oh come on, you're only six." She groans as she tries to swipe at Marriane. The girl giggles and runs around, almost knocking Ethan over.
"Marriane," spoke up their father as she ran past him. She froze and looked behind her with big sheepish eyes. "Oh, daddy! You wouldn't want to get a girl like me in trouble? Wha— I didn't mean it, really! No, no!" She shrieks as he stands up and grabs her wrist, taking her upstairs.
"Best run along now, Ethan. Don't let your sister dwindle your education." His mother smiles as she begins to clean the table.
Ethan smiles and waves before turning the front door's doorknob and walking off.
The glistening pond looked extra sparkly today and Ethan could not figure if it was him or not. The sound of the birds chirping and the early smell of dew and grass was an experience the boy loved all too much.
"Hey, Ethan!" His head whipped around and he smiles at the sight of one of his best friends. "Good morning, Priscilla." He greets in a slightly formal fashion, stopping briefly to let her catch up.
"I… I had heard of what happened yesterday from Ruth Dillard." She explains, panting softly as she walked beside him.
Ethan frowned the recollection of yesterday. "Oh, really?" He murmurs, keeping his gaze trained in front of him.
Priscilla watches him for a second before looking away. "Yes, and apparently Irene, that girl is coming to my class. What happened?" She inquires in a soft voice.
"Oh, nothing really. Don't worry about it, I just want to put this behind us. This year is already starting eventful." He says with a weak smile as they continue their silent and awkward walk to school.
On a usual occasion, it would be peaceful and nice to walk with one of his friends. But the boy found his thoughts elsewhere inquisitively.
She was so mad with just a question, he had thought, visioning yesterday in mind when she had glowered at him.
The questions flowed through his head like a fountain and he found himself with more questions than he had answers for.
Unbeknownst to him the looking Priscilla at his face. Her rosy cheeks seemed to light up slightly. Her lips curve upwards slightly before she speaks.
"Thinking about something?" She asks, looking at him expectantly.
"Oh, yes I am. How did you know?" He smiles back lightly, looking over at her. "You just make this thinking face." She explains simply before they reach the school entrance gate.
"See you later, I need to get to my locker." She says before running off. He waves before heading into the entrance himself.
"So, I heard it so! I heard it so! A fight, Ethan Pinwick?" Liam Walker chimes in, startling Ethan. Ethan frowns and shakes his head. "Oh, not a fight. It was most certainly not a fight." He tells Liam sternly, walking down the corridor with him.
"Right, the whole school is on about this. After all, on the first day? I have to record this for the school newspaper. I heard it so, I heard it so!" Liam grins and runs off, making some kids move out the way.
It wasn't a fight! Ethan had thought, finally giving into frustration. Everyone had thought that he and Irene had an actual fight yesterday when it was no more than a petty one-sided quarrel.
He did his best to ignore the stares and whispers from everyone around him as he walked down the halls. It was a lot of unwanted attention for the boy as he had no record of voilence or even fighting. Ethan wouldn't dare hurt a fly.
He arrived to his locker, which was on the bottom of another one person's locker. He crouched down and twirled the padlock until it clicked and opened. He had no more than the few necessary journals and books for his class. He got what he needed, consisting of his five white and black cow print books he used for each subject.
With a soft huff, he stood up and made his way to his class, which resided in the third hall. The third hall was closet to the rumored old east wing; the hallway lights were always off and it was just screaming for trouble.
When he entered the classroom, the class erupted in quiet murmurs and whispers; Ethan couldn't lie and say it didn't bother him at all. As he walked to his seat, he kept his gaze casted down and trained onto the white tiles. Once he sat, he finally looked up and glances at Irene's beige desk, which was now empty. Huh, maybe they did move her to another classroom, he thought as he did equations.
"Hey, got a pencil?" He hears whispered as a pink rubber nub poked his arm. He looks up to see Ruth Dillard prodding at him with her pencil. Ruth Dillared was a handsome girl, as pretty as pretty could get.
Her rosy cheeks and cat-like eyes that were doe and sharp; not to mention her beautiful auburn curls that flowed down her back. But Ethan knew her as a gossip girl who liked to flaunt. He smiles and nods, handing her a pencil that he kept in one of his books.
The gorgeous Ruth attracted eyes and well, Ethan knows she likes it when she is confessed to. Jack was in love with her in the fifth grade but it was just foolish boy fancies, he recalled silently. Ethan had one point been enticed by the Dillard only a year prior to Jack's fancies, but that was very short lived as Ethan did not like her gossiping nature.
"Ahem, Ethan." He heard her clear her throat and his head whipped up to Ms. Arvin who was looking at him expectantly and little giggles from the girls were heard. "Sorry. Yes, ma'am?" He murmurs, looking at her sheepishly. "As I was saying, this is just a pre-test, so don't stress about the grade. I asked you to collect the papers." Ms. Arvin repeats, walking around her podium, her flowly flower patterned dress twirling slightly with every step.
Ethan nodded and got up from his chair to go around and collect the testing papers. He felt a bit hesitant when taking up Carlos' as it was wet for some reason. Carlos was always sleeping as he did last year, the year before and the year before. It's honestly a wonder how he passed the state test.
Ethan passed Alexandra's desk, who was chewing gum obnoxiously loud and playing with the rubber duck hidden in the bed mess of hair. "Alexandra, quiet." Shushed Ms. Arvin once she looked up from her desk, putting a finger over her lips.
Ethan takes up her paper and continues along his way of grabbing everyone's papers. Asked to take his seat afterward, they continue with class.
"Alright, everyone. Our first unit starts tomorrow. Have a good rest of your day." Ms. Arvin says sweetly as she gazes at the black and white clock on the white concrete walls. The class begins to chat now that their teacher had announced school was over. Ethan was nose deep in his book and did not hear the distant chatter around him.
Oh the wonders of literature was a nice escape from reality that Ethan has came to love.
"Ethan, let's walk home together." Ruby had proposed, making Ethan's head snap up.
"Hm? Oh, yes, why not?" He smiles slightly and closes his book as he stands from his chair. Ethan had nothing against the handsome girl and it would be rude to decline.
"Y'know, you're becoming a lot more in the clouds lately, getting distracted." She says as she twirls her perfect auburn curls with her finger.
"I guess so. Just a lot is going on in just the first two days of school." Explained Ethan as he gathered his books in his arms.
As they walked through the halls that had students littered here and there, Ruby engaged in much idle talk about gossip which Ethan was not a fan of. His green eyes went sidetracked and he saw out of the corner of his eye, Irene Schottsman talking and walking with a familiar face.
Penelope Clayton. Ethan knew Penelope by her leadership skills she carried heavily last year as she was elected as seventh grade president. Penelope had umber skin and the darkest eyes as they appeared black and she always wore two space buns on her head. Never could she let go of that pink cardigan either.
"Ethan?" Ruby inquires when she scans his face, noticing he's not listening anymore. Ethan flinches slightly and looks back at Ruby and he smiles sheepishly. "Sorry, just got a bit lost in the head." He mumbles, glancing back at Irene and Penelope who chatted without interruption.
Ethan was mostly curious on how Irene managed to gain friends as from what he saw from the other day was an unruly temper.
"Oh, I heard it so! I heard it so!" Chimes Liam Walker, making both Ethan and Ruby turn to him in inquiry. "Heard so what? Spill, spill." Urged the handsome Ruby.
"I heard it so, Ryder Schottsman is returning tomorrow!" Liam says excitedly as he writes something down in the small orange notepad he carried around. Ethan raises an eyebrow, why is Ryder coming back so special?
"Ugh, forget it Liam. You always take note of the most useless things." Ruby huffs in slight frustration at Liam's news.
"The news is the news, Ruby. I heard it so, Ms. Barney had been talking too loud and this is something you want to hear…" Liam trailed off and leaned in closer to the two of them, putting a hand to the side of his mouth.
He whispers, "I heard it so, he apparently was skipping the first day to work."
A job? Ethan had not recalled ever seeing or hearing about Ryder Schottsman getting a job. Then again, he had never seen Ryder during the summer.
"Oh, right. Ryder's fourteen now I think. Okay, Liam, this is something I can do with." Ruby grins, showing off her perfect teeth. Liam smiles and runs off.
"This is exciting. I'm sorry, Ethan! Go on without me, I need to get to my girls!" Ruby flashes a beautiful smile, waving before running down the halls.
Ethan sighs quietly before beginning to walk down the hall. The sound of kids chatting filled his ears as he began to zone out. He had wondered about what happened to his golden bracelet. Where had he last seen it?
"Oh, Ethan! You should have been here to save me!" Marriane huffed as Ethan came in the front door, wiping his shoes on the mat before sliding them off and setting them on the shoe rack next to the door and under the coat hanger.
"Marriane, that was your own fault." Sighed Ethan as he took off his school blazer and hung it right next to his father's coat.
"You just can't imagine how long father's scolding was! I almost turned seventy by the time he finished!" Her cheeks inflate as she marches around the dining table, holding her toy baby.
"Me, I'm being disruptive? Me? All I ever do is have fun, that grumpy man!" Ethan quietly shook his head at his sister's rants before going upstairs to his room.
"Ethan, dear." His mother calls sweetly as she steps out of her room. "We've decided to invite Mrs. Schottsman over for dinner. She's coming over with her two children so behave nicely." Mrs. Pinwick addressed, looking Ethan up and down with critical eyes.
Ethan blinks, pausing briefly before nodding. "Right. When should I be ready?" He asks fiddling with the hem of his school shirt.
"By eight. Oh, and make sure to wear the suit your father got tailored for you." She says with an equally sweet smile as her candy voice before heading downstairs to wrangle his sister.
Mrs. Schottsman and her two children… he couldn't get the nervous feeling to get out of his chest no matter how he distracted himself, from books to looking for his bracelet. Her two children. He shook his head and starts to get ready.
Knock knock!
The door is heard being knocked on from upstairs, flaring the nerves in his system. Why is my heart beating so fast? He wondered as he went down the creaking wood and onto the first floor dull green carpet.
"The door, the door!" His sister giggles as their mother finishes putting her braids in a neat and nice bun in the back of her head. Ethan's green eyes looked over to the dining room table.
The table was set for a nice feast, perfectly baked chicken in a nice detailed plate aligned with bowls of peas and baked in white wine brussel sprouts. Next to the white and seasoned mashed potatoes was a bountiful amount of glazed with butter bread rolls; the white cloth had embroidery at the end, which one could say was the fashion for table cloths these days.
"Oh, the door! Everyone, be presentable. Oh— Marriane, just be a good girl for one night." Pleaded their mother as Marriane stuck a finger in her nose. Ethan swatted her hand and she giggles, putting her hands behind the back of her black and white striped dress and clasped them.
Ethan glances at his father for just a second and he must admit, he looked nice in the black blazer he chose to wear. He looked up at his mother and decided he liked the matching white and black striped dress she wore to match with Marriane.
Mrs. Pinwick grabs the doorknob and turns it, opening it and Ethan sees the same lady she saw in the principals office. The same blond hair, sickly completion, much like his mother's and nobody can forget blue eyes.
"Good day, Mrs. Schottsman. Welcome to our humble abode, please come in." His mother put on her formal voice and moved out of the way to let her in. Who trailed behind the woman was Irene and Ryder.
Ryder has changed since Ethan last laid eyes on him, or maybe it's just the occasion. Ryder's blonde head was slicked back nicely and he gained more freckles than when he last showed face; those blue eyes nicely matched his mother's and he didn't look half bad in that suit either.
Oh, but it wasn't Ryder that Ethan's eyes turned to. Irene's brown braids were undid in nice tresses that went just below her shoulder and flowed nice in the back. She wore a red and flowy dress, which made Ethan question if they were going to a ball or a casual dinner.
She shot him a glare out of the corner of her eye as she walked in; her dull brown irises made it feel more intimidating than it should have been. Ethan quickly adverted his gaze to the floor, anywhere else than her would do just fine.
"Hey, Ethan. Long time no see. I'm coming to school tomorrow." Ethan hears and he looks up at a freckled face. "Ryder," Ethan greets simply with a small smile. "So, you got a job?" He blurts out and Ryder's eyes dart over Ethan's face as he looks at him like he's crazy.
"How did you—" Ryder's voice is cut off by Mrs. Pinwick. "Right, can you all sit please? I recently prepared dinner." Ethan's mother says sweetly as she leads Mrs. Schottsman to the kitchen, inviting the rest to follow.
Mrs. Schottsman had this blank expression on her sickly face as they sat at the table. The air was awkward and for once his sister was silent. Marriane sat with her baby doll, staring at her empty porcelain plate blankly.
"Well, how are you faring these days?" Spoke up his mother, cutting through the tense atmosphere. Mrs. Schottsman nods slightly and keeps her gaze on her plate.
"Fine, it's a bit hard sometimes I admit." She awnsers quietly, but finally lifts her gaze in the next moment.
"Really? That sounds harsh. I hope it gets better, really. Oh, Oliver, pass out the rolls." Mrs. Pinwick instructs her husband, who stood up diligently and did as asked. Ethan looked down at his bread as the soft roll was sat on the edge of his plate.
Smells nice… thought Ethan as he stared at it, his mouth watering.
"No, mommy, I want this!" Marriane whined, standing up on the wooden chair and trying to climb onto the dinner table and reach the chicken.
Mrs. Pinwick holds a face of pure shock. "Marriane! What did I tell you about being a good girl!?" She scolds, pushing her off the table so she lands on her toosh on the chair.
"I want brussel sprouts, not dumb bread! Hmph." Marriane huffed and crossed her arm. The table was silent for a second before Mrs. Schottsman begin to giggle.
Ethan's mother raises an eyebrow, looking back at the other woman. "What? Is something I did funny?" Mrs. Pinwick had asked, curious to know why the woman was giggling.
"No, no, it's just…" Mrs. Schottsman trails off with a brief pause before her lips curve upwards and she speaks again. "This family seems fun, silly. I like it." Mrs. Schottsman smiled at Marriane who was still pouting.
Mrs. Pinwicks lip purse in a thin line before she smiles as well. "I'm glad." Spoke Ethan's mother softly. The rest of the dinner passes without incident and the atmosphere slowly turns more lively with Mrs. Schottsman and Ryder engaging more. Still, Ethan couldn't help but glance up at Irene who sat eating her mashed potatoes quietly.
After the food was finished and Ethan sat there full; his mother talked and talked with Mrs. Schottsman, who seemed to enjoy the conversation on where to find cheap fabric and how to take care of kids.
"Shoo, children. Oh, and Marriane, it's your bedtime. Oliver, take her to bed. Won't you?" Mrs. Pinwick smiles and waves her hand dismissively towards Ethan before leaning against the white-laced tablecloth.
Ethan watches his father pick up his fussing sister who kept whining and kicking before he took her up the wooden stairs.
"Shoo, I said." Mrs. Pinwick repeats, her brows furrowing slightly as she gestures for Ethan, Ryder, and Irene to get up. Ethan and Ryder slowly rose out of their chairs with Irene lagging only slightly behind them.
As they leave the kitchen, Ryder slings his arm around Ethan's shoulder. "Heard you have a nice gazebo in your backyard." He smiles slyly and leads the two of them out of the front door, both of their mother's not saying a word to them about it.
Ethan walks with Ryder in awkward silence as they walked along the dirt road in front of Ethan's house. The night was young and you could see the sun dying out just over the horizon down Dolberth Lane.
"So, heard you got into a fight with my sister." Ryder broke the silence with what could be considered the worse topic to Ethan.
Ethan clears his throat and turns his head to the grass that held the sound of crickets. "I suppose. It was not a fight, I have no idea why people keep saying that. She got mad when I mentioned you." Ethan explained softly, looking back ahead of him.
They walked in silence for a minute more before Ryder spoke again. "Sounds like her. She doesn't like me much, I don't like her either." Ryder explained with a hissing undertone. Ethan was surely shocked by this, he had no idea they had such sibiling dislking.
"Why not?" Asked the curious Pinwick who turned to look at the blonde. Ryder sighs, stuffing his hands in his suit pockets and he kicks the dirt along the road.
"Don' be so nosy." Was what he grumbled under his breath, entering the awkward silence that seemed to plague Ethan.
With that, they started to walk back towards the house, that was a little ways under the oak as they were not that far.
"You're better off just leaving her be. Don't mess with her and your life would be a lot easier." Ryder said in a light tone and a short shrug that followed as he finished speaking. Ethan frowned slightly as they made it back to the door.
As he reached a hand out to turn the knob, the door opened and his mother was facing him.
"Oh, hey boys! You, Ryder, your mother and sister are just going now. I'm seeing you all out. Prepare for bed, Ethan." With that, Ethan moved out of the way and allowed Mrs. Schottsman and Irene to walk out with Ryder following shortly.
Ethan watched Irene silently for a moment before going back into the house and heading upstairs towards his room.