High School Teenagers

Chapter Fifteen. *Chloe's Diary*

Dinner with the Burkes

During dinner we'd have to sit and eat quietly, and patiently. Mom and Dad were in the other room making arrangements for one of their co-star's wedding. They were working on getting a flower girl but they couldn't find a girl younger than twelve so they had to make a few calls. Waiting patiently for our parents is not the easiest, especially when you're so hungry you could eat something other than a horse. Beverly and Justin left earlier than usual because Dad gave them the eye and they made a hasty exit to the door. The only person who survived Mom and Dad's eye was Zooey. She's not that easy to scare and neither is my little sister or Gabe. Everyone else, is the prize joy of being scared by Mom and Dad. Ivan and Oliver were picking piece by piece of their food and putting it in their mouths. Dylan was watching whatever was going on on TV and he looked almost as confused as Logan and Zooey were.

"... What the fuck... is a Super Earth...?" Dylan said turning around back to the table and looking at me. "Chloe?"

"Scientists believe so called, that there's another Earth, resembling this Earth, with water, lands and whatever else that NASA can find, so they call it Super Earth," I said answering his question. Dylan scoffed, shaking his head and Zooey and Logan looked at each other and then turned back to me.

"Then why don't they call it Earth 2, then?" Logan asked me.

"I don't know, ask the Government," I said getting annoyed by this moment. They looked at me and shrugged their shoulders. Dylan and Zooey turned back to the TV over head of the table the same time that Oliver pulled out his phone and automatically started to text away.

Logan picked up his phone and hollered into it. "Why don't you guys call Super Earth, Earth 2?!"

"It'd make perfect sense if they did," Aaron said. "Then we could go there for vacation." Kaden and Aiden nodded and hollered a "totally!" and a "hell yeah!" which they were gonna give Mom and Dad a hard time to book that vacay.

Mom and Dad walked out and sat down beside each other and next to Logan. Mom wore her comfy clothes which is a yellow sundress and purple flats. Raleigh and Gabe flicked a forkful of mashed potatoes at Dylan which landed on on his shoulder blade and head. They laughed at him the same time Dylan scoffed at them and Ivan and Oliver laughed at him.

"Quite playing with your food, Bloomclaire and Romanleo," Mom said folding her napkin not looking at us. Raleigh and Gabe put their spoons down in their plates and smiled a innocent smile at them.

"Are you guys done your homework?" Dad asked us, looking at us, but he really meant Raleigh, Oliver and Logan. No one said anything and no did anything, Dad looked up at them and one by one and when he got to me, he froze.

"Chloendyl, you're not talking," he said. I raised a brow at him. What does he mean? I don't talk that much... Do I? His hazel eyes stared at me as if he could see right through me. Which he can by the way, he can see through all of his children, me apparently.

"There's nothing really to talk about," I said. "Other than the party going on at one of the Seniors place this Friday." Raleigh, Gabe and Zooey groaned when I said that. I looked at them and Gabe gave me a "what the f**k, Chloe," look which I didn't understand why he was so angry.

"High school Seniors or the—?"

"No, the elderly Seniors," Zooey butt herself in telling Dad the first thing that popped in her mouth, "it's one of those P.E projects that we have to finish Monday." Mom and Dad nodded and smiled at her. They always seem to agree and understand Zooey. I wonder if it's because she's my best friend and we're too much alike.

"Yeah, and Justin's pulling me into it, and as much as I really don’t want to," Raleigh said. What Raleigh said next, was in Mrs. Hampton's deep raspy voice. "Mrs. Hampton's gonna fail me. Give me a "F" for this generation." Mom looked at her and raised her eyes at her which meant that she wasn't buying it, and neither was Dad. 

"Don't believe it all you want, but I'm not doing it and thanks to Justin and Beverly, I have no choice but to participate," Raleigh added.

"I didn't want to go but, I heard that one of the hot guys are gonna be there," Zooey said smiling at my Mom. "I should stop talking," she added.

"Why are you even here?" Ivan asked her. "You're not even a Burkes. You're not even family."

"Yet," Zooey added smiling happily at him. Ivan looked around the table and looked at me which meant he thinks that I'm really in on whatever's on Zooey's head.

"She's muy locá," I said to him. Ivan looked at Zooey and then to me.

"I'm staying the night with Chloe," she says pulling me and wrapping a arm around my shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. "I'm sure, your parents won't mind."

"We don't," they said in unison. "We trust everyone of you guys' friends, it's just Raleigh and Gabriel's friends that we don't trust," Mom said chewing.

"Mom, what's a Super Earth?" Dylan asked looking up from his plate. She looked up from her plate.

"Did you ask Chloe?" Mom and Dad said in unison. They can talk with unison sometimes.

"Yeah," he said.

"Well, there you go," Mom said. Dylan threw his hands up and rolled his eyes and groaning at them. Zooey laughed at him before putting another spoonful of mashed potatoes and gravy in her mouth and closing her eyes and moaning.

"... Heaven on a plate," Zooey says, a face full of potatoes. "First the parents, then the  children, and now the food. This family is Heaven in a basket."

"The pheromones run rampant in this household, my friend," I said patting my best friend's shoulder.

"I know," she said now with a mouthful of chicken fingers. She dipped another chicken finger in the French dressing dipping sauce and stuffed that in her mouth. "I wish my parents could hire maids and butlers," she said finally swallowing and taking a sip of her soda.

I gave her a raised brow and Oliver one of our male maids walked over to Mom and Dad and whispered in their ears. Something about one of us being the whatever girl and then turning to Dad who grabbed his cellphone and dialed a number and putting it to his ear. Mom grabbed the phone from him, ending the call and shaking her head at him.

"After dinner," Dad said to Oliver and turned to his plate. Oliver is a short dark skin man with a sharp haircut, with dark eyes. Oliver's been with us since I don't know since forever and he's pretty funny, always making jokes.

"Oliver," I called out and Butler and brother Oliver looked up at me. I pointed to Oliver the Butler, "Oliver do you think you maybe I could talk to you afterwards? It's about a book that I'm writing and I need good science for it." Oliver looked at me and then to his bosses—my Mom and Dad—and straightened his long sleeved shirt.

"Yes, Ms. Chloe," he said smiling, "I'll be up as soon as dinner is over." I smiled thanking him and turned to Zooey. She gave me a smile and my parents looked at her like she was insane; which she can be sometimes.

➖➖➖

In my room, Zooey sat happily on my bed and watched a movie on my flat TV. Zooey is very crazy fan girl about my room. Silk creamy pink bed set, crystal lamps, a candelabra to the left of my bed, crystal bed bars, a Japanese painting that takes up the entire space over my bed, and creamy white and light pink area rug, and my closet is just a walk-in on the right of my room, and the bathroom is to the left. My room's a bit bright all day around and the bars on my top and bottom of my bed glow a light shade pink sometimes, like it glows in the dark.

"Oliver should be up here in a minute," I said, "he's a fast worker, and he's one of the only men that I trust, other than Trisha who everyone trusts." Me? I have to get to know you before I trust you, Raleigh liked Oliver from day one because he was dark skin and he had dark eyes, unlike the rest of us. Fewer of us have dark brown eyes but not like Oliver.

The door to the elevator in my room opened and Oliver stepped off in still uniform. Every room has a mirror on the far end of the room. The door is made of mirror with glass up and down arrow buttons on the side. The elevator is like any other elevator, you still have to wait a while, but you cane take the stairs if you're in a hurry or just have  some place to be, that's where the steps come in handy.

"Oli!" I called out to him like a sugar-crazed child. "Finally, you're here."

"I'm here, Chloe, what seems to be the story that you need help with?" he asked me. I pat the seat beside me on my bed and without hesitation he sat beside me and Zooey popped up next to him with a smile on her face. "And what's your point, Ms. French?"

"Ignore her," I said, "Oliver, there's a party going on at the Senior's party—"

"I'm not taking in on you guys," Oliver said. "Never again, I'm sorry, Ms. Burkes."

"Oliver?" I called his name, "please. You know if I'm in this it won't end well. Everyone's gonna be expecting me and Zooey. Especially me."

"Did your brother and sister poison you with the PB drug, again?" he asked me.

"No, Raleigh begged me and Beverly wrote my name in the party bowl," I said. Oliver sighed and looked at his lap and then to me again.

"What's the plan?" He asked me.

"Well, Cooper Jameson and Jameson Blur are throwing a party at their place. The party is Friday and the main "Fake or Foe" party is that Saturday. But they're not really Senior's but they're having a party and I pulled myself in it and I can't chicken out, everyone of us are gonna be there and I'm gonna need you to tell the others and Mom and Dad that we're all out," I said.

"Only Gabe and Raleigh are grounded," he said. "Why do I have to cover up for all of you?"

"Because I'm tired of being a "goodie-goodie-two-shoes" and I need this," I said. "Plus, we're all going." Oliver looked at me, and just stared at me and then turned to Zooey.

"Who's gonna be there?" He asked looking at happy Zooey. "Other than Happy Face over here," referring to Zooey.

"Everyone is gonna be there. My brothers, me, Justin and Beverly, and even Lillian Barnes." Oliver stopped right there putting a hand up.

"Now, that I am not filling in for," Oliver said. "Lillian is a no-brainer and I thought Raleigh was the no-brainer. No offense."

"Tell me something I don't know," I said. "So, you in?"

Oliver gave me one of those "you-done-lost-your-marbles" look which meant that he was thinking and thinking hard. He looked over at Zooey, who kept that scary smile on her face. She turned back to me and so did Oliver.

"Deal," he said with a sigh, "but if I get fired or if the others do, your name in gonna be written all over my obituary."

"Can't wait to read it," I said smiling. "Thanks, Oli, you won't be disappointed." He walked to the elevator door, pressing a button and turning to me.

"Please, you disappointed me when you wrote "a baby sister" on your Christmas list," he said. "And don't forget how you and Logan put my name as "Oli" on the elevator buttons. Y'all should've put O2 on it instead."

"Hay, I was one point eight boys, I needed a playmate," I said. "And no one knows Chemistry in this family but me, Oliver, Dylan, and Gabe. Which I find hilarious." The door to the elevator opened and Oliver stepped in, hitting a button and the door closing behind him.

I turned to Zooey and the smile of hers, was already off of her face. "You're lucky he said "yes" because I have tons of people in mind who would do it," Zooey said. I looked at her and closed my bedroom door, showing her the dress that I had already picked out and that Raleigh alone will be wearing.

A smile appeared on her face and she was about to freak out,"don't go crazy," I said, "go crazy and you ruin the party for us all."

"Then next time, just plan your escape route to yourself," Zooey says, throwing a pillow at me. "I just came to freeload on dinner tonight."

Sighing at my best friend, I let her off with a warning. Last time, she came to freeload for dinner, Dad found out by her just liking Laura's homemade banana bread cake and being a snobby brat to the rest of us. Mom taught her the wrong way, by telling Laura and Jason and Kevin to add in a little something from the garden and that something is what you find in bad meat. Ever since that day, Zooey French has been more and more cautious of whatever she eats. But sadly, that was five years ago.