Wings

Dinner Plans

I started peeling my potatoes very carefully, I had placed Henry's bag very strategically on the floor, I was all set. I called over to him on the other side of the room. "You know Henry, when I'm done I might have some leftover mayo and chives. That's nice on toast, you could have some of that if you want?" Henry looked up at the ceiling, avoiding making eye contact with me. "No thank you, mayonnaise is for common folk." He came over as I was washing my hands so he could sneer at my 'shoddy workmanship' as he said. I didn't dry my hands deliberately. They were dripping. "It couldn't hurt to try something new." I flicked my wet hands in his directions so he was showered with small droplets of water. He looked digusted. "I'd rather eat out of the hand of the devil than to eat something made by you." I dropped the towel I was drying my hands with and looked him straight in the eyes. I moved the bowl of peelings aside and leant on the work surface, pushing my whole body weight up only anger to support me. "You listen to me a minute... Henry. Never in my life have I met someone as ungrateful and selfish as yourself. I always thought programs were glamourised to make the rich kids seem brattish, now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with money, to be honest, my household could use a little more. But people like you, are spoilt by it and you need to ween off it a little. You're addicted to the money and the pleasure it brings to your snobby little life. Just grow up and think about the real things in life." I Pulled away from him a little, intimidating him slightly less. "Yeah?" He nodded slowly and stepped away from the counter. "I'd second that for some of my friends but-" I turned around and scowled at him. "Oh save it! If you think that about them they're clearly not your friends, spend time with people you like spending time with, not the people who have the best country clubs." Henry stared at me and walked away. I had broken through, he understood me, what I was saying, what I thought about him. "Now you will eat some of this on toast, or however you'd prefer you'd me to serve it- actually, I'm not pandering to you... You will eat my potato salad, avoid the potatoes if they really don't agree with you but for goodness sakes I'm not wasting this down the waste disposal." Henry turned around, first with an annoyed, maybe even angry frown, then he softened. "Okay, you've made it for me, and it would be inpolite not to consume it." Consume. That made me laugh, who says consume, that just said everything about him, I was starting to warm up to this guy. In a kind of frenemy way. Wait, no, forget I said that, I hear him. But that's impossible because he's dead to me, I hate people like him, they don't know they're born. "Fine, just lay off the chives a little, my grandma's recipe was perfect and she didn't use nearly as many as that. 100g should suffice." I carried on chopping the chives but slowed a little and looked up at him. "Well maybe you should have paid closer attention to Grandma to see what 100g looks like. This is only 50g so far." All this time Franny was sitting in the corner reading her book, I had spent a lot of time trying to get her attention, I finally caught her eye after a lot of snapping my fingers and 'psstt'ing, I signalled for her to come and join me she walked over and left her book by the fireplace. She was being very cautious. "What?" I smiled. "What!?" She was eager to know what I had planned. "Why don't you stand up to that stupid moron?" Franny-Ruth shrugged and stole a skittle out of the clear bowl on the work surface. "And he's not a moron! He's my cousin!" I laughed, it's hard to understand the mind of someone who didn't think he was. "He is kind of a moron." I smirked. "Fine. He's an utter moron," let me just say we were whispering so he couldn't hear any of this. "And I have nothing to stand up for. It's not like he bullies me?" Franny stole another skittle, it was an orange one, she put it back and swapped it for a red one, her Mum came in, tapped her on the head and said: "not too many, you'll spoil your dinner." She suddenly clocked me peeling the potatoes. "Wait a second what's going on here? Where is Celeste?" Henry stood up and walked over. "It is quite an abomination, a 10 year old cooking dinner, I must say, I thought you knew." He said with a smug smile. "I'm 13." I said under my breath, just loud enough for him to hear. I went over to Franny and whispered. "Stand up for yourself, now, say what's locked up down inside." Franny stepped forward. "I-I-I can't say it." Henry laughed that smug laugh that posh people do when they can do something and someone else can't "auntie, please to something about her, send her into militry, give her elecution, get her work- Anything! The girl's illiterate and it's about time she overcome her fears." I whispered directly into Franny's ear "if you can't say it. Do it." And handed her the big jar of mayonnaise I was using, she dipped her finger in it and licked it. "mm, tasty, want to try some?" She lifted the jar and tipped it right over Henry's head, he looked disgusted, normal person disgusted. Franny's Mum didn't look cross, she looked proud, she kissed Franny on the head and looked at Henry. "My daugher's just fine and if there was something wrong. I'd be the one to decide if it needed sorting out. Oh yeah, you need a shower. But you may not use ours." Henry's father had heard everything from the living room and came storming in, his beer gut almost bursting the seems on his tight shirt. "What is going on in here!!" He threw his paper down on the ground. "This is proposterous.   Come on son, I have a friend just south of here, he's closer to the stables anyway, he'll get you cleaned up." They left without further ado. I should have felt bad but guess what, I didn't! Once they left we all laughed. "William I can't thank you enough, you clearly understand people very well. Now, how about we clean up this mess of a dinner and order some pizza?" I liked Mrs Kurnell alot already. Suddenly the front door opened. The same thought was running through the air, 'was it them? Are they back.' The suspense was unbareable. But it was not, it was Celeste, as she peered round the doorway we all cheered, our happiness had overcome our sense of humanity as we all leaped forward to greet her and she almost toppled over. She screamed. "I just forgot my phone!! Did I miss something?!"