LIFE LONG DREAM // CONRAD FISHER X OC

c h a p t e r ~ 4

"Steven, I swear to God, if you look at that phone one more time, I'm putting it in the screen basket." My mom said to Steven as he kept looking at his phone at the dinner table.

"It's just we want to see your beautiful faces." Susannah said after Steven huffed quietly. "Can dinner be a screen-free one? You know, like the olden days." All the kids but Steven laughed at him. Steven still wouldn't put his phone away so Jeremiah stole his phone and threw it onto a chair in the corner of the room.

"Boom! Nailed it."

"Okay, okay okay, we get it, you've been working out."

"Oh, you're just jealous because Jere has a better body than you." I said complementing Jere and sluing Steven, the little cretin.

"Uh, no actually, it's all about the lean look now. Otherwise, you can't wear tailored suits."

"Sure, sure, tailored suits."

"When are you leaving for training camp, man?" Steven said changing the subject.

"Uh, he quit football."

"Wait, really? You quit?" I asked, very surprised at the fact he quit. Conrad had always been in love with football. But I still respected his choice.

"Mm-hmm."

"Are you kidding me, man? I'd kill to play college ball." Steven said. Ugh, why can't he just leave it be. Like if he wanted to quit, he probably did it for a reason.

"He can always change his mind."

"I'm not gonna change my mind." Conrad shot back, quickly. "I was just gonna sit on the bench all season anyways.

"Well, if you're not playing football anymore, what are you gonna do all summer?" I asked

"Oh, dude, you can work at the club with me and Jere."

"Yeah."

"I'm not gonna work at the club." Conrad argued back.

"Wait, you guys are working this summer?" I asked as this was the first I was hearing about this.

"Yeah, I'm lifeguarding and Steven's working at the snack shop." Jeremiah said.

"Oh, Sage, I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you."

"So this is why you had to stop by the country club." My mom said,

"Um, what is that?" Conrad asked his mom once she had handed me a white envelope with my name on the front written in calligraphy.

"I wrangled Sage an invitation to be a debutante." Susannah told us.

"Is that the thing where the girls wear white dresses and curtsy?" Conrad asked, clearly very uneducated on debutante balls.

"It's when a girl comes of age and is presented to society. I know it sounds silly but I swear it's fun. Girls come from all over New England to Cousins just to be a part of it. You'll make so many new friends."

"I cannot believe you are still holding on to this archaic dream."

"It used to be about finding a husband, but now it's about networking. Teach you leadership skills, like how to market yourself, and it benefits charity. It's,um, like a bat mitzvah."

"It's not like a bat mitzvah. There is nothing religious about a debutante ball." My mom said after Susannah's comment.

"The whole deb scene is bullshit. It's for sheep." Conrad said.

"Yeah." Jere and Steven agreed.

"No, it's not." Susannah said. "It's when a girl has a coming out, it's a formal recognition she's reached maturity."

"Oh, sorry. I'm sorry. Mature?"

"Yes."

"Sage, mature?"

"Mm-hmm."

"A couple of months ago you had a cat funeral. You made us all wear black."

"Shut up Cretin, I saw you crying in your room."

"Wait, Mochi died?" Conrad said.

"Dang. I'm sorry Sage." Jere said, giving me a smile.

"Sage. Don't you want to get all dressed up?"

"It's just not Sage's kind of thing. She's our feral little alley cat." My mom said,

"I'll think about it."

"She'll think about it."