My Best Friend's Brother

Reese's Job

“Morning, Wilkersons.” Aria greeted as she walked through the front door. They greeted her like they always did and she took a seat at the kitchen table.

“Go straight to your job after school.” Lois said to Reese, “I don’t want you late for your first day. And no excuses! I don’t want to hear, ‘a lion escaped from the zoo’, or, ‘the bus driver went insane and refused to stop’.”

Francis’ friend, Richie, had gotten Reese a job at Circus Burger. Lois didn’t want there to be any reason for Reese to be fired, Aria silently hoped she’d get a discount. Malcolm thought it was hilarious that Reese was going to be bossed around by someone dumber than him.

“This job is stupid!” Reese complained.

“Well, you do get to wear a paper hat.” Malcolm said, as if it would help.

“Reese, you wanna drive when you get your license, you're going to pay for your own insurance.” Lois scolded the older boy.

“Yeah, but if everyone else has their own insurance, then why do I need it? They’ve got it covered.”

“Son, it’s not as simple as that. You see. . .” Hal trailed off as he thought about what his son said.

“Good morning, everyone!” Dewey smiled brightly as he came into the kitchen carrying a fish bowl with a goldfish. “Say good morning, Charlie. Show everyone how alive you are.”

Hal and Lois had made a deal that if Dewey could keep a goldfish alive for two months they’d get him a dog. It seemed to be backfiring on them and Aria was surprised at how long he’s managed to keep the fish alive.

“Aren’t I doing a good job?” Dewey asked his mom with a smile.

“You sure are.”

~~~

Aria and her friends stayed after school for band practice and Maggie told them about how high school was going. The girls still hang out and have sleepovers but to Aria it felt like they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. They all decided that they’d all go get something to eat, they needed some girl time.

They decided to go to Circus Burger since it was cheap and close by, it wasn’t until they got there that Aria remembered that it was Reese’s first day. Aria caught sight of Reese at the cash register in his uniform and tried not to laugh at his paper hat. There was nothing wrong with his uniform or paper hat, the look on his face however was pure annoyance. 

“Hey, Reese.” Aria smiled.

“Hey, Aria. What can I get you guys?” Reese sighed and placed their orders, telling them that he’d let them know when it was ready.

The five girls sat at a booth and just messed around before they eventually began to gossip. Of course their first topic of conversation was Reese, Aria wasn’t surprised.

“So, how are things with Reese?” Maggie asked with a teasing smile.

“We’re friends.” Aria reminded them with a look. “But Reese is fine, I guess.”

“I’m going to be completely honest with you.” Tess said, “I think you and Reese would be cute together.”

“Yeah, I could totally see you guys together.” Jane agreed.

“He’s just a friend and Malcolm’s older brother. I see him as a platonic friend.” She emphasized the word platonic.

“Are you trying to convince us or yourself?” Emma smirked as Aria rolled her eyes.

A worker walked over with a tray that carried their orders, they eventually moved on from the original topic and began talking about something else. They were laughing about something when a paper straw flew into the air, lightly hitting Aria and it got caught in her hair.