Geek on the Side!

Vanessa likes to eat healthy

"IT WAS YOUR BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY!?" Paige and Daisy exclaim as we sat at the food court, having lunch together. I ate a salad and a water, Paige had a salad and a diet coke, and Daisy had a cheeseburger and a regular coke. How Daisy stays so skinny in spite of eating such crap is beyond me.

"Why didn't you tell us!?" Paige asked, looking teary eyed. "It was our day off, yesterday! We coulda done something together!"

"I completely forgot about it," I said, shrugging. "Besides, it's no biggie; I had Kevin and his date join me for an impromptu dinner, so it's cool."

"Kevin's date?" Daisy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Was she this petite blonde with pink highlights?"

"Yeah!" I said, and I noticed that Paige had this jealous air about her at the mere mention of Kevin's date. Uh oh, there's a history there.

"Huh, Kevin and April," said Daisy, pressing her lips together as if deep in thought. "Honestly, he's good for her, what with being the same age and all. And she's matured a bit since last year, so...yeah, I can see it happening. Not lasting, but definitely happening."

"You seriously don't mind your little brother dating your ex?" I asked, flabbergasted. I noticed Paige got a bit angrier.

"Eh, it was never anything serious," Daisy replied. "We were together less than a week, went out ONCE, and broke up mutually one week after having met."

Huh, not how April described it to me.

"It didn't last long," Paige commented. "But anyway, enough about that; Van, you really shoulda told us yesterday was your birthday!"

"It's not that big a deal, anyway," I said as I bit into my salad. "The last time I celebrated my birthday was when I turned eighteen."

"What did you do when you turned 18?" Paige asked.

"Moved out of my parent's home," I said, grinning. "Best birthday ever!"

I saw that Daisy and Paige didn't quite share my enthusiasm. Now Daisy I understand; if I had her family, I'd be a lot less enthused about moving out. But Paige? Huh, maybe her home life was better than I thought.

"Not a fan of your parents?" Asked Daisy as she stirred her soda.

"Not even close," I replied, shaking my head. "But it's whatever, you know? They're not in my life much anymore."

"That's kinda sad," said Paige, looking down to her salad. "I can't imagine what your parents must have done to earn your scorn like that."

"Eh, it's whatever," I said, waving my fork around dismissively. Relax, it was a plastic fork "Just typical parental baloney that I'd rather not get into."

After they had finished their lunch, my two best gals went back to work. I considered being a mall rat for a while, but I figured it wouldn't be good to risk being found by my stalker again. That's why I left the mall, keeping a close eye around my surroundings, making sure I wasn't being followed...

Back home, I decided to just plop into my bed and get that rest I so desperately needed...

Five hours later...

Man, I was tired! I got up and checked my phone. No missed calls, but I did get two messages! The first one's from Elaina...

Cosplay design is ready! I'll be at Gatekeeper today if you wanna take a look at it!

Sweet! Next one is from Daisy...

We're having a TV watch party down by Gatekeeper today! Eight PM! You should come!