Geek on the Side!

Vanessa gets introduced

"I'm glad everyone's here," said Mr. Derr... my bio-dad to the rest of his family. His wife, Mrs. Derriwinkle, was sitting right next to him on the sofa. Across from him sat Daisy and Paige on another sofa, Kevin on a recliner, and Gabe and Todd were leaning against the wall. I never knew Gabe and Todd were related to the Derriwinkles; then again, I barely know them at all. As for me, I stayed hidden from everyone else in the guest room.

"First off," Mrs. Derriwinkle spoke up. "Gabe, Todd, thank you for coming. You know we consider you two to be family."

"Well, sure, Mrs. D." said Todd, as Gabe nodded. "We known you guys forever!"

"It's too bad Jolie couldn't join us," said Mrs. Derriwinkle with a sigh. "I guess she couldn't get out of that class."

"The curse of a teacher," Gabe said with a chuckle.

"Been there, done that," Mrs. Derriwinkle said, chuckling.

"Well, I think it's time I made my announcement," said my bio-dad. He took a deep breath, and said "As you all may be aware, I was married to another woman, before I married Sarah."

I noticed everyone got a bit more uncomfortable, except Daisy, who seemed sad. I don't blame her.

"Daisy's mother left us thirty one years ago, this September," continued my bio-dad. "For a long, long time, I thought that was the end of it."

Kevin looked uncomfortable, Paige was giving Daisy some emotional support like a good wife should, and Gabe and Todd were placing their hands on Daisy's shoulders, who seemed to be struggling to hold it together.

"Thing is," Bio-Dad continued. "I recently met someone who bore a strong resemblance to her. I, uh... shoot, this isn't easy."

"Let me take over, honey," said Mrs. Derriwinkle as she got up. "Her resemblance to Liliana was so strong, Doug had a DNA test done to see if she was related to Daisy. We thought for sure the resemblance was only coincidental, that there was no way this girl could be related to Liliana."

"But," Bio-Dad continued. "The results came back recently... and it turns out she is related to her, and to you too, Daisy."

"How?" Daisy asked.

"That's the thing," he closed his eyes. "She's related to you, to Kevin... and to me. She's my second daughter."

A strong silence filled the room, with everyone else' faces going into complete shock. Only Mrs. Derriwinkle and Bio-Dad weren't in shock.

"Holy crap," said Gabe, saying what was most likely in everyone's minds.

"And, well," Bio-Dad said as he got up. "I'd like everyone to meet her."

I slowly made my way to the living room, grimacing the whole way through. Daisy and Kevin were shook, Paige was unreadable, and Gabe and Todd were shocked too.

"Daisy, Kevin," Bio-Dad began. "I'd like to introduce you to your sister, Vanessa. Vanessa, allow me to formally introduce you to your big sister, Daisy, and to your younger brother, Kevin."

Kevin and Daisy stood up, both looking unsure of what to do. Daisy then stepped towards me, and I'm bracing myself to get slapped in the face. Why wouldn't she? I just stole her position as Doug Derriwinkle's only daughter! She probably hates me for lying to her, for... I don't even know what! But she knows the real me; no way would she accept me as her sister!

"Hey," she said as she grabbed my hand, smiling at me. "Heh... You know, I always wanted a little sister. Now I have one!"

What?

"Hey, Kevin, come on!" Daisy said as she signaled for Kevin to come closer. "Say hi to your other older sister!"

"Uh, hey," he said as he shook my hand. "This is kinda weird, not gonna lie. But... whatever. Wassup?"

I blushed. Daisy and Kevin were accepting me, just like that? Kevin I kinda get, but Daisy? She knows me! She knows the REAL me! Why is she accepting me like this!?

"Hey, Gabe, Todd!" She turned to her two pals, putting her fists on her hips. "This is my baby sister, so you'd better be nice to her, understand?"

"Yeah, OK," the two said in unison, looking a bit fearful. There's a history there!

"Uhhh," Paige said, getting up. She had lost all the color on her face! "Excuse me..."

And so Paige rushed outside, followed shortly by Daisy. Now I'm worried for her.

"May I be excused?" I asked. Bio-Dad nodded, and I went outside to help my older sister and sister-in-law.

Wow, Daisy's my older sister. That's... really nice. I like Daisy, a lot. She's nice, she's spunky, she's not afraid to say what's on her mind. I greatly admire her. I didn't know what I felt about her before, but now? I want her to like me. I want her to see me as a worth wile sister. I'm so below her in terms of, well, everything. She has people who love her for HER! Me? I don't have that.

But with Daisy, I feel like I'm getting an actual start! She accepted me as her sister, and even got her friends to treat me nicely!

"Hey," I said as I reached Paige. "You OK?"

She looked like she was trying to process something, while looking at me and my older sister.

"What the hell, how did I not see it!?" Paige loudly exclaimed. "Gary Louie was right!!!"

"What?" Daisy and I asked in unison.

"OF COURSE you two are sisters!!!" Paige loudly exclaimed. "You have the same facial structures!"

Do we? Daisy and I looked at one another, and we both shrugged.

"I don't really see it," Daisy said, shrugging.

"Honestly, me either," I said. "I mean, Daisy has red hair, mine's black, and-"

"Huh, didn't my mom used to have black hair?" Daisy asked. "I barely remember her."

"Well, since we have the same mom, yeah she does," I said, looking down. Knowing now that her... our mom abandoned her at age five just sickens me. "I... I guess I took after her, while you took after your... our father."

"No, Dad says I took after Grandma," Daisy said, shaking her head. "Oh, shoot, I should totally show you her picture! And Uncle Kevin's, too! Vanessa, we need to get you up to speed with our family!"

"AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO'S STILL PROCESSING THIS!?" Paige loudly exclaimed, her color drained from her face. "Daisy, this is LIFE CHANGING!"

"Yeah, it kinda is," Daisy said, smiling at me. "I finally have a little sister."

And I finally have a big sister. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes.