Once Upon A Dime (hiatus)

6. Movies and Meltdowns

"And we're here." Mom neighs delightedly, closing the car door behind her. Her open arms reveal a place I thought could only be this beautiful in a nature catalog.

Green, healthy hills tumble down into an empty valley. A lonesome Sequoia stands errect in the center of the pasture with one looming branch that sticks out, irregular compared to all of it's mates. A tireswing lies just beneath it, protected from the sun by the tree's shade. It floats lazily back, and forth, with the growing, nippy wind. To it's right, a sudden, steep incline. At it's peak is where the Lopez residence resides. At a towering four stories into the air, you could say it looks a bit menacing. Stone gargoyles stand frozen in front of the large double doors, ready to pounce on any possible burglar. The top of the highest tower pokes into the bleak, gray storm clouds just overhead, and a crack of thunder sends me back down to Earth.

I take notice of the red Toyota Camry parked in the driveway. Dad's car. The boys must already be here, then.

"Looks like rain." Arabella whispers doubtfully in my ear. I nod in responce, and trudge up the stone pavement to the front door. Everyone else follows close at foot. I press the glowing button along the doorframe, and a variety of clicks, dings, and dongs erupt from inside the mansion. After about two seconds, the door swings open, disclosing a sloppy faced Jackson, covered in a brown looking substance.

"They have chocolate!" He exclaims, before disappearing around a corner and out of sight.

"I'm guessing we can come in?" I laugh darkly, and prop the door open using one of the demons from outside. I guess they can come in handy, after all?

The living room, or might I say auditorium, has deep maroon carpeting that matches the walls, and columns and columns of luxurious velvet couches, lined up in an orderly fashion. A stereo system, piano, and multiple stringed instruments lie at the head of the room, facing outwards.

"We're in the kitchen!" A foreign, yet familiar voice calls. Sounds feminine, with a hint of an accent to it.

"Eek! Melinda!" Mom rushes forward, edging me out of the way. I sigh, and link arms with Arabella. We follow suit and end up in the kitchen where everyone else seems to be going.

Let me start off by saying I wouldn't even begin to attempt and count the amount of burners they have in here. Every single surface has a different hot plate, as well as pots and pans riddled in every place imaginable. Jackson and Kenny stand off to one side, conversing about something. Jackson spoons out chunks of Nutella and plops it into his mouth. How charming.

Arabella seemed to have dislodged herself from my arm and had found Tanner looking terribly awkward by the side of the magnet-covered frig. A worried expression crosses his hardened features.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Paris mutters by my side, making me look at her. She motions to the two 'Talking-Tammy's' in the corner. And I'm not talking about Arabella and Tanner.

"I don't know, nor do I care." I yap, and tangle my arms around each other.

"Oh, but you do. I know you do." Paris turns to face me, wicked amusement evident on her face. "You love him."

"Yes, and Audrey Hepburn is secretly engaged to Woody from Toy Story. No I don't." I smack my palm against my forehead, and glare at Paris from beneath the slits in my fingers.

"That didn't make any sense." She cocks an eyebrow before clamping her lips into a sick smile. "But love speaks in strange ways!"

"Yeah, whatever." I flop my hand in her face, signalling that I want this conversation to be over.

"Hello, everybody!" The woman that mom had called 'Melinda' stands directly in front of the roudy teenagers, pulling off a motivational speaker type of vibe. "My name's Melinda, in case you didn't already know that. I'm Zoe and Chris's mom. They shound be down shortly. Do you guys want to watch a movie?"