Living with the Harrison Family

Surprising Arrivals

Surprising Arrivals

Chapter 47:

The sound of my bedroom door swinging against my wall echoed throughout my room and startled everyone awake. I groggily sat up and tried to make sense of my surroundings.

Rose was now laying on the floor after jolting off the edge of my bed, which Jade and Blondie were both tangled in blankets towards the far corner of the room.

I was most confused by the curly haired brunette with the perfect eyebrows that was staring at me with her arms crossed in the middle of my room.

"What the hell?" I questioned out loud, my confusion like glass. "Does everyone know where I live?"

Kiara gave a snort and moved to pull me off my bed, I quickly swatted her hands away.

"What are you doing here at-" I glanced at my bedside clock, "8AM? Better yet, how do you know where I live? Who let you in?"

"Never mind that." The bossy, science girl dismissed, she walked into my closet as she continued to speak, "The actually question is what are you doing here and not at the school for our semi-final science tournament?"

I blinked at her a few times before realization began to set in.

"You mean that's today?"

She snorted as she yanked out my polo shirt and sweater vest I got last week for the science club uniform.

"Obviously, now hurry and get dressed, we have to be there in half an hour otherwise we can't qualify for Finals!"

I hurriedly grabbed my pleated skirt from my drawers and snatched the rest of the clothes from Kiara and turned to head towards the bathroom, showering will have to wait for later.

"And don't waste time getting cute! This isn't a fashion show!" She called after me right before I entered the bathroom.

I introduced her to my favorite finger.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

I was seated at the end of a panel representing my school, staring out into the small audience I watched Jade, Rose, and Blondie goof off in the front row while they waited for everything to officially begin.

I told them to stay at the house but they insisted on coming with, probably to tease me about this all later. The whole set up of the school's gymnasium looked like it came straight out of a movie. Two panels with 4 students occupying each side separated by a large podium where the announcer stands to read the questions. Off to the side is another row of tables where the score keeper sits, next to a student from the AV club, probably here on an extra credit bribe for the student news.

I impatiently tapped my fingers on the desk in front of me and shot a side glare at Kiara who had been making a point to ignore me after she realized that the competition didn't start for another hour after we had arrived.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I nearly groaned out loud as I watched the rest of the Harrison family pile into the gym and take seats in the rows behind Rose, Jade, and Blondie. I didn't fail to notice that Rose wouldn't make eye contact with me as her phone rested in her fidgety hands.

An official looking man in a suit approached the center podium and tapped it a few times, testing the sound of the microphone before speaking.

"Okay so you all know the drill right? There are 3 rounds to this competition, the school with the best overall score proceeds to the finals where your ultimate knowledge is tested. Each team allowed to collaborate with their teammates and the first team to hit the buzzer and answer correctly gains a point.

Remember that the semifinals is only a test of written and verbal knowledge. The finals is where everyone has to be able to answer questions and do experiments. With that said, are there any questions?"

When no one spoke or raised their hands, he took is as his que to proceed with the competition.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

To spare the boring details, because honestly, how interesting would it be to recap a science competition? Long story short, my school won and we will be competing in the finals in a month.

I said goodbye to the girls who were now going to the mall, and met up with the rest of the Harrison family. Mrs. Harrison was absolutely beaming with pride.

"You're not my daughter, but I am so proud of you! You did so well up there! You didn't get anything wrong and looked so confident! You are so smart!" She babbled on and I allowed her to wrap me into a hug.

I'm not going to lie, it felt really nice to hear praise for once, especially coming from a strong motherly person like Mrs. Harrison. It was things like this that made the gap between me and my past even wider. And I can only hope that one day my past will only be a vague memory to reflect on but not to be influenced by.

It's hard, but every day I try to remind myself, that my past is behind me and so is everyone in it.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

I was going to ride back to the house with the others but instead told them that I was going to walk a few blocks down to the new coffee shop instead.

"Just call any of us if you need to get picked up, Sweety!" Mrs. Harrison called out to me from the passenger seat of their minivan. I waved and watched them drive away.

I readjusted my oversized purse on my shoulder and turned back towards the school doors to change my clothes in the bathroom, but stopped when I someone begin to slow clap.

I turned towards the clapping noise and raised my eyebrows as the blue eyed boy pushed himself off the wall and shot me a sly grin.

"Well done, Red, you're an even bigger nerd then I pegged you for."

Our steps synchronized as we both walked into the school, our footsteps echoing throughout the empty hallways.

I gave a rough elbow to the ribs, "Oh, shut up, Nate."

He replied with a deep chuckle and raised a hand, the other residing where I hit him, "Hey now, no need to get violent."

I told him to shut up and made him wait outside the bathroom as I went to go change into more comfortable attire. After changing into a pair of black jean shorts and a ruffled floral tank top, met back up with Nate outside the bathrooms.

"So what's Mr. Bad Boy doing at a science competition on a Saturday?" I teased as we made our way back out to the school's parking lot.

"I came with everyone else, but Conner and I finished our project so I told him that I was just going to take off from here, figured I'd talk with you a bit before heading out. Unless you wanted to hang out for a bit?" Nate questioned as we reached his car.

I briefly thought about it before shrugging and pulling open his passenger door.

"I've got nothing better to do, what do you have in mind?"

"Just have to run a few errands and then I need to find a gift at the mall." Figuring he would elaborate more later on, I nodded and buckled up.

A/N: I know I know! I haven't updated in forever! No time for excuses!

I've got a big surprise coming up soon for everyone! Hopefully you'll all want to stick around long enough to read it!

What do you think is going to happen soon?

Asides from Seth (lol) who do you want to read more of?