Can You Not?

Chapter 1

It was that time of year again. Summer was ending and real life was worming its way back in. After the somewhat boring summer she’d had, Norah wasn’t sure how she felt about going back to school. She’d done very little adventurous things, despite promising herself that she would. She and her best friend, Sierra, spent one week at a summer camp as counsellors, but swore to never do it again. Kids are evil and they had to learn that the hard way. The best thing they did all summer was drive to a concert a few towns over, but even that was mediocre at best.

Not only was the thought of going back to school bugging her, but her mother, Nicole, was also in one of her let’s-entertain-the-entire-neighbourhood-at-our-house-to-show-them-how-nice-we-are moods again. That was her thing, making sure everyone knew they were the wholesome American family. It drove Norah up the wall, because she couldn’t give two shits about what anyone thought of her. They’d think what they want no matter what she did.

As a last ditch effort to make something of their vacation, Norah and Sierra went shopping one afternoon. If they couldn’t call themselves adventurers, then they’d stock up on enough cool stuff for school to make everyone think they were. The best place they could afford was a novelty stationary store in town. They stocked up on cute pens and made fun of the hipster-bait notebooks and posters. Norah held up a poster of a triangle against a blue sky to Sierra.

“I just love the aesthetic,” Norah said.

“Nah, it’s too mainstream for me.”                                                                                

They laughed and joked like that all afternoon.

Sierra dropped her off in front of her house when they were done. There was a truck parked in the driveway of the house next door. On the side Norah read the name Mega Movers and scoffed at the lame name. Her mother had mentioned something about new neighbours, but she wasn’t really paying attention. There were men in overalls walking around, unloading stuff from the truck and carrying it into the house. As she walked towards her own front door, a guy came jogging down the new neighbour’s’ porch steps. He wasn’t wearing an overall, so he wasn’t working for the movers. She turned her head just as he did his and he smiled when their eyes met. She looked away quickly and went inside.

That night, when her parents got home, all they could talk about was the new neighbours. “They seem nice.” “I think we should invite them over for the barbeque on Sunday.” “I think that’s a good idea.” “Maybe we should give them a housewarming gift.” “Maybe I should give them a batch of cookies. Does that sound good?” “That sounds great.” That’s how the line of conversation went all throughout dinner. Norah couldn’t get a word in edgewise. Not that it mattered. She hardly every contributed to the dinnertime conversation. Her mother turned to her.

“What do you think, Norah?” she asked.

Nothing. “What do I think of what?”

“Inviting the neighbours over for the barbeque on Sunday?”

I think you’re going to do what you want, no matter what I say. “I don’t mind.”

“Great,” Nicole said. “I’ll go over there with a batch of cookies tomorrow and extend an invite.”

Good for you. Doing something nice that doesn’t reflect on you as a person in any way. “Cool.”

After dinner, Norah helped load the dishwasher and said goodnight without any intention of actually sleeping. Her parents were used to her ducking out of family bonding time. She would say goodnight, which meant they wouldn’t see her again until the next morning and for the remainder of the night, she would stay in her room, writing or drawing or doing all of the above while watching YouTube videos and talking to Sierra. She would only crawl into bed when she started feeling genuinely tired, which usually happened around one in the morning. It was a routine that worked for her.