My Life is Not a Manga, or maybe...

Harem Scarem: 031

I stared at the group of people who had gathered in my living room, bemused. I wasn't sure who was responsible for this party, but the guests were a weird confluence of my normal friends, family, and harem. I was at a loss over what to say or how to act.

Fortunately, my dad stepped up before things got too awkward. "Congrats on getting your license, kid!"

"Yeah, and happy birthday!" said Jill. A chorus of "happy birthdays" and "congratulations" followed as the rest of the group chimed in, and the ice was officially broken.

As Mom slipped in and out of the kitchen, delivering a growing collection of snacks, I sat back and spent a moment watching my social circles collide.

Jesse was hovering uncomfortably in the background until Rachel said something to Hayden, who took pity on him and introduced him to Paula and Samantha. Samantha was way more reserved than I was used to seeing, which made sense given what I knew about her social anxiety hang-ups, but she gradually started acting more like herself as Paula and Vickie tag-teamed her.

Meanwhile, Seamus practically pounced on Jill and appeared to be catching up with her about the several years that had passed since they talked last. Excellent; it looked like the "hook Jill up with Seamus" gambit was still in play.

Dad meandered between people as his interest led him, getting introduced and extracting minor life details in passing. Rachel disappeared into the kitchen to help Mom for a bit, and then came and sat down near me, ending my brief moments of virtual isolation.

"How'd the test go, Xavier?"

"Hey, Rachel. It went pretty well, though I had a bad moment parallel parking."

"Mm, I've heard a lot of people fail that."

"Are you planning to get your license? You'll be 16 this year, right?"

She smiled ruefully. "I'm sixteen now."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, my birthday is September 16th."

Evidently Dad was hovering, because he broke in at this point. "That was just last month! You should have told us! I would have baked you a cake."

"Well there you go, Dad. She's been eating your Saturday abominations for a couple months now, so she was probably scared for her life if you concocted a dessert."

Dad made an exaggerated "I've been stabbed through the heart" gesture. "You wound me!"

Rachel laughed. "Honestly, it slipped my mind. I've been shuffling between houses so often that celebrating birthdays just doesn't occur to me."

Dad leaned over with a conspiratorial wink. "She says that, but who do you think organized this little shindig?"

Ah, so that's why this particular group of people ended up invited. Rachel is one of the few people who knew everyone here.

She shrugged and stage whispered, "Blame Samantha" to me. Wow, that was totally believable, too. I could almost hear her say...

"It's not like I wanted to celebrate your birthday!" exclaimed Samantha from behind my chair. She'd evidently worked her way around the room over toward us in an attempt to escape talking to Jesse and Hayden.

"Yeah, yeah." I waved her off. "If you'll excuse me, it looks like Mom has broken out the mini-sausages, and I'm going to go liberate a few before Seamus discovers them."

"Enjoy," said Rachel with a small smile, while Dad muttered something to himself about low quality excuses for food.

Although before I went, maybe a little revenge for her continued tsundere act was in order. "Hey Dad, have you met Samantha before? She's really into anime; maybe you should take her to the Lab and give her a tour."