Thriving

Disaster Brunch

After the excitement at Oliver's prison party, he and Jessica surprisingly agreed that Amber should spend some time out of the mansion. And Amber didn't have any arguments.

So, for the past week, she stayed with Jessica at her apartment. It was a fun, quiet week that had now come to an end.

Jessica pulled up in front of the Queen Mansion. "All right, you remembered everything right?"

"For the last time, yes." Amber climbed out of the car.

Jessica followed suit. "Hey, a cop was shot at a robbery this morning. All hands are on deck for this. I won't have the free time to go him to grab whatever you forgot and bring it to you." 

"Is he okay?" Amber asked.

"Don't know." Jessica shrugged. "I'm still off duty right now and everyone's too busy to chat." She and Amber walked inside just as Thea and Oliver were walking down the stairs.

"Hey." Oliver smiled at them.

"Special delivery." Jessica joked. "One short blonde kid."

"I may be short now one day I'm gonna be taller than you." Amber glared at her stepmom.

"Sure, you will."

"Oh, good, you're all here." Moira walked out of the parlor, a flower-filled vase in her hands. She smiled brightly at everyone. "Guess who I just hung up with." Oliver shrugged. "Janice Bowen. Carter's mother." She informed.

"Oh." Oliver, Thea, and Jessica said in unison.

"You know Carter Bowen?" Thea frowned at Jessica.

"Beth complained about him every time he showed up in the news," Jessica informed.

"Ah." Thea nodded knowingly.

"Who's Carter?" Amber asked, glancing around at everyone.

Oliver chuckled awkwardly. "Carter Bowen. The perfect son."

That caught Moira's attention. "Is he perfect?" She asked.

"According to you," Oliver answered. "'Carter Bowen just won the national chess championship'. 'Carter Bowen is anchoring the debate team'." He quoted his mother.

"I'm sure I didn't make that big of a fuss." Moira waved it off.

"Oliver, Carter just got accepted into Harvard and Princeton." Thea followed her brother down the mockery trail.

"Well, that's because Carter got a perfect score on his SATs," Oliver added.

"Now how did he manage to study and cure cancer?" Thea rhetorically asked.

"That sounds like more than a big fuss." Amber sided with her father and aunt.

Moira sighed. "All right, all right, all right. I get it. I get it." She was well past annoyed with her family. "Well, they're coming for brunch and I expect you to be there."

"I have plans," Oliver stated.

"That's fine. Brunch is tomorrow."

Thea, Jessica, and Amber laughed at Oliver's backfired excuse. 

"Inches from a clean getaway," Thea smirked at Oliver.

"Well, you, too, Thea. And before you even say it, you're coming too, Amber." Moira said sternly before she started walking away.

"Snap." Oliver pointed a finger gun at Thea.

"Nobody says that anymore." She rolled her eyes.

"What?" Oliver frowned.