Rule #22: Be a Winner
Even if it's not a game.
- () -
"Wake up!"
I throw another rock at Archer's window. But the rock cracks his window and tumbles down apologetically. I catch it just before it reaches his ground. Alright. So maybe a giant rock wasn't the best idea. Whatever. I'm sure I can just find a pebble lying down somewhere around -
Archer slams the window out. His scowl turns into an exasperated look once he notices me.
I wave. "Good morning, Romeo."
"If you're the one breaking my window, doesn't that mean I'm Juliet?"
"Are you?" I think about it for a moment, then give up because I don't care. "That doesn't matter. I haven't seen you in three days, you know."
"And so you broke my window."
"...Sorry."
"It's fine," Archer pauses, waiting until the wind passes before continuing. "Why are you here?"
"To take you on a date." I pick up the petunias, which I plucked from Mrs. Henry's garden, brush the sand off and offer them to him.
Another pause.
"Are you asking me out?"
"As friends." I correct him. "Look, I even brought a ladder."
"I see that."
We both take a moment to glance at the ladder, which is a rusty silver and wobbles slightly in the wind. It's the only one that goes up to Archer's window and should be safe enough to climb down on - as long as there's somebody holding on the bottom.
Archer places his elbows on the windowsill. "So, where are you taking me?"
"The treehouse."
"The treehouse? But it's unfinished."
Do I have to explain everything to this kid. "Yeah, that's why we're going to finish it tonight. Between, you, me, Melody and James, we should be able to -"
"Hang on, Melody and James?"
I nod, confused on why that was worth interrupting me for. "They're coming."
"Not interested."
Before I can say anything else, Archer slams his window shut.
His silhouette vanishes from the window, probably to have gone back to sleep. I stand still for a moment, unsure what to do. In the distance, the waves crash against the shore before rolling back again. That happens twice before I come to my senses.
"Right." I mutter to myself and set up the ladder.
Typically, you'd have somebody hold the ladder while you climb up. But typical is boring, so I set two stones at its base and make my way up. It isn't until the metal hinges that shuddering under my weight that I begin to reconsider this idea.
Still, I manage to make it to Archer's window without any more injuries. Sure enough, he's not sleeping at all. Instead, he's busy scribbling a picture on his doodlepad (or whatever it's called).
I knock on his window.
His whole body jerks when he hears the sound. It's almost comedic seeing his eyes widen like that. I wave again as he stomps over to the window.
"I can't believe your rejected our date just so you could - ah!"
Archer grabs my waist and tugs me inside the room. I grab his shoulders so the both of us don't topple over. But my feet, which are suddenly airborne, knock the ladder over
It falls in slow-motion until it crashes on the ground, sending sand flying everywhere. The sound is so loud that I'm sure that somebody would come to check it out. But nobody does. Melody and James must be doing their job well.
Once the coast is clear, Archer lets me go. His hair is ruffled and pajamas (which consists of fuzzy pants and no shirt). It takes me a second to realize that he's yelling at me. "What the hell were you thinking? You have a concussion, remember?"
I blink. "You're supposed to be sleeping, remember?"
His scowl only grows bigger."Yeah, and I will, as soon as you get out of here."
"But I brought you petunias."
"That you stole from Mrs. Henry."
I can't come with up with a response.
"That's it. I'm going to take you downstairs. You're going to explain what happened if anybody catches us and then," Archer pulls on a sleeveless shirt. "And you're going to leave and enjoy family games night with your cousins."
I watch in horror as he pulls on a jacket. I can't get caught again. Mom would take my head off and feed to the grandmother. So, should I a) plead, b) bully, c) cry or d) make a deal? Pleading clearly won't work. Bullying is what you do to arrogant nerds not arrogant friends. I only cry when I'm alone, so I guess that leaves one option.
"Wait!" I grab Archer's arm just as he's about to open the door. "I'll make you a deal. If you come out and help us out with the treehouse tonight, I'll owe you a favor."
Thankfully, this makes him pause. Archer has a familiar gleam in his eyes that I'm not too fond of. "What kind of favor?"
"Any kind," I put one finger in front of his lips so he can't say anything. "However, there has to be some limits. No animal abuse. No torture. Not even if it's fake. Not even as a prank. No getting detention, because I'm only three away from getting suspended. No sexual -"
"You're talking all the fun out of it," Archer says from beneath my lips.
"I'm not finished yet."
"Sometimes, you get extremely dramatic," Archer takes my fingers in his hand and gently pushes it my side. His expression is torn between amusement and exasperation.
"I'm not dramatic," I mutter, following him to the window. "So, does this mean you'll come?"
"I suppose. How'd you manage to escape family games night anyways?"
"Oh, I came up with a five-step plan that - hang on - how do you know about family games night? I never told you."
"James did. Archers nods to two familiar figures approaching our window.
Great, I think, watching my siblings pull the ladder up. First, my sister, then my parents and now my brother. Next thing you know, he's going to be hanging out and insulting the democratic party with my grandmother.
"I'm going first," Archer tells me. "That way when you fall, I'll catch."
"If anything, I'll jump."
"Don't you dare."
We reach the ground without any incidents and James's is able to put the ladder away without much commotion.
Melody turns to Archer. "Where's your sister?"
"Sleepover."
"To whose house?" Melody demands, her voice so loud that I nearly slap my hand over her mouth. "And why wasn't I invited?"
"Mabel."
"Mabel," She narrows her eyes. "Oh, I see how it is. I guess somebody's just little jealous that they didn't get into varsity cheerleading, hmm? Oh, well, just wait until I have my sleepover, then you'll be sorry..."
I roll my eyes.
"Alright," James is finally finished with his job. "Let's finish this treehouse, shall we?"
- () -
I slam my thumb into a nail with a hammer and scream.
"Christ, Peyton," Archer slides over to me with a pack of bandages (that Melody and James so thoughtfully brought). "Did I tell you to not work on sealing the boards?"
"A stupid concussion isn't going to stop me from making a treehouse."
Archer holds up my bloody thumb.
"Just put the damn bandage on."
Archer peels off the protecting and slips the bandage over my finger. I try not to wince he wraps it around the wound.
He kisses my thumb. "Don't pick up the hammer again."
I stare at him, too dumbfounded to stop him from picking up my favorite hammer and throwing it out the treehouse. With a smirk, he goes back to his corner and continues tying up the remains of the leftover wood.
It's only when James and Melody start snickering that I snap out of my daze.
"That's not funny," I say, kicking both of them.
"Uh-huh," Melody says, taking on a mock-serious expressions. James, as always, prefers a more direct- and humiliating - approach.
"I bet you're going to keep the bandage framed in your room, - ouch, Peyton!"
"Sorry, James, I couldn't hear you. What. Was. That. Again?"
"Ouch! Peyton, if you don't stop, I'm going to saw your head into two."
I continue hitting him with a plank of wood until Melody takes it away to add the finishing detail of the treehouse. When we're done, all four of us take a step back to admire the view.
All in all, the treehouse is mediocre. It's rectangular shaped and slightly crooked to accompadte the tree. Inside, the dark wood is smooth and cool. The dying rays of the sun shimmer through one of our windows. We have two of them - one on the left and one of the right - as well a large door in the front, where a rope ladder hangs from the edge.
Still, sitting here in close proximity with my family and my neighbors isn't too bad. The cool wood settles under my palms and there's enough space for me to stretch out my legs and not hit somebody.
Finally.
We sit there in silence for a few minutes. Melody texts on her phone, her fingers moving too fast to see. James is playing with a deck of cards. Archer has his eyes closed.
I think he might be sleeping.
The music of the leaves rustling and velvety weight of the breeze helps me to doze off too. I close my eyes and lean my head back against one of the crook of the windows, fading off to a peaceful bliss -
Then Melody screams.
Her shriek jerks all of us awake. For a moment, I'm disorientated - my head feels like it weighs twice the amount it used to - and I can't focus on anything. Then, I realize there's a forth figure crouching over Melody. It's our cousin - Bettie.
"Oh no," Melody moans. "What are you doing here?"
"You've been missing for two hours," Cousin Bettie crosses her arms. "I can't believe you guys have been hanging out here while I looked everywhere for you three. Your mom was worried sick when she found out you were missing."
James snorts.
Melody puts her phone in her back pocket. "You didn't have to come look for us."
"Oh, come on, whenever you three disappear, there's bound to be trouble."
"Then, why did you look for us in the first place?"
"It's family games night!" Cousin Bettie snarls.
"Oh, yeah. Like we'd ever go to that again. I think I've already had enough of 'how precious our darling Bettie' is for a lifetime'."
"Just because I have brain instead of snorting makeup and shoving my finger down my throat..."
While Bettie and Melody bicker, James shoves them to the ladder so they finally go downstairs. I turn around when I notice Archer's not following us. Sure enough, he's sound asleep in the corner, cuddling with my hammer like it's his teddy bear or something. I kick his foot and he jerks awake.
"We're going home." I inform him.
"That sucks," He pushes himself up to his elbows and meets my eye. "Why don't you just stay with me and sleep here?"
"I wish. But we've been found out by Bettie."
"Really?" There's a flicker of interest in the way he stands up."Is this the Cousin Bettie Melody's told me so much about?"
I nod.
"Interesting. I want to meet this Cousin Bettie. Introduce me." He's already on his feet, walking over to the edge of the treehouse.
I wait for him to start climbing down, then follow. "Why do you want to meet Bettie?"
"Because she's your cousin."
"What does that have to do with anything?" I say, but I can't hear his response because Melody and Bettie are bickering too loud.
Before I can even stop him, Archer strolls over to the conversation and inserts himself. Melody, who's life ambition in the last few days was to keep Bettie and Archer away from each other, throws me an alarmed look. I shrug and walk over to her side.
"Hello, Cousin Bettie," He grabs her hand and shakes.
As usual when confronted with a hot boy, Bettie's cheeks have a red tint to them. She hides her face behind her curtain of silky brown hair. "H-hello. Who are you?"
"I'm Archer Raine, Peyton's neighbor."
"You're Archer Raine?"
"Yeah. Is there a problem?" He raises an eyebrow.
"No, it's just that I expected you to be somebody different -" At this, Melody smirks. "and not like - this - at all. They told me that you were an art nerd and Peyton's friend -"
"Any friend of Peyton is a delinquent, says my grandmother," I recall. "Right, Bettie?"
She blushes even more. Her whole face is as red as a tomato. But a cute tomato, I guess. That's just the way Bettie works. Boys love her blush. Indeed, Archer already seems fond of her - but then again, he's like that with everybody.
"Well, rest assured, I am not a delinquent," Archer tells her.
"Yeah, I can tell." Peering up at him from under her eyelashes, she continues. "Hey, to make up for it, why don't you join us for family games night? You could meet my mom, dad and the rest of their family."
Archer looks at me. I shake my head. He says, "Why not?"
- () -
We end up playing scrabble, Bettie's favorite game. There are way too many people, so we end up in pairs. It's James and my dad, Archer and Bettie (so they can get to know each other, my Aunt Sue declares) and Melody and I. There are a couple of our other cousins too, but they show no interest in the game.
"We're only six points behind Bettie," Melody murmurs, glaring at our letter chips. "But none of these make a word."
"I got one," I say. "But I don't think mom will like it."
Over in the corner, Cousin Bettie giggles at one of Archer's jokes. They're in the lead with the highest points, thanks to her. Mom seems devastated that I have competition on being Archer's love interest. On the other, Bettie's mom, Aunt Sue, seems delighted at this new development.
"Melody, Peyton, you're taking forever," Dad chimes.
Melody doesn't look up from the board. "We're thinking!"
"I could help if you you'd like," Cousin Bettie offers, resting her head on Archer's shoulder. Archer barely notices. I think he might fall asleep again.
"Mind your own business, nerd."
"It was just a simple offer, Melody. You could've just said no."
"Then, no."
"Oh, thanks. That's so much better."
"Why do you have to complain about every single thing?"
Melody and Bettie continue to argue each other. James is texting somebody on his phone. Archer's beginning to nod off to sleep again. Meanwhile, I use our letters and Bettie's "T" in "pretentious" to spell out the word "B-I-T-C-H".
"Five points for us." I say.
There's a pause as everybody turns to see what I wrote.
"Peyton!" Mom gasps. "This is a family-friendly game. Get that off the board right now!"
"Why? It's not like it's anything bad. I'm referring to the female dog, not the negative connotations forced on it by society."
Even though Archer has his eyes closed, he's smiling.
"I don't care. Take it off!"
The whole room erupts. Mom starts to yell at the top of her voice. Grandmother starts to ramble on and on about how much of a disappointment I am. Aunt Sue mutters, "Honestly, this girl will never learn." Bettie rolls her eyes and stands up.
"Alright, alright! Everybody calm down," Dad gives me a disapproving frown. I stare at my feet angrily and say nothing. "We'll take it off the board. Peyton, this isn't acceptable. We're taking off five points from your team."
"What?" Melody shrieks. "Peyton!"
"This isn't my fault!"
James finally snaps. With one movement, he launches to board to the opposite fall, where it knocks over a vase. Torn up words drop on the floor. Breathing heavily, he pushes himself up and grabs his jacket.
"We were supposed to have a good time. Instead, everybody's too busy ripping at each others throats. I'm going to my room. Nobody bother me."
Without another word, he heads upstairs, leaving behind a stunned silence.
Mom puts her face in her palm, humiliated. Melody and I share a look. We decide to pick up the broken puzzle pieces before anybody yells at us anymore. When we're finally done, Melody decides to go upstairs to talk to James.
"I'll be with you in a second. I just have to - where's Archer?" I turn around, canvasing the room, which is empty of any warm faces.
"Oh, I went ahead and told Bettie to go drop him off," Aunt Sue says."I think that boy could use a positive female in his life from time to time."
"They've been gone for fifteen minutes."
"Is that so? I hadn't noticed." With a self-satisfied grin, Aunt Sue leaves with the rest of the other aunts, who give me disapproving glances. Bettie doesn't return for another ten minutes and when she does, her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are bright.
I sigh. This is why I hate family games night.
- () -
Here's an extra long chapter to make up for my absence. So sorry about that. I was dealing with some personal things, but I'm ready now.
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Crackers is back too, so I'm hoping you'll feed him a lovely treat. Just like mariana_lovesfood (this weeks dedication) who voted on every single chapter. And thanks to all of you for hanging on for so long.
Next chapter: Jake and Irene make an appearance. It's almost Thanksgiving.
Thanks for reading!
QotD: When's your birthday? What's your astrological sign? (Mine is tomorrow so I'm a Libra.)