Foster Family Part 4
#4 of Foster Family
Once I finished packing, I lied down on the bed, listening to the music coming from my new TV. It's been awhile since I've had a working TV all to myself. The bed was undoubtedly comfortable, not that my bed from before wasn't. I sighed as it became official. I'm bored. I shut the TV off and stepped out into the hallway walking towards Ace's room. Knocking isn't exactly a habit for me, but I'm glad I remembered as opposed to rudely walking in. I heard his footsteps as he padded over, nails clicking on what must've been wood floor. He opened the door and looked down to me smiling.
"What's up?" he asked me kindly.
I just looked up at him with a neutral expression.
"I'm bored," I stated flatly.
He chuckled before replying, "Already? Well come on in. I was just playing some videogames."
I brightened up quickly. If there's something I was, it was a gamer.
"What game?" I asked excitedly.
"Err...Dead Island..." he said a little suspicious of my seemingly immediate change.
I must've been grinning like an idiot.
When I noticed Ace just standing there observing me, I replied, "Well what are you waiting for? Let's get to killing those freaks!"
He laughed out before stepping inside, me following behind. His room was pretty different from the house, probably to show his own tastes.His walls were a dark beige and he had a couple soccer posters up. As expected the floor was wooden, and his bed was definitely different from mine. It was round for one, and had a black and white color theme. There was a frame that curved around the front and back, with breaks in the sides to allow anyone to sit on the edge. There was a black and white checkered rug matching the bed underneath it. A black wooden nightstand sat next to it with two pull-out shelves. On the right was a plasma TV in the wall, underneath a TV stand with a PS3 and Wii connected to the TV above. In the corner a few feet from the television was a computer desk, the monitor currently off. He had a sliding closet door as well to the left of the door and the ceiling fan spun softly, tussling my hair and his fur ever so slightly. The light was off, but it wasn't needed since the window near the nightstand had it's curtain pulled off to the side, allowing sunlight to fill the room. However, the most noticable object in the room was the bright green bean bag chair off to the bottom-left corner of the room. Ace walked over to the TV stand and grabbed two controllers before heading over to his bed and sitting on the edge. He patted the area next to him as I walked over. He handed me a controller after turning them both on. We began playing but early on he paused the game. I looked to see what he was doing as he drew the curtains over the window, the only light coming from the TV.
"Just setting the mood," he told me with a wink.
"Whatever floats your boat brodeo," I said indifferently.
Unfortunately, my nearsightedness forced me to pull the bean bag chair and sit closer to the TV, away from Ace.
"Why don't you have any glasses?" he asked me.
"Well. I lost them about a year ago and I've just never been able to get another pair," I explained, most of my attention focused on the violence.
We continued playing, him helping me out with the controls. Once I finally got the hang of it, I became a killing machine. Even Ace was impressed, but this was pretty normal for me. I'm a nerd after all.
At about 8:30, Mrs. Smith yelled up the stairs, "Dinner's ready!"
Ace and I rushed down to meet Mr. Smith coming out of the master bedroom at the end of the hall. He made it back about a half hour before, having come upstairs to give us both hugs. It was still awkward for me, but Ace didn't have a problem returning his father's gentle embrace. The 3 of us went over to the kitchen together. A marble counter stretched around the edges of the kitchen, broken by the oven, sink, dishwasher, and fridge. There was also a backdoor that I have yet to see where it leads and a window with curtains pulled together. Then over to one of the corners, a large bird cage with a red macaw and colored wings sat. The dining table was at the other side of the room, with four plates laid out. I waited for everyone to seat themselves before I took my own chair. A big, juicy steak had been laid on my plate with steaming vegetables on the side. I eagerly dug in, having not eaten in awhile.
"So Michael, what do you think of the house?" Mrs. Smith asked with hopeful eyes.
I swallowed my food before replying, "Well. It's pretty amazing to be honest. What do you two do for a living?"
"I'm a lawyer. It definitely is a job with its ups and downs," Mr. Smith explained to me.
"I do online teaching from right here at home. I wanted a job that would allow me to take care of my family," Mrs. Smith said with a smile.
"And I," Ace said, trying to get my attention, "Work at the coffee shop near the school."
"Where is the school anyways?" I asked to anybody willing to answer.
"It's a little ways up the road, about a 20 minute walk, near the town's center. You gotta go past it to get to the city," Ace explained.
"Wow. That close huh? My old school was about a 20 minute drive. I took the bus, so things weren't very great in terms of transportation," I said reminiscing about the less than glamorous school bus I had to take.
"So, what's up with this bird? I thought they talked," I asked more out of boredom than anything.
"He does talk, but he only copies what you tell him. Here watch." Ace gave an overblown *ahem* before turning to the bird and saying, "I'm a dumbass!"
The bird squawked before saying, "You're a dumbass! You're a dumbass!"
Oh my gosh. I don't even remember the last time I laughed so hard! Mr. and Mrs. Smith both chuckled and laughed out respectively. Ace gave the cage an irritated kick before putting a blanket over the parrot.
After dinner, we all went to our own bedrooms. Ace and I said goodnight to the parents before going upstairs and parting ways. I lied on my bed, watching a little TV before turning it off and settling back. What a day today has been. I thought about all that's happened, and vaguely recall thinking that maybe, just maybe, these people actually wanted to keep me. I wasn't about to get my hopes up, but the thought was there. Eventually, sleep overtook me and I rested peacefully in my new bed.
Note: I do not own any of the franchises mentioned above. Copyright goes to their respective owners.