Living for the Music

I managed to struggle through my science and had resumed working on my math by the time we were interrupted. “Kids!” Mara called. “Dinner’s ready!”

Seth jumped, glancing at me guiltily as he quickly typed one last message before closing his chat. He paused the music before shutting the computer and closing his history book. “Sorry, Sophie,” he apologized, waiting for me to put down my pencil. “I lost track of time. You finish your science?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Most of the information was in the pre-lab. It’s probably not worded the best, but it’ll work.”

“Good,” he nodded. “If you want I can look over it after dinner.”

“Nah, you probably have something better to do,” I shrugged.

He rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything as we reached the kitchen door. “Something smells amazing, Mara,” I announced, sniffing the air.

Nathan glanced up at me from where he was stirring the spaghetti sauce. “Mara?” he asked in fake indignation. “Don’t you know yet that I’m the one that cooks everything in this house?”

I bit back my laugh as Mara affectionately hit her eldest son on the head with a potholder. “Move over, chef, and let me take the noodles off the stove before they burn.”

He immediately stepped aside, aware that the quality of his food was in jeopardy. “Hey Sophie,” he said, smiling at me. I grinned up at him, still in awe of the growth spurt that had sent him towering above me at 6’2.

“Hey Nathan,” I replied. “What’s new?”

“I got accepted!” he announced cheerfully.

“At Penn? We all knew you would,” I replied, laughing. Nathan had set the pace for Seth, getting straight As all through high school and graduating with a 4.9 GPA. Between his grades and his extra-curriculars, we all knew he could get into any college he wanted. Still, it was nice to hear it officially confirmed.

“Yeah, well…” The huge grin that covered his face showed just how happy he was. Laughing, I gave him a huge hug.

“That’s great, Nathan. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks.”

I grabbed the salad bowl from the counter and carried it over to the table. Seth followed me, sitting down in a chair. I sat next to him, leaving the other side open for Nathan and his parents. “Tom’s working late tonight, so it’s just us,” Mara added, carrying a huge bowl of spaghetti noodles over.

Nathan followed with a bowl of meat sauce, putting it down before running back for some bread. “It looks great,” I announced, sniffing the garlic in the air. Nathan handed me the bread with a smile and I immediately took two pieces before handing it to Seth. I helped myself to some noodles and a heaping of sauce before settling in to the familiar mealtime chatter with my adopted family.