Social Suicide

“Here we are, welcome to our humble abode!” Erin announces happily, as the three of them pulled in at typical Californian home. It was fairly large, which was understandable with the amount of children, and painted a warm beige colour, it had a smallish garden at the front, with flowers that appeared to have been damaged. There was plenty of windows, the welcoming front door mat and a large double garage to the side. It was a nice home, simple to say.

Amelia jumps out the car, pulling her t-shirt down, to straighten herself up. She puts her multicoloured bag, over her shoulder and closes the door shut. Chris, meanwhile was getting her belongings out the back. Amelia went to go offer, but Erin insisted she come and meet the rest of the family, and her husband would sort out everything.

Hesitantly, Amelia followed the bouncing blonde, who opened the front door.

“ZACK, LUCY, OMAR, PETER!” Erin shouts, as Amelia and the blonde stood in the living room. The house was mainly open plan downstairs which gave Amelia a great view of her new home. It looked so welcoming with the lovely painted walls, the matching décor and the simple sense of tranquillity that filled the room. Amelia begun to think that Chris earned a lot more than he let on, spotting the large plasma screen TV, with every other gadget needed for a television stacked neatly underneath. There were three large sofas, all cream leather and had cushions on every right and left chair. There was a medium sized fire place which Amelia couldn’t figure out if it was real or fake.

She could just about see the kitchen, and from where she was standing, it was huge and stylish, Amelia spots a large fridge and immediately decides she’ll be hungry soon.
Then, Amelia heard it, the almost deafening sound of excited arrival.

Stampeding down the stairs, was her new family. Amelia saw the two younger ones first, a little girl with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes and could have easily been Erin’s real child, with a heart shaped face, and thin nose and lips being the only difference between them, physically. She looked about 6 or 7 years old, and had an adorable smile. Amelia felt her lips tug as the little girl smiled broadly at her.

“It’s Amelia!” she shouts excitedly, and continues to run down the stairs, almost tripping on the last step. Amelia, herself was about to lunge forward so she wouldn’t trip, but a hand managed to grab the little girl in time. Amelia now took in the second appearance.

He was a boy, that could only be about 11 or 12, he had dark skin and a shaven head, only revealing dark stubble on his head. His eyes were dark brown, almost black and it reminded Amelia of dark chocolate, she loved dark chocolate. The boy noticing her staring, gave a shy smile, not showing his teeth.

“Hi there.” Amelia says softly, she knew there was something wrong, by simply looking in those eyes. The boy looked alarmed and immediately stepped back, taking the girl with her.

Erin smiles brightly, “Don’t mind Omar, he’s incredibly shy. That’s Lucy at the front…and-” Erin was interrupted, by a deep voice.

“I’m Zack.” the deep, masculine voice says, standing at the top of the stairs, Amelia looked at him and came to the conclusion that he was very good looking, tall and strong looking, with dark brown hair that flicked in his dark blue eyes, in a stylish way, a pair of biker jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt, with a black cross dangling from his neck, the whole vibe screamed ‘bad’. Amelia could just see the tattoo that decorated his wrist, it was a arch of stars, there were five stars in total. Although he looked anti-social and unapproachable, he gave a fairly warm smile.

“Nice to meet you, Amelia.” he greets, nodding and Amelia copied it. She took in the three individuals, she realized, that one was missing.

“Zack, where’s Peter?” Erin asks, but didn’t sound worried. As if by cue, Zack’s legs were pushed apart, and a tiny little boy was on his knees, his hands pushing Zack’s legs apart. Zack looked amused, and untangled the boy, picking him up and balancing him on his hip, like had done many times before.

“Peter, this is Amelia…she’s your new sister.” Zack says, hoisting Peter up. Pete looked about four, with dark brown hair that fell into his eyes, and brown eyes that were full of mischief. Amelia smiled as Peter crossed his eyes, then clapped in victory. Zack smiled at the little boy with pride, and Amelia instantly knew that Zack and Peter had a special connection. It was obvious, as how Peter clung to Zack’s neck.

“How old are you all?” Amelia asks curiously, wanting to know the exact ages. Erin grins, taking over the introductions.

“ Peter is 4, Lucy is 7, Omar is 10, and Zack is 17.” Erin says in order, smiling proudly at her brood. Chris walks in, juggling the bags and Lucy instantly goes to go and attempt to help.

“That’s the clan!” Erin says finally, and everyone broke apart, Omar followed Lucy, Zack and Peter came downstairs and Zack placed Peter on the couch, switching on the television to distract him. Zack offered to help set up Amelia’s room, which she was thankful for. Going up the stairs, Amelia was given a tour, each room reflected a personality. Lucy’s room was filled with girly things and glitter. Omar’s was filled with books and video games, also a drawing pad. Amelia noticed this.

Peter’s room was a typical baby’s room, with brightly coloured wall paper, toys scattered all over the floor, and a bed tucked in the corner, with Cars plastered on the quilt cover. Zack showed Amelia his room last, it was painted dark blue, but the large bay window let enough light in for it not to be suffocating and too dark. It had a large double bed, desk, laptop, music docking station and wardrobe, just your typical guys room. Amelia noticed a guitar sitting in the corner though.

“And this is yours…” Zack says, opening the door and revealing a teal coloured room, one wall was painted a dark teal colour, with white and teal bedding to match. The other walls were painted white but could easily be accessorized. A large wardrobe was opposite the double bed, with a bedside table on the right hand side and a desk on the wall under the window, which showed the back of the house. It was perfect for Amelia.

“Huh, they had paid attention to my file then.” Amelia says quietly, when she told Christopher and Erin that her favourite colour for a bedroom would be teal or aqua. They had got it down to a teal.

“Erin and Chris wanted the best for you.” Zack says, lifting the suitcase onto the bed for Amelia, saving her to struggle to do it later. Amelia dumped the rest of her things on the bed, and looked around the large, airy room.

“This is so much better than my old room.” Amelia says in awe, she wouldn’t mind living here for a while. Zack half smiles.

“You from south?” Zack asks, noticing her faint southern accent. Amelia smirks.

“Howdy y’all, my name’s Mia.” she mocks, using a strong southern accent, making Zack chuckle. He had been right.

“Can we call you Mia?” Zack asks, and Amelia nods. It was awkward between the same aged teens, both causing them to laugh to try and ease the tension.

“So how long have you been with the Lowe’s?” Mia asks, sitting on the end of her bed. Zack sat beside her, playing with his many leather wrist bands.

“Since I was ten.” Zack says quietly. Mia got the impression, he didn’t like talking about it. Mia understood that, she was the same.

“Guys! Lunch!” Erin shouts up suddenly, starling Mia, which made Zack chuckle at the girl’s jumpiness. Zack took in her appearance, she was pretty and would definitely cause attention at school. Her clothes were fairly normal, with a slight hippie touch with a southern twist to them. He hoped she would fit in at school, he didn’t want to have an outcast of a sister.

“Guys!” Erin calls again, which caused Mia and Zack to move this time. They made their way downstairs, where food was being laid out on the table by Lucy, Omar and Erin. Chris was sitting at the head of the table, trying to calm Peter down, who was almost bouncing up and down.

Mia and Zack took their seats beside each other, Mia facing Lucy who smiles confidently at her. It seemed this would be their chosen seats now.

“Dig in!” Erin announces, as she put the last plate of salad and bread on the table. The family all feasted, and chatted as if Amelia had been here since the beginning. They all politely asked questions, when her past was mentioned, Amelia barely said anything which Zack noticed and vowed to question later.

“I bet you can’t wait to see your new school.” Erin says, as she buttered a piece of bread for Peter.

“I’m nervous.” Amelia admits and Zack nodded, she should be nervous when she sees what East Side High was all about.

“Don’t be, Zack will look out for you.” Chris says, Zack rolled his eyes as if it bothered him, but he secretly knew he would. Without his help, Amelia would get eaten alive by them.

“Omar, are you okay sweetie?” Erin asks, noticing her son wasn’t eating yet. In fact, he was staring at Amelia rather strangely. Without notice, he suddenly pushed back his chair and ran out the room.

“Did I do something?” Amelia asks worriedly, as the family appeared unaffected by Omar’s disappearance.

“Omar is special!” Lucy announces happily, and Mia couldn’t help be confused. Chris quietened her and looked towards Erin to explain.

“Omar has autism, Mia. He has trouble with communication, he gets very shy and doesn’t know how to react around new people. Don’t take it to heart, dear.” Erin explains, love and warmth in her voice. She didn’t seem bothered by the young boys disability.

Zack smiles weakly at Erin. “He’s an amazing drawer.” Zack adds quietly, and Lucy suddenly claps.

“He can colour in the lines!” she says excitedly. Mia smiles at the little girl who seemed to be filled with high energy drink or something.

“I’ll go check on him.” Chris says, and leaves the table. Erin nods and continues her lunch, an awkward silence between them as the sounds of chinking forks and knifes bounced on the plates.

--

Later that night, Lucy, Omar and Peter were in bed. Erin and Chris were relaxing in the living room, whereas Zack was sitting outside, on the hammock which was tied between two of the trees in the garden. Mia could see him from out of her bedroom window.

She decided to go talk to him, slipping on some flip flops and grabbing an old sweatshirt, as it was cooler in the evenings. Drifting past her new parents, and into the kitchen, unlocking the door silently and stepping out onto the deck.

Zack was unaware of her presence, with his eyes closed and his ipod headphones in. A cigarette dangling from his fingers on his right hand. Mia, shuffled forward , the grass crunching underneath her feet. The neighbourhood was quiet now, compared to earlier. There was no laughter of children playing, or the constant sound of cars. It was quiet now, almost peaceful.

“Hey.” Mia says, tapping Zack’s shoulder to get his attention. Zack jumped, startled by the girl’s sudden appearance.

“Jesus, you scared me.” Zack says, pulling his earphones off and putting the white and orange stick between his lips.

“Smoking is bad for you.” Mia says, rather bluntly. Zack smirks slightly.

“Thanks Sherlock, didn’t know that.” he says, sarcasm dripping in his words. Mia rolls her eyes, crinkling her nose in distaste of the smoke that wafted in her direction. Zack noticed, and purposely exhaled away from her. He might want to enjoy the smoke, but didn’t want Mia to suffer.

“Can I sit?” Amelia asks quietly, without a word, Zack shifts to the opposite end of the hammock, making it swing, he settles down again and waves over to where he just sat.

“Take a seat.” he murmurs, flicking the ash onto the grass. Kicking off her shoes, Amelia hoisted herself up, and onto the fabricated swing, she noticed the many cigarette buds that were left lying around the specific area.

Amelia sat cross legged, rubbing knees nervously. She brought the jacket closer around her, zipping it half way up.

“So what is this? You’re secret hideout?” Mia teases gently, looking up and see the trees that covered the top of the hammock. Zack scoffs.

“Hardly, secret when it’s in the back yard.” Zack mumbles. Mia noticed he was now distant, compared to earlier and she didn’t understand why. Zack put the cancer stick to his lips, and inhaled deeply.
“Do Erin and Chris know about you smoking?” Amelia asks curiously, not that she would grass him in.

Zack exhaled. “Yep. It’s my money, my body, I can do what I want with it.” he recites, as if he said this many times.

“Explains the tattoo then.” Mia comments, realizing she had just said what was on her mind. Zack chuckles lightly.

“Actually, Erin likes my tattoo.” Zack says, smirking. Amelia looked up shocked.

“She likes it?” she repeats. Zack nods, inhaling again. “The reason why I got the tattoo anyways…” he adds. Amelia was too curious for her own good and wanted to question it. Zack, noticed the curiosity in her gray, innocent eyes.

“I have five stars on my wrist in an arch…” he says, turning his left wrist over, Amelia peered over to get a better view, despite the dark night. The fire lamp that was nearby gave enough light for Amelia to see. There were five stars in an arch way, trailing from his wrist, up his arm, blacked out stars, two big ones, one medium and two smaller ones. In size order.

“What’s the meaning?” Amelia asks quietly, it seemed rude to talk loud back here. The sense of serenity and peace surrounded them.

“It’s my family, Erin, Chris, Omar, Lucy, and Little Peter.” he says, pointing to the stars in order. With realization, Mia thought it was very sweet.

“That’s so cool” she says in awe, wanting to touch them.

“I try.” Zack teases, and finishes his cigarette, flicking it the floor.

“What if that set alight now? You could start a fire.” Amelia says, not wanting to think of what could happen. She had done it before, and it had happened.

“Sorry Miss. Tree Hugger, here…” he says mockingly. He reaches over to the table that was in reach, that had the fire lamp on. There was a glass of liquid which Amelia couldn’t identify. Zack picked it up and leaned back over to where he dropped he cigarette, almost tipping them over. Amelia immediately clutched to the sides panicking.

Zack poured the liquid, and put soaked the dying butt. “There.” he says satisfied, and Amelia rolls her eyes, but was pleased that at least there was no chance of a fire.

“Thanks.” Amelia murmurs, sighing softly and lying back looking up to the dark sky. She missed the stars back home, there were no stars here, just the blinking from night airplanes. She shudders at the thought of being on a plane at night.

“Hey Mia?” Zack says, grabbing her attention. Amelia looks at the boy, who was staring right at her.

“Hmm?” she says, tiredly.

“Tomorrow, at school. You can come hang with me and my friends, I don’t want you to be alone.” Zack says, although it sounded like a warning. Amelia was half confused and half touched.

“Um, thanks Zack.” she says, her brain telling her to go upstairs and sleep.

“Don’t thank me yet.” she hears him faintly say, before he mimicked her position, lying down comfortably, staring into the blank sky.

Amelia was confused, as why Zack would make a point of her staying with him, it made Amelia’s curiosity become more alert. She would just have to wait and see wouldn’t she?