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CHAPTER TWO

Parker

Okay, so maybe what I did was wrong, I had planned to do some things that if I repeated to an officer they wouldn't be happy. However I was interrupted in my scheme, a blessing in disguise. One with a strange sense of humour.

***

Some days at the track are the most exciting days I've ever experienced, others... my neck starts cramping up from trying to watch him fly by. I never race. I'm too unexperienced. Brandon, he's the racer in the family.

Although he is older, I am taller. Most of my classmates see me as one of two things; the brother of Brandon Emmett or 'the tall one.' Either way I'm not recognised as Parker.

My fellow classmates have no clue, I get tired of talking about Brandon all the time, resulting in a conversation with a classmate to which I told him my name was Peter Parker. He of course was a stone-head and believed me. Now all of the dazed students call me Pete, creating a new phase in my life I like to call 'get bitten by a spider.'

This however was challenging, considering every time I'm sitting near a spider I literally commando-crawl away, or if I'm standing... simply run away. I'm not exactly what one would consider a 'manly man'.

Not only is being called Pete a constant reminder that you're unknown but that I don't really talk to that many people that want to know me.

"Parker," my mum yells across the table of five.

"Yeah," I try to make eye contact moving left and right to get an angle. Her head pops up above Melanie.

"Did you get it?" I see her mouth move more than hear.

"Get what?" I lean far out to my left as does she. The commotion on the dinner table was too loud.

"The package from Dad." I shake my head making a confused face. "It had the new parts." I still have no idea what she is going on about. "For the engine."

I stand up from the dinner table and move over to her, passing my sisters. "What parts? Dad didn't mention anything." The budget was tight enough.

"He called and asked if they got through, I guess they didn't." I'm crouching beside her chair in an awkward position.

"I'll keep an eye out for it," I say with a smile. Thinking about what it could be I'm suddenly interrupted in my thoughts.

"Mum!" Emily squeals, "Grace is totally lying about John."

"I'm not lying I swear, I saw him talking to Katherine!" Grace says as I get up from my crouching position and move back to my chair further away from the hysterical Emily. John must be the boyfriend she never stops talking about.

"He said he would never do that. You are so lying to annoy me." Trying to remember what John is like from all the times Emily's come home in tears, I don't find this too hard to believe. He's always described as an idiot but all of my sisters.

"It's true,"

"Shut up Grace," Piper jumps to defend Emily. "John wouldn't do that."

"Thank you Piper," Emily seems pleased she had won, looking at Grace with a snare as if saying 'ha, in your face'.

"Yeah," Piper turns from Grace to Emily, "he wasn't talking to Katherine, he was totally flirting with Sarah," Piper smirks. I have to admit, considering my own social life is boring, this is pretty interesting to watch.

"Shut up Piper, you don't know what you're talking about!"

Melanie and I are the only two that aren't contributing to the family dinner table drama. This is when I would normally pull out my phone and prepare myself for the next 20 minutes of rage from Emily, Grace and now Piper.

"But I saw-" Piper was cut off.

"Girls' enough," Mums voice bursts out above the others. Piper and Grace laughing to themselves, I wouldn't be surprised if they were high-fiving under the seats, adjacent from each other. Emily just sat at the table with her arms crossed, she didn't touch her dinner after that.

The house normally isn't as girl filled but considering Dad and Brandon went off to the tournament, I was the only man in the house. Just me... surrounded by my mother and four sisters.

Melanie is the eldest, older than Brandon. She graduated four years ago but helps out with the business. I guess she stays here because the house is big enough for it. Me? I could never. Emily and Grace, the twins, the trouble makers always arguing over something, most of it sparks from jealousy. Mum and Dad always bought two of the same thing in different colours so they knew whose was whose. And Piper, the youngest, it's always the small ones that appear innocent but are secretly evil.

I fall in-between my brother and the twins. Year 12, my last year before I'm free. No doubt I probably won't have the money to pay rent anywhere else so I'll most likely 'be free' here in the comfort of my family home. Surrounded by the girls. I don't know if I could handle the twins during their graduating year. Please God, let the rent prices drop between now and next September. Miraculously Em and Grace will learn to stop bickering. Maybe my parents will buy me a house for Christmas this year.