The Backyard Club

Chapter 1
               It was a sunny day when Britta awoke. She could hear birds chirping through the open window like they always had. She flung her lilac colored sheets off of herself and rushed to the window to get a breath of fresh air. She smiled, wondering what wonderful idea would come to her mind today.

               For the past couple of weeks, she and Kirsten had been meeting up at their shared backyard to share ideas, play games, and just have a good time. She wondered briefly if she could get the other neighborhood kids interested, but brushed the idea aside as her stomach grumbled. Britta quickly got dressed and clambered down the stairs. She was already happily munching on buttered toast when her mom dragged herself into the kitchen to make coffee.

               Britta had already been talked to by her parents as to why mom was significantly older than dad, but Britta being Britta was ok with it. Her older brother Winston had already had “the talk” as he put it, and he said that he wanted to date someone younger than himself to “balance it out.” Winston had always been kind of strange.

               Britta’s mom was the elegant type. Even in the morning before her coffee, her sleek brown hair stayed perfectly straight. She always had a kind of pouty look on her face that Britta had begun to get used to. Britta really loved her mom, despite the fact that she was very much unlike Kirsten’s mom. Kirsten’s mom was the type who always had cookies baking in the oven and a smile on her face. Vanessa’s mom was the type who was grouchy until she had her coffee, much like she was right now.

               “Morning, mom,” Britta chirped, just finishing off her toast, licking her fingers to get the extra butter that was undoubtedly on her hands. Britta had always loved salty things.

               Her mother’s response was a tired, “muehhhh,” and Britta smiled. Her mom was the best.

               Since it was a Saturday, Britta’s dad had work off today. He sauntered into the room, already dressed, whistling a tune that sounded fairly familiar to the hit pop tune “Gitchee Gitchee Goo.”

               “Morning, everyone,” He said with a yawn as he sat down at the table. Like usual, mom had brewed two cups of coffee, one for her, one for him. She sauntered over, gave dad a kiss on the cheek, and put his cup on the table. He took a fond sip of the coffee while gazing at Britta’s mom.

Britta groaned inwardly and put her dish in the sink, finishing off her glass of orange juice while doing so. She quickly walked outside before her mom and dad could get too mushy. Britta guessed that it’s great that they’re still lovey-dovey even after all these years, but she was not into all the mushy-gushy-lovey-dovey stuff. She just thought it was kind of gross.

               Suddenly, something human-shaped rammed into Britta, causing her to fall to the ground. She groaned and exclaimed, “JOHNNY!” The little green-haired boy stopped in his tracks and walked over to Britta meekly.

               “Sorry for ramming into you, sis,” he apologized, and Britta quickly subdued.

               “It’s alright, buddy. Just watch where you’re running next time,” Britta said. Johnny was going to say something before Britta cut in again. “Hey, why are you running around all over the place like that?”

               “Oh, well, me and Henry-“Johnny began

               “Henry and I,” Britta interjected. Johnny was not one for grammar yet.

               Johnny sighed. “Henry and I were playing a game of hide-and-go-seek,” He explained.

               Britta’s eyebrows furrowed. “Then why were you running? And why is Henry here so early in the morning?” She interrogated Johnny.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">               “Don’t you remember? Henry’s here for a sleepover, and he’s a really fast counter, so I had to find the perfect hiding place before he finished counting,” he quickly answered Britta’s questions before looking over his shoulder and running off. Johnny had gotten used to Britta’s interrogations, and, to be certain, she thought he liked answering questions.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">               Suddenly, she heard a loud exclamation.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">               “ONE-HUNDRED, READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!!!!!” The typical Indian dialect of the Rai’s boy rang out through the Flynn-Fletcher’s backyard as Henry suddenly rushed past Britta. Britta wondered briefly why this game of hide-and-go-seek required so much running, but brushed it off as an energy outlet for young boys.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">               Britta walked over to the Flynn’s porch, humming as she did so. Britta saw Kirsten through her kitchen window. She was washing dishes, off in her own world as usual. Britta looked around her. The maple trees were now beginning to turn a deep green color that made Britta feel alive. The air practically smelled like summer. Britta saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned to see Kirsten wave at her, point at a dirty plate she was holding up, and shrug. Britta shrugged back, and turned back around to go to her house. Now was when she wished she had more friends.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">               After crossing the backyard her family and the Flynn family shared, she opened the screen door, in a darker mood than when she had woken up. Kirsten was ridden with chores, Johnny would surely be playing with Henry for the next hour, and her parents were talking about…parent stuff. They stopped talking as they noticed Britta shuffle in.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">               “Is Kirsten ridden with chores again, darling?” Britta’s mom asked her, sitting up in her chair. She was now dressed in a black t-shirt and denim shorts. Her wedding ring sparkled in the sunlight.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">               Britta sighed and replied, “yup.”

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">               Her mother tusked while pulling Britta closer. “Well, darling, there’s always Winston…”

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">               Britta’s mood darkened. “yup,” she replied again, pulling away from her mom. She trudged off in the direction of her room. She could hear her parents start talking again as she left.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">               Sure, it was cool to have a national genius as her brother, but Winston wasn’t really social. He was always in his room, pondering over something, and whenever Britta wanted to talk to him, he would either ignore her or tell her to go away. She paused in front of Winston’s room, wondering if she should even go in. She shook her head and continued down the wallpapered hallway, passing Johnny’s room before seeing her own. She gazed solemnly at the painted white door with a sign on it. The sign read, “Britta’s room.” It was in totally girly font, colored lilac. In fact, her mom and dad were expecting a total girly-girl when they decorated her room. When you live with two brothers, however, it changes you.

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Britta opened her door and stepped inside, smelling the fresh air. She flopped down on her unmade bed and sighed. It would seem to other people that she was really social and popular, but in reality, she only had one friend outside of her family, Kirsten. However, even she wasn’t out of her family, as she was her step-cousin. So technically, Britta had no friends outside of her family, and that was what saddened her. She rolled over, catching a whiff of her lavender-scented sheets. If only she could have a chance to make a new friend, then she would be happier.