OK bear with me. It's a little long but it's much needed I assure you dear reader. Please tell me if I should stop wasting my time with this. And plus I hope this doesn't confuse anyone.
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Previously:
All of a sudden the ground falls beneath me and I'm being held by the men. Everyone's holding either an arm or a leg or my neck. If I just relax then I wouldn't fall only if they let go; they're holding me securely. Mind you, that doesn't stop me from thrashing around and trying to get away and shrieking.
They're all holding me. One takes my neck and another one put something over my mouth and nose. I realize instantly what it is and hold my breath. It's a type of tranquilizer that will make you pass out for a period of time when you inhale. As I keep thrashing and moving my limbs trying to get away, I lift my neck upwards and see CJ pulling on his ropes with a look of panic on his face.
I can't inhale. I need to not inhale. I don't know what to do.
I look at him to tell me what to do "eeeeeaaaaaaay" comes out my muffled cry. I can't breathe.
"Just take a deep breath. It's okay." One of the men starts telling me with a soothing voice.
I twist my head again to look at CJ, and I'm starting to black out.
"Baby, breathe. Please. It's okay. It's gonna be okay. I promise."
I hold my breath a little while longer, but then I realize they are ready to stand like this for ages.
Giving up the battle I take a deep breath.
Then everything is black.
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Part 2
TEN YEARS AGO…
I’m staring at the pot with complete concentration. This is a very delicate procedure, everything has to be precise or else it won’t taste perfect. That’s what my mom used to say whenever she cooked it. I tip my hand to keep on pouring the sauce and trying to even it out when I hear movement behind me. I stop moving and wait until they’re silent. I wait a few minutes with my hands holding the pot in front of the dish.
Oh god is this pot heavy; my hands are starting to cramp. I lift my head to glare at them. Unfortunately they don’t notice the look and keep on laughing and doing whatever they’re doing. I try to ignore them and keep pouring the sauce little by little, I cannot screw this up. This is my cooking debut; it can’t taste anything but perfect.
“How long til’ we eat dinner?” CJ asks me as he comes to my side, completely surprising me and making me spill some sauce all over the pasta and the counter top.
“CJ! Look what you made me do. Now it’s completely ruined!” I pour the little remaining sauce on the pasta with a pout and go to put the pot in the sink to clean later.
“Ruined? Looks fine to me… although on second thought, are you sure it’s cooked right? I don’t want to get food poisoning.” CJ looks at the pasta with feigned concentration that makes me want to smack him upside the head. On the other side of the table, Sam gives a type of snort and I give him a glare that silences him and turning to Jay as if he’s in a deep debate with him.
“Of course it’s cooked. What are you talking about?” I reply as I get the plates with the cutlery.
To be honest, I’m a little nervous about this. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s cooked. I just hope they like my mom’s recipe.
I start to put some pasta on a plate and give it to Will, who’s been waiting impatiently since I started cooking this. He looks at it as if it’s a snake that’s about to jump and bite him.
“Don’t worry, Will. It’s good.” He takes an experimental bite, and seems to like it.
By now I’ve finished putting pasta on all plates and waiting for Jon to come. I go into the living room and see him in the corner talking on his cell phone. I give him a wave and mouth to him that dinner’s ready. He gives me a nod and says something brief and closes the phone and follows me into the kitchen.
Everyone is eating except CJ, who’s still looking at it with raised eyebrows.
“Are you going to eat it or not?” I ask him annoyed. This is ridiculous; I can’t believe he thinks I can’t cook. I’m not his mother or anything.
“I’ll take it!” yells Will with a look of expectance with a huge grin on his face. Well it seems like my debut was a success, although I’m not sure if it’s cooked like my mom did, I still didn’t sit down to eat it yet.
“Hold your horses, little man. I’ll eat it. I’m just… preparing myself.” replies CJ weekly.
I stand over him, waiting until he takes his first bite. I’ve gotten good results from four of the judges, but the most important one to me still hasn’t even picked up his fork.
He picks up the fork after he felt me stare at him and wrapped a piece of pasta around the fork and has poised the fork in front of his mouth. He hesitates and looks at the fork as if he’s asking the pasta permission for him to eat it.
“Come on already, how long are you going to make her wait? The girl’s hungry.” says Jay tired of CJ’s actions.
“Don’t rush me. I can’t deal with this kind of pressure.” CJ puts the fork down and I lift my head up and pray for patience from whoever is even listening to me.
“It needs a kind of routine for me to eat something like this. So don’t pressure me and make me mess up my technique.” he picks up the fork again and looks at it the same way he did.
Oh for the love of all that is holy. Will he just eat the damn thing?! I’m hungry and I want to taste my pasta!
Finally he eats it and I try to translate his expression into something that might make sense. But as usual I can’t see anything if his face doesn’t have an expression, which he does to me all the time.
“It’s pretty good…” says CJ while looking at me, and seeing how I feel about what he said.
I open my mouth to say, 'And?' when Jon beats me to it.
“Actually, it tastes amazing to be honest,” he doesn't look like he's lying.
I go and sit next to him and take a bite of the pasta. It's OK I guess. It's not like my mother's. I suppose that's because I didn't pour the sauce like she told me.
But all in all, I succeeded. That's all that really matters.
Next time I'll do it right. No one will be in the kitchen. That's what I'll do.
I should probably introduce you to everybody. To stop your head from trying to find out who everybody is.
We'll start from the eldest Kent son I suppose. First off is Jonathan Samuel Kent. I think you get the reason why they named him that.
He is twenty-one years old, and a senior in MetU where he's majoring in English Literature and is striving to become a Playwright. He's really talented if you ask me. As with all the Kent Boys he's six-foot four with black hair and green eyes. (Which is quite strange to be honest, but CJ told me that Mr. Kent's biological mother had green eyes.) And is stubborn as hell, I still don't know who he got it from; both his parents can be really stubborn. But he is a true gentleman, he's caring and considerate and completely charming. Whoever gets him is a very lucky girl.
Next up on the list is James Zachary Kent A.K.A Jay. (One day me and CJ got tired of calling him Jimmy with his uncle Jimmy in the room and both of them getting confused, so we decided to just start calling him "Jay" and I guess the name stuck)
Jay is twenty years old, and is also in MetU where he is majoring in Journalism. He is six-foot three with dark brown hair with the deepest eyes I've ever seen. Jay always gave the impression that he sees more than what you show. He has a knack for finding trouble and has a sharp tongue that has gotten him out of trouble so much that they just got tired of waiting for him to get to the point, and told him to save his breath and to just get ready for bed. He's a blast.
Third on the list is Clark Jonathon Kent Jr. (Jon told me that when CJ was born Nana Kent said that he looked exactly like Mr. Kent when he was a baby, and insisted that he be named after him. No one could ever refuse Nana Kent. I wouldn't even think about doing it.)
Anyway, CJ is the most appropriate name for him, in my opinion. He is exactly like Mr. Kent with everything; with his looks and his personality and mannerisms and everything. He truly is Clark Kent Junior. He is seven-teen years old and is my best friend. He is six-foot five. He doesn't know what he wants to do in the future. (That's what he tells everybody, but I know that he wants to be an architect-he told me. He used to always play with the blocks when we were little, and he made his first house with windows from Popsicle sticks when he was nine. And he fell in love with it ever since.)
Oh dear, when I start talking about CJ I'll never stop. CJ is the kind of guy that would just sit back and let you take the lead because he let you take it. Basically if he wanted something, he'd take it. If not, why bother?
He's also very smart. He's supposed to be a junior in high-school but it's actually his last semester, and he's leaving for college next year. He's really funny when he wants to be, and is unsurprisingly the most wanted man in school because he's not only really smart, but he's also in the basketball team. So I'm not really surprised that all the girls in our school have a crush on him.
Numero Quattro is Samuel Perry Kent (Mrs. Kent told me that when she was pregnant with him, Mr. White and Grandpa Lane would always worry about her and yell at her for moving around the house. Apparently something happened in her early pregnancy that she was ordered bed rest for two months, and that they would always call or check up on her. So in gratitude she named him after them.)
Sammy…. is Sammy. He's amazing. He's six-teen, like me. He never thinks of the future, always living in the moment. He's truly a free spirit. He has light brown hair and brown eyes that sparkle. With the greatest smile that promises mischief. He is six-foot three. He constantly teases me, although everybody teases me all the time, Sam and CJ together are the worst. Like Jay he inherited the babbling from his mother. And honest to god, I'm constantly amazed when I witness it.
Last but not least, is William Lucas Kent (When Mrs. Kent was pregnant with him, she used to constantly watch Will Smith movies, and as a joke I suggested naming him Will when they couldn't decide on a name, and apparently they liked it and decided to name him Will.)
Willie is an angel, he's very attached to me and I'm equally attached to him. I taught him lots of things, couple of them was how to brush his teeth or tie his shoelaces, although he still has trouble with that, and I tell him to keep doing it, and that no one was expected to learn that at this age and that we're all so proud of the fact that he did.
I'm the one he goes to when he wants something basically. So when I told him I'm going to cook dinner, he got very excited of the fact that a microwave would not be used. That I was actually going to cook just the way Nana Kent does made him very happy and expected a lot, which put me on so much pressure.
Will is six years old and the sweetest child I've been with. He's well behaved and loves to draw and is an amazing listener. And at this point in his life, I think he inherited the babbling gene. And I expect that he will achieve greatness, whether as a doctor or whatever he wants. He'll shine like a star.
I stand up and start to clear the table when Jon and Jay start helping me. Sam takes a tissue and starts cleaning some of the mess that Will has made on the table and throws it into the trash.
CJ leans back on his chair stares at my empty plate that still hasn't been picked up. He's lost in thought and has gone far away. I wonder what he's thinking about…?
I pick up the plate and he comes to. I give him a look and he smiles at me as he gets up and takes the plates from my hands.
He kisses me on my cheek and thanks me for dinner and puts the plates in the washing machine. The others kiss me either on my forehead, cheek or temple.
The others leave and I follow them to the living room where Jay has a phone to his ear and is smiling at something as he talks in hushed tones.
Jon's helping Will with his coat and is saying that he was going for a walk with him. Sam is sitting on a comfortable armchair -where I've slept more than I can count- that's sitting next to the couch where CJ is sitting and looking for a movie.
I walk over and sit at the end of the sofa and stretch my legs on the sofa, where my leg lands on CJ's lap.
Maybe I should introduce myself. My name is Nicole Bennit.
And this is my story.
tbc...
