Rainstorm Kisses part 1

The rain continued to slam down upon the deck just outside of the kitchen windows. The drops of water were pounding down, harder and harder every second. Within minutes, the water turned to hail and there were thousands of little click-clack-tap-tap sounds. Her eyes were fixed on the window itself. Through it she could see the flashes of lighting, the hail and water striking the wood. It surprised her that there weren't holes in it. It looked as if the water drops could pierce someone’s skin or at least leave a welt, but all the same, she adored it. It was the way the rain felt when it hit her skin, the way it could go from a drizzle to a downpour in mere moments, and it was the way it made her think. As the rain continued to flood from the skies, Michelle sat at the kitchen table, her round elbows resting against the smooth, polished surface. She appeared dreamy with her head in her hands and her green eyes motionless, unless it was to track down another flash in the sky. Words were unnecessary in a time like this, all she needed was her own space and the rain, and on this day, she had plenty of both. 1

Michelle sat in front of the stereo, fiddling with the dials and buttons. She had gathered her light brown hair and placed it over one shoulder. Electronics really weren’t her cup of tea and on this particular morning she was encountering a lot of it.

“Stupid freaking stereo! How old are you anyway? Like, seventy years or something? Ugh!” Michelle crossed her eyes at the machine, sticking her tongue out like a 6-year-old. After a few moments of random button pushing and a few whispered curse words, the 15-year-old high school freshman jumped into the air in triumph.2

“Yesss!” She made an arm pumping motion followed by a popular model pose. “ I have defeated the ancient stereo of doom! Rahhh! And the crowds went wild for Chelle, the one and only Stereo Tamer.”
After a quick bow, the girl let herself fall onto the couch, laughing. The music began slow and finally broke out into a catchy chorus. Michelle followed the words with precision, like she always seemed to do with music. It was one of the only things she could remember this well. Both of her parents wished their daughter could remember things in school with that great of precision. The other thing Michelle had a knack for remembering was phone numbers. Halfway through the song, she turned down the music and picked up the white, cordless telephone. Her fingers had memorized the buttons and she quickly dialed without a second glance. 3

“Gabs! What’s up?” 4

“Oh, Michelle…” the voice on the phone groaned.5

“ It’s not THAT early, Gabby! I waited until 8. In fact, it’s 8:03. No no, wait…hold it…8:04. Pleeeease don’t hang up on me.” Boy, did she know how to plead. 6

“Alright, alright. At least let me wake up a little here, mkay?” This time, the voice yawned. 7

“Okay so. I’ve got the plans for today. First, mall. We can hit a few stores, check things out for the dance…you know, dress, shoes, the works. Then, we can get some lunch and I’ll have Brody give us a ride back to my house where we can do some online shopping. Just in case.”8

“ Umm…yeah, Chelle. Sounds great, but I have to ask mom first. She’s been a little tough on me lately with the whole D minus in Biology thing.” Gabby sighed, switching the phone to her other ear. Michelle was one of her best friends and she didn’t want to disappoint her, but at the same time, she didn’t want her mom on her case either. 9

“Oh, alright. Call me back, ‘k? If Brody answers and won’t get his lazy self out of bed, just call back.” At this, Michelle laughed. Her older brother was often the cause of phone calls not being received on time, if at all. 10

"Sure thing, Chelle Bell. Give me an hour or so, I want to get some of that food I smell downstairs. Mm, pancakes I think. Later!" Click.

"Oh what a bottomless pit, that Gabriel. Maybe I should get some food too…hmm." After a few moments of sitting in almost utter silence, the girl got antsy. "Well, I certainly can’t sit here for an hour. I should…do something." 11

"Don’t even think about cooking."
A 5’10" male stood in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen where Michelle had been heading. The shaggy brown hair of that male was sticking off in all kinds of odd directions and his baggy shirt and swim trunks looked like they had been pulled out of the hamper rather than the laundry room. 12

"Mom said you can’t cook anymore. Especially not after that horrible taco stuff you made. Burnt cheese. How did you manage that one, sis? You're not supposed to cook that part." Michelle glared at her brother Brody, age 17, nearly 18. A senior at the same school as Michelle and often the heartthrob of her fellow freshmen. 13

"Oh grow up, why don’t you! I was 14 then. That was like, a whole 5 months ago. Besides, I need my nourishment. You’re taking Gabs and me to the mall today." She stated this in a matter of fact tone that caused her brother to tilt his head in curiosity. He leaned away from the doorframe so that she could pass and followed her into the kitchen.14

"And why is that, sister of mine? You’re not planning on going to that pathetic underclassmen dance are you?" Brody smirked, thinking he was funny. What he didn’t know was that Michelle was the head of the freshmen portion of the dance. He found out soon enough. 15

"OUCH, Chelle! Geeze. I’m sorry, alright? I’ll give you and Gabby a ride, free of charge just to make it up to you. Okay! Because you’re my sister. Geesh, tough crowd this morning." The boy shook his wild looking hair out of his eyes and walked zombie like back towards his bedroom. 16

Michelle calmly flattened out her hair and glanced at her nails, making sure she didn’t get any of Brody’s skin stuck under them from the pinch he very much had deserved. After satisfying herself with a thorough search, the teen grabbed an apple and sat in front of the stereo, trying to figure out how to turn it off. It took her a good five minutes and plenty of buttom pushing to realize the little green light that obviously meant power. The stereo clicked off and she headed for the T.v., which was already on, lucky for her. Munching on her apple, Michelle watched the program with her head tilted slightly and awaited Gabby’s phone call.
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