The bad girl and the dork

Jill - many many years later

"Oh my God, look at her. She's studying... Do you think we need to go to the doctor?" I asked, genuinly concerned about the little girl hunched over her books at the poor age of eleven.

When I was eleven, I didn't even know what studying was. I had fun instead. Hung out with my friends, had my first joint, kissed for the first time. Hmm, maybe it's a good thing she's not doing that.

Or she's tricking us. That must be it! She wants us to believe she's a little angel but secretly she has an interesting double life. That would be more Jill-like.

"Jill, studying at a young age doesn't mean something's wrong with you," Chase said while rolling his eyes at my exaggerated statement.

"I get it now! This is your fault," I gasped. "These are definitely your genes. Your genes ruined our kid!" I slapped Chase's arm.

Chase shoved me lightly as a reply. His lips curled into a smile.

"I'm pretty sure the other one has more of Code's genes..." Chase told me.

I shuddered visibly. I definitely decided to reproduce with the wrong family. Although Elliott was still very young, he was a weird kid.

Very entertaining at times but when Chase and I saw Code interact with him, we shared a knowing look followed by masked panic. They got along on a level that no other human on this earth could possibly understand.

"You know I can hear you guys, right?" Ava said without diverting her eyes from her books. I did sense some sass in that statement. What she actually meant: shut the fuck up.

"I'm sorry, Bucket, your mom was talking nonsense again," Chase said with a grin.

We called Ava Bucket. Why, you ask? Because I wanted to call her Fuckbucket but Chase wouldn't allow me to do so. I get it now but my hormones figured it was such a lovely name because I love that word. And I loved my kid. See, logical!

One night, when Ava was a few months old, it was Chase's turn to look what our crying Gremlin needed, I thought I heard Chase say bucket through the baby monitor.

He denied it.

He still denies it.

But the name stuck. We try not to call her Bucket outside of the house because people would definitely give us weird stares. I don't mind, but I get a little momma bear when they do it to my children.

We have to at least pretend we're a normal family to the outside world.

"Maybe she needs to go see a doctor then," Ava retorted.

"Aww a grumpy answer, I knew my genes were in there somewhere," I went over to her and hugged her head. She clawed at my arms in order to release her so I obliged.

"And I'm not studying, I'm doing my homework because uncle Code is coming over," she continued to explain.

"Code is coming over? How do you know?" Chase asked. 

"He texted me," Ava answered. Can you believe kids get phones when they're eleven? It shocked me and then I felt old so I caved in. That way it would seem as if I was the cool, modern mom. When I talked to the other parents in Ava's class, I realised they all shared the same opinion.

"He texted you?" I asked incredulously. Code doesn't like to text. Never has, never will. Good thing he made an exception for his goddaughter.

"Can you guys stop repeating everything I'm saying?" Ava sighed.

"Can you guys stop repeating everything I'm saying?" Elliott echoed. I high fived him.

"What are you and Code doing?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know, he said he found an old video game and he wants to play together. Apparently Brent doesn't like the game," Ava shrugged.

The strangest thing about Brent is the fact that he's completely normal. Having two very weird parents cancels it out.

"Chase, I know what kind of games Code used to play. Do you think it's safe?" I whispered.

"Oh please, you know it's probably gonna be a game intended for little girls," Chase said, not worrying at all. Did he forget about all the violent games Code also played?

I went to the kitchen and gestured towards Chase to follow me so we could talk without nosy kids listening in.

"You know, if Code is gonna entertain our kids... we could have some alone time," I said while wriggling my eyebrows.

Chase pressed his body against mine and looked me in the eyes.

"Hmm... you know what that means. We can eat a bunch of chocolate without having to share!" he grinned.

"I love it when you talk dirty to me," I replied after a kiss.

"Moooom!"

Annnd the moment was ruined.

I went back to the living room as slowly as I could but it was one big open space so it didn't really take me that long. Elliott had already spotted me and ran towards me.

"Look, I found a turtle," he said with the biggest smile ever. 

"That's a rock," I told him and had to surpress a smile. 

"No, it's a turtle and I'm calling him Georges," the little guy said firmly. "Georges with an s."

"Why the s?" 

He shrugged as a reply.

Sure, apparently the rock identified as a turtle. Why the hell not. It wasn't the weirdest thing Elliott had ever said to me. And it wouldn't be the last.

"Okay it's a turtle. He needs a bath, though. And wash your hands too while you're bathing Georges," I told him and gave him a little push in the right direction otherwise he'd get distracted.

"Honey, I'm home! Wait, I'm not home," Code exclaimed when he walked through the door.

I groaned audibly. Great. Georges was never gonna get cleaned this way.

The kids ran up to him and hugged him, making Code's clothes dirty. Not that he'd notice. 

"Sure, Ava still hugs other people but not her parents," Chase whispered. Our oldest kid was getting into the wonderful yet horrible phase of puberty which meant hugging your parents wasn't cool anymore. Chase was dealing with it just fine.

Not jealous at all.

"I could hug you?" I asked.

Chase remained grumpy.

"Not the same," I heard him mutter.

Fine, be a grumpy old father then. 

"This is Georges!" Elliott told Code.

"Whoa, what a cool ro-"

"It's a turtle," I interrupted him.

"What a cool turtle!" Code said. "Wanna meet Franciscus the second? Hang on," he uttered, went to the pocket of his jacket and suddenly a little twig appeared.

Of course.

This was normal.

Elliott and Code got into an interesting conversation about their ... I don't even know what to call it. 

Ava looked at them with the same expression as Chase and I.

"Sometimes I wonder whether I'm the different one," she pondered.

"I can relate," Chase laughed.

"And no, it's definitely them," I added. "I mean, just look at them. It's ..."

"It is," Ava chimed in. "I need a cookie," she sighed.

After a few confusing minutes, the conversation ended and Code's attention went to Ava.

"I brought the most amazing game! Be prepared for old-school awesomeness!" Code showed Ava the game, she read it, turned it around and seemed to be mulling it over for a second.

"Powerpuff girls?" she asked.

"You didn't?!" I gasped. I had bought this for Codes birthday when he was sixteen years old and we liked to play it on a Sunday morning when we were both hungover.

"That's so cool!" I added.

"Jill, how can you still be so surprised by my amazement?" Code uttered while plugging in the old gaming console he also brought.

"When your amazement only happens every once in ten years, I get to be amazed," I deadpanned.

"This game is for five year olds? Pass," Ava said.

"I'll play!" I suggested. For Code of course. He was looking forward to the game, I couldn't disappoint him in any way.

A few seconds later, Code and I were sitting on the floor and damn, deja vu was flooding my system. The many times we had done this in the past was indescribable. 

I noticed Ava was saying something to Chase but I didn't quite catch what it was.

"Just you and me, we're the normal ones," Chase replied while patting her shoulder. 

I guess I'd reached Code's level for a moment. 

"You know, it's not the same if we're not hungover or h-"

"Younger! You mean it's weird playing it being this old," I tried to save the rest of Code's sentence.

"Younger, really? The least you could do was pick something that starts with an H. Like helicopter," Code teased while nudging me. His eyes glued onto the screen.

"Yes, you're right. It's not the same if we're not hungover or helicopter," I stated calmly.

Ava giggled and a few minutes later, both the kids sat on the floor next to us, waiting for us to tap out so they could play.

"Code, let them play!" I groaned after half an hour.

"I don't wanna," he moaned. "Ugh, fine," he gave Ava the controller and shot her a wink.

"Thirsty?" Chase asked his brother while we got up to sit somewhere more comfortable.

"Beer me up!"

"You, Jill? Wait, don't answer. You were gonna repeat Code," he shook his head and went to grab us drinks.

"We went to see Brent's teacher the other day," Code told us, his expression unreadable.

"And?" Chase asked when he didn't seem to continue.

"It's bad. The teacher said he was doing well. He has good grades, pays attention, doesn't disturb the other kids. She said Brent is, and I quote, one of his best students. How? How is that even possible?" Code ranted. Code was known as a class clown and his legacy will always remain. I want to believe people still talk about him at our old high school.

There were just so many occassions where we pulled pranks at school and lots of times they knew it was Code but they didn't have evidence so they couldn't always punish him.

"Damn," I grabbed Code's hand dramatically, "are you sure you're the real father?"

"I mean, he  does look like me..."

"I get it though, today, Ava was doing her homework!" I chimed in.

"Ava can hear you!" she yelled.

"See! She can even concentrate on a game and our conversation at the same time!" I told Code. 

"You guys are unbelievable," Chase muttered. "I was like that as a child!"

"As if our parents didn't worry about you," Code scoffed.

"Actually, they worried about you," Chase shot back.

"Hmm, maybe they just need a Jake, Snake and Gwen of their age," Code pondered.

"No! Ava does not need a little Jake in her life!" Chase chimed in.

"Ooh, I get what you're saying!" I said, ignoring Chase, "puberty can still mess them up!"

"Of course," Chase sighed, burrying his face in his hands.

I decided to change the subject before Chase would dive into the snack drawer and never return to humanity again.

"Now that you're here, I think we should brainstorm," I told Code.

"Brainstorm! Yes! Do you have a subject or can I think whatever I want?" Code asked enthusiastically.

"About Jake's birthday gift ..." I added.

"Is uncle Jake coming?" Elliott asked.

"This is easy. We can just give him Elliott?" Code suggested.

Tempting offer for sure but I decided to keep Elliott. Especially since Chase had this look that said 'don't even think about it'.

The partypooper.

"We should get him a bagpipe!" Code uttered.

"Why?" I asked, even though that was a hard no.

"I don't know, it's such an underrated instrument," he shrugged.

Code and I brainstormed for another good hour before he decided to leave.

We were gonna surprise Jake the day before his birthday because on the day itself he'd be busy. It was nice having the entire gang together again. We still had our annual road trip and we tried to see each other on the birthdays so that was nice.

Usually without the kids so we could drink and remember the good old days. Because we were old farts now. Although, those moments we were together, I always felt like a teenager again.

Maybe that's the reason why we were clinging onto those moments so hard. Eternal youth for a few hours. That, and leaving the kids with our parents so they could freak out. There are few things I love more.

A few days later, it was finally time to meet up for Jake's birthday. We'd bought him a new helmet - lame, I know. But we also made him a poem. It rhymed. Things like that are priceless.

I was the last one to arrive at his place. The rest was already there. They didn't even want to carpool with me because that meant they had to wait to long. Whatever, I had other qualities. Time management just wasn't one of them.

I usually blamed Elliott for my tardiness.

"Happy birthday, fucker!" I yelled as I gave Jake a big kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks. Turning older each year really brings me joy," he faked a smile.

"Don't smile too much, you'll get wrinkles," I patted him on the back.

"Jill, long time!" Code greeted me.

"Yeah, what has it been? A decade?" I joked along.

I gave all of my friends a hug and went to sit down near the booze. Not that I could drink a lot, I drove here. Boo.

In emergencies, I could always call for someone to pick me up. Chase was already mentally prepared for that.

"So, Snake, what did ya make? Man, I'm already on fire!" I said when I caught myself rhyming accidentally.

"I made things with chocolate in, so no worries," he smiled. He was manager of one of Chase's parents' restaurants. He wanted to have his own restaurant and tried it for a while but his social life was nonexistent. He got a burn-out and eventually he contacted Paula and Derrick again, who were happy to give him a job.

"Shh, Gwen was just talking about the weirdest tattoo she ever had to do," Jake reprimanded me.

"It's not that weird. I had to do a guy's Woody Woodpecker and he wanted a QR code. When scanned, it would lead you to his sexy playlist. But the songs weren't that great ... weirdly enough a lot of Spice Girls," Gwen laughed.

"I love that!" I chuckled. "I think all guys should aspire to do something like that."

"How can a QR code even fit on there?" Code pondered.

"Not on your little twig, it won't," Gwen laughed.

"Hey, don't offend Franciscus the first," he pouted and seemed to be deep in thought. "I'm in!" Code yelled all of a sudden. "But it has to be a stick on. I'm weak and fragile."

"It's fine, I put tranquillizers in your food, you won't notice a thing," Snake said eerily.

"Oh, good. Then I don't mind," he shrugged.

"Be careful what you wish for, you might get an interesting birthday gift," Gwen grinned. "I'll make sure to put some glitter on it, too."

We burst out laughing, remembering the time when Code put glitter all over Gwen's face.

"A sparkly wiener, well, if you must," Code replied.

"That sounds like the title of a very bad porn," Jake chimed in.

"One you saw or one you made?" I asked him.

"Yes," he smirked.

"Hey, let's mix all the booze!" Code said out of nowhere.

"Ugh, I'll get a hangover for at least three days," Snake moaned.

"Three? Damn, you're getting old," Jake grinned.

"How long do yours take?" I asked Jake in return. If he recovered from them immediately, I would probably hit him.

"Two," he sighed.

Serves him right for being so cocky.

He loved the helmet and that evening it became the stupid helmet. Whenever someone said something really stupid, they had to wear the helmet until the next one would say something stupid.

To be honest, Code wore it most of the night. Did that surprise us?

Not at all.

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YOU GUYSSS! It's a bonus chapter! Long time, no see. How have you been? How's life?

We hit 900k. If you're still interested in Jill and her partners in crime (because she's getting old - literally, this 온라인카지노게임 is so old), give me some ideas for other chapters!

Thanks for the reads and all... keep at it. If we ever hit 1M... I might do a little something something for you guys ;)

Leave a comment if you're still emotionally invested! :D