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Post by Admin Emily on May 13, 2013 17:25:42 GMT -6
Reese climbed up the ladder in her twin brother's closet into the attic which was made to be her own personal bedroom. It was actually probably the most open place in the whole house, but it was a little musky and got really dark some nights - even with the string of Christmas lights Reese strung across the ceiling. She pulled herself up into her room, and made her way through the side of the attic used for storage, and pulled the grate off of the window. She ducked through it, balancing herself on the small ledge underneath, and holding onto the inside of the window frame, she stretched her legs across the small alleyway and to the fire escape of the apartment building which backed against her house. She shifted her weight all the way until she was completely stable, and the knocked on the window she faced a few times. "RYLEE!" she yelled, not knowing if her friend was even in her room since the curtains were shut. "PIZZA'S HERE!"
Once a month Reese's mom set aside enough money to buy a few pizzas for her kids and their friends. Mrs. Esposito loved being a hostess and loved having a house full of kids. That is, after all, why she had 6 of her own. Only 4 lived there now, but it still meant plenty of mouths to feed.
Rylee was usually the only person Reese had over, though occasionally some other people would join them. In West Oak you pretty much knew everybody, and it wouldn't take too long for the entire high school to be invited to dinner unless you chose a select few people to exclusively invite. Reese jumped back over the rail of the fire escape to sit on her window ledge as she waited for her friend to appear.
Gabe brought the pizzas into the small dining room. The family did not have much in terms of a living space, seeing as it had been converted to their mother's business, so they usually gathered in the kitchen and dining area - if not one of the teens bedrooms. Damon and Dalton were already helping themselves to pizza so they could go back to their room and play on their old used game system - it only worked half the time but when it did you couldn't get the twins off of it. Plus, the 21 year olds didn't exactly like to associate with the younger kids. Gabe took the rest of the pizza up to his room where his friends Elijah and Monroe sat, not doing much of anything really.
"You guys are boring," Gabe pointed out, as he dropped the boxes of pizza on the small table next to his bed. "I expected some excitement by the time I came back but clearly I was wrong. It's kind of sad that I have to rely on my kid sister and her friend to liven up pizza night." Gabe opened up the top box and grabbed a slice of pizza, letting himself fall into the beanbag chair he kept just for occasions like this where his small room was going to be full of people. He took a bite and smiled a bit. If there was one good thing about living on the West side it was Jimmy's pizza.
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Post by Admin Sydnee on May 13, 2013 18:06:29 GMT -6
Rylee paraded into the doors on rollerblades, a hockey stick in her hands. "WADE!" She screamed up the stairs. "GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS?" Her fourteen year old brother was surely upstairs watching tv on his tiny television set. She'd just returned from a riveting game of street hockey with some of the neighbors. They set up trashcans often to use as goals. She knew what time she had to leave because pizza night was something she just had to attend. It was a tradition and Jimmy's pizza was the best. "
She clammered up the stairs in her rollerblades, keeping her balance pretty expertly and started to take them off when she reached the top, yelling for Wade again who finally appeared out of their bedroom. "I'm coming!" He was the only brother she had left at home and she made sure to make him a part of her life.
She went into their bedroom and tossed her hockey stick on the ground, hearing a tapping on her window. It was Reese shouting about how the pizza had arrived. "Come on, Wade! The guys will eat it all first if we don't get there!" She opened her curtains and then unlatched her window, letting in the summer air. She climbed out, her already ripped jeans catching on something and pulled it free without a care before bounding over the fire escape. Her brother followed behind her and shut the window.
"Please tell me Gabe isn't eating all the pizza!" she said to her friend, beaming as she made her way over.
"Sorry, I'm not here to entertain you, Gabe," Monroe mumbled, pulling his black beanie further over his ears. His chin length hair was messy underneath it. "I'm just here for the pizza." He shrugged, playing off the joke as he stood to grab himself a slice of pizza. The best pizza he was convinced. "We all can't be crazy like Reese and Rylee, you know?" He shook his head and looked over at Elijah as well. Monroe had known these guys forever and it was because he grew up with them. That's how it was in West Oak, but he most certainly did not do a lot of things they did, which mostly included drugs. It wasn't as if they liked him any less, they were cool about it, but Monroe wouldn't start doing drugs for them anyway. He had bad enough problems with insomnia. [/center][/color] |
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Post by Admin Emily on May 13, 2013 18:23:15 GMT -6
"It's about time!" Rylee teased, messing up Wade's hair as he made his way through the window. Reese was just as close to Rylee's family as her own, and vice versa. She had never had a problem with Rylee bringing her brothers over for pizza night, and actually kind of missed James, even if the older or Rylee's siblings used to pick on her a lot. She put the grate back on the window, and followed her friends toward the ladder that led back down to the second floor. "If you don't hurry up I'm pretty much sure they guys will have eaten it all. Eli and Monroe have been hear for like... an hour!" Reese said, making her way down the ladder after the other two.
She scooted out of the twin's room just as they were making their way in. The family was very used to a crowded house. She ran down the hall, chasing after Rylee and Wade, pushing past her friend in order to claim the last available spot on the bed, near the headboard next to Monroe who was always Reese's favorite of Gabe's friends. He was much more... subdued and less creepy than Eli. She was pretty sure Eli gave Gabe drugs time to time. Actually she was positive. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that, though he was always an interesting addition to pizza night.
Gabe rolled his eyes at his little sister as she rushed into the room and jumped up onto his bed without even an 'excuse me'. He had to admit it was more fun with the girls though. Frankly, the three guys were all kind of downers in their own way, and they all just brought each other further down the more time they spent alone together. "Are you guys seriously convinced that we could eat 2 whole pizzas before you make it down here?" Gabe asked, having been able to hear the girls conversation through the thin walls of the house since the moment Rylee stepped into the building. He handed Wade a soda from the little cooler they had brought up from the kitchen earlier.
Gabe liked to keep an eye out for the kid, seeing as both of his older brothers were gone now. He didn't really show it all the time, but Wade was always in the back of Gabe's mind and he kept watch out of the corner of his eye. He threw a soda to Eli and Monroe as well
"Are we being sexist with the soda distribution?" Reese asked as she helped herself to a slice of pizza.
"I just like them better than you so you have to get up and get it yourself," Gabe teased, sticking his tongue out at his sister. Reese was Gabe's biggest concern though. She dreamed big, and he knew it was only a matter of time before her dreams were crushed. He did everything he could to brace her for that impact. When Reese shot him a pout, Gabe rolled his eyes and groaned, throwing two sodas her way so she could give one to Rylee as well.
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debora
Oakbrook Newbie
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Post by debora on May 13, 2013 22:06:21 GMT -6
Elijah stared the ceiling blankly, shaking his head. The smell of pizza wafted into the room, and he sat up, grabbing two large slices with a sheepish grin. A couple minutes passed as everyone entered the room and his two slices were gone. Pizza night was the best. A guaranteed night of eating and maybe, if Eli was lucky, he could afford to get a hit or two of pure cocaine. Sprawled out on the floor, Eli's hand shot up and caught the can of soda. "Typical Pizza Night isn't complete without the sibling bickering." He laughed to himself.
Though Elijah was laughing and seemed to be having a good time, if one looked closely, his hands were shaking ever-so slightly. He had come down from his last a high a few days ago... and the result was he hadn't slept since. Drugs gave Eli sleep problems, but he was a full blown addict now. Eli pushed his messy curls off of his damp forehead, reaching for another slice of pizza. His exposed arm, covered with angry scars, both old a new, grabbed a slice of Hawaiian. In the confines of one's house, Eli felt comfortable enough not to cover up his arms. Plus, his friends were pretty understanding and cool. They know about the drugs, and his past, and his entire fucked up life. They were all West Siders. They all understood hardships of life.
"Thanks for the pizza man." Eli said with a nod towards Gabe.
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Post by Admin Sydnee on May 13, 2013 22:57:38 GMT -6
"Good, there's still pizza! Ugh, yes, pepperoni!" Rylee exclaimed, grabbing a piece out of the box oozing with cheese and already eating it. She leaned up against one of the walls in the room as all of the sitting places were taken. She'd gotten in the room too late to fight Reese for the bed. Oh well, she had food. Everyone was chowing down and she accepted the soda from Reese who had bothered Gabe until she was handed two cans. She popped it open and downed some of it. "Who says you couldn't eat two whole pizzas? Monroe's quiet but I know he has an appetite, Eli...enough said and you're just Gabe. I've seen you eat a whole pizza once," she pointed out.
Monroe heard what Rylee said. "Thank you. People seem to think that I can't or don't eat because I'm skinny," he said with a roll of his eyes, taking a soda from Gabe. From time to time, he found himself a little worried about Gabe and Eli, especially Eli, but he knew more than to address the conflict. He hated conflict and so he avoided it and just hoped that they didn't end up dead behind Lee's Corner Store. He didn't know if he could deal with that.
"All I know is, I'm going to try and have a good night, because I start summer school tomorrow." He wasn't all excited about it.[/center] |
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Post by Admin Emily on May 13, 2013 23:08:21 GMT -6
"Gross..." said Reese to the thought of summer school. She knew that Monroe needed an elective credit to graduate, so at least he wasn't taking math over the summer or something like that. She still felt bad and he obviously wasn't too thrilled about the concept. "Well... here's to Monroe's last night of freedom," she joked a toast, raising her rootbeer in the air. She smiled at him though, a sign she was only kidding, and hoping that he'd realize it wouldn't be too bad. In fact, if Reese could just take a music credit over the summer for the hell of it she would. Of course, she didn't need any more music credits and she couldn't afford to take classes at the college in east oak. So she was kind of stuck to the confines of teaching herself various instruments in the attic. "And here's to many more sibling ravarly-filled pizza night extravaganzas to come."
Gabe rolled his eyes at his sister, "You're such a fucking dork." He mumbled, finishing of his first slice and reaching for a second. He turned to adress Rylee and her accusation of eating a whole pizza. "That was one time and the pizza was free and we had been eating chicken for a week!" Gabe exclaimed. Jimmy had given Gabe a pizza that somebody had never picked up. It was during a particularly hard week for the family where their mom could really only afford to make one meal over and over for the entire week. "Good call on Eli though. What's your record man? Like... 3 pizzas at once?" he asked looking over to his friend.
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debora
Oakbrook Newbie
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Post by debora on May 13, 2013 23:17:40 GMT -6
Eli held his hands up, laughing. "Alright guys, in my defense, sometimes I don't eat for a week. And some weeks, other.... priorities make themselves more apparent and they need to be addressed before food." He said, looking at Gabe with a nod. "Three pizzas, all by myself. That night had been a ripper." Eli laughed, his trembling hands nearly knocking over his opened can of no name brand cola. The subject wasn't one to laugh about, but to Eli, his entire life was a fucking joke that had no real substance or meaning. "I hadn't had anything to eat besides a jar of peanut butter that tasted like toothpaste and I was blazed as fuck." Unlike him, the others were relatively pure in the world of drugs. Sure, they had the occasional bong hit or swig of alcohol, but Eli was a whole other level that only Gabe nearly matched. Even then, it wasn't close.
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Post by Admin Sydnee on May 13, 2013 23:36:21 GMT -6
Monroe lifted his can and air tapped Reese's with his own since she was sitting so far away. "It could be worse, only I hate structured art classes," he said with a groan. "But amen to that!" And then the group went on into a story about who had eaten more pizza in one sitting. It seemed Eli had beaten everybody. Monroe mostly stayed quiet, observing for the most part. He liked these simple times, at the Esposito household when he could just kick back and relax. He lifted his combat boot clad feet and rested them on Gabe's lap as he ate his piece of pizza.
"I was just stating a fact, Gabe!" Rylee said in her defense. She'd seen it happen. "No matter the back story, it still happened." And she had no doubt that Eli had eaten that much pizza. Rylee herself could eat almost a whole pizza on her own, but she couldn't imagine eating three. She polished off her piece and reached for another. She'd worked up an appetite from the game of street hockey she'd played. When she finished the second, she dug her old video camera out of her bag, handed down from Ben years ago and it still worked. She wanted to some day film something significant but for now she'd settle filming her idiot friends.[/center] |
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Post by Admin Emily on May 13, 2013 23:51:05 GMT -6
Gabe glared at Monroe as he threw his combat boots into his lap. "How the hell do you wear these on a day to day basis? They're heavy as fuck!" Gabe complained as he shoved Monroe's feet out of his face. "and I'm trying to eat here! Manners man!"he said jokingly, seeing as they were all eating without plates and utensils and napkins, and every now and then one of the guys would let out a huge burp. Of course, Gabe wouldn't have it any other way.
That is until Rylee broke out her camera. "Oh Jesus Christ are you going to film us for future prosperity again?" Gabe asked as if it were the most pathetic thing in the world. He was sure that their lives held little to no interest to anybody around them. So why film it?
"Don't be an asshat Gabe!" Reese snapped at her brother as her friend pulled out her camera. Gabe was often critical of Rylee and her filming as well as Reese and her music. He found their hobbies and dreams impractical and wasn't afraid to share that opinion. "Besides if it weren't for that camera you and Eli would never know how intellectual and deep you guys get after smoking a joint. You know... until you decide to go skinny dipping in the rec center pool." Reese smirked, bringing up just one of the embarrassing moments Rylee had managed to catch on film.
"Ry you should help me make a music video some time. It'd be fun," Reese offered, knowing her friend was always looking for an excuse to film something that WASN'T Gabe doing stupid shit.
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debora
Oakbrook Newbie
Posts: 42
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Post by debora on May 14, 2013 0:02:42 GMT -6
Elijah laughed again, sighing mostly to himself. "Ahhh, yes. I remember that. Good times, good times." He sat upright, groaning at the site of the camera. Although it didn't really matter, Eli found that most of the time he was the center of any laughing matter that Rylee filmed. Again, his life was some sort of sad joke anyway. Drugs, self harm and trying his best to keep going even though his future was bleak and anything but prosperous. Eli felt the pocket of his worn out, dark blue jeans, feeling the baggie. He had visited his mom... okay, broke into the house when she was passed out in a drunken stupor and stole a cocktail of her prescription medication. Eli was desperate for anything to give him a sense of feeling high. He didn't know if Gabe would be down though, so decided to keep it quiet, for now.
"Please don't film me Rylee, I haven't put on my makeup yet." He joked.
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Post by Admin Sydnee on May 14, 2013 0:11:08 GMT -6
"They're actually really comfortable," Monroe explained, not really giving much of a shit when Gabe pushed his feet off of him. The combat boots were his signature and he really never took them off. He'd done it more so to get a rise out of the guy anyway. "And I don't have manners. Didn't get them from my mother, I guess." She was actually very polite. Well, she was a nurse. She took care of people. "You're so crabby, dude. Maybe Rylee should make a godzilla film and you can be the star."
"Oh shut up, Gabe," Rylee said with a roll of her eyes, a phrase she used often when talking to him. He only thought their lives weren't interesting. In Rylee's point of view, they were a lot more so than people from East Oak...at least, in her opinion, even if she didn't want to live here the rest of her life. Her roots were important to her. "I agree with Monroe. Stop being a grouch. I'll get the good side of your face," she joked, further laughing at Eli's comment. "If I had a make up crew, I'd get them right on that."
She turned to Reese. "That was one hilarious video and permanent black mail to last me a lifetime." She grinned at her friend and nodded eagerly. "Yes, that would be so kickass." Reese and her supported each other's dream, not to mention that Rylee dabbled in singing herself. They'd sung a duet in elementary school once. [/center] |
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Post by Admin Emily on May 14, 2013 0:29:57 GMT -6
Gabe rolled his eyes and sighed, sinking into his bean bag chair. If there was one thing Gabe didn't like it was being called out on his grouchiness. He didn't like that his friends assumed he didn't know he was angry all the time. It was like they expected him to just cheer up at the drop of a dime. He tried, usually, just to appease them. He tried so that Reese wouldn't become bitter like him. But it wasn't that easy. "Yeah I'll be Godzilla so I can eat Monroe and everything he loves," Gabe joked dropping a piece of pepperoni on his friends beloved combat boots. Gabe had never seen him wear any other pair of shoes, but it was what made Monroe himself. Any other pair of shoes and Gabe probably wouldn't even recognize the kid.
"I've been working on a few new songs. It'd be cool to do sometime," Reese said to Rylee. It wasn't often that she offered to share her original work, but she trusted Rylee with her life and was the only person in the world she felt she could be completely herself with.
She turned to Eli and chuckled, "And if he really wants I can just play makeup crew. I'm sure I have a shade of lipstick that is JUST Eli's color," she teased. She finished off another slice of pizza. "You guys should be used to this by now. Rylee films something at almost every Esposito pizza night," she pointed out. "you shouldn't be so surprised.
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debora
Oakbrook Newbie
Posts: 42
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Post by debora on May 14, 2013 0:38:24 GMT -6
"I'm usually too buzzed to give a fuck." Elijah said. Blunt, but it was the truth. Drugs had been his escape from the world that didn't care about anything besides status, money, looks and money. Did he mention money already?
Somehow, Eli began thinking about his younger sister, Elyssa. He'd tried so hard to ensure that she would never go through the pain and suffering he did, but the two had an almost identical past with the same, bleak future ahead. Elyssa had disappeared four days ago, not to be seen since. He worried about his baby sister, but knew that supporting a drug addiction meant doing terrible things in order to gain a sense of normality.
He shook his head. Pizza night wasn't the time for that. Any other night and that was okay. "Good." He joked again. "When you guys become famous, I don't want to be the ugly best friend seen in videos, half baked all the time."
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Post by Admin Sydnee on May 14, 2013 0:47:36 GMT -6
"You would make a good Godzilla," Monroe chimed in and pulled his shoe away, furiously wiping off the pepperoni. "Damnit, Gabe. Not on the boots, fuck do you know how hard it is to keep these clean?" If there was one thing he was absolutely anal about, it was those combat boots. They were probably the most expensive thing he owned and he found them at a thrift shop for a bargain.
He turned to Eli. "And I'll just be that kid in black." "Awesome. We'll have to get on that," Rylee told Reese. She loved that Reese had dreams just like she did, even if Gabe often tried to shut them down. Life was nothing without dreams, even if you were in West Oak. "And I do always film something, so you guys need to stop complaining and do something interesting." She flipped open the camera and put it on Gabe first, hitting the record button. [/center][/color] |
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Post by Admin Emily on May 14, 2013 1:01:08 GMT -6
Gabe laughed and leaned back away from Monroe's furious wiping at his combat boots. It was as if the meat were going to burn a hole through them. though honestly Gabe wouldn't be surprised if the things were indestructible. "Sorry bro, but I just love seeing you freak out over those things." He picked up the piece of pepperoni and flung it at Reese. It missed and landed in his sheets. He hung his head, knowing he'd have to clean it up later.
When he looked up he realized Rylee had the camera lens on him. He began to writhe and screeched "It burns!" as he curled up in a ball and turned his face away from the camera, stuffing it into the bean bag chair. He was aware he was only making a fool of himself - and it was recorded. But it got a laugh, and now his face was forever hidden away in the depths of the stale smelling cotton.
Reese barely had words to describe her brother's reactions. So instead of saying something snarky to him, she plucked the piece of pepperoni that was being thrown aound and threw it into his hair. Gabe reamined unmoved though, clearly not giving a shit. She shook her head and turned to Monroe. "Just make him polish them with his favorite T-shirt, then he'll be sorry," she offered.
Reese understood prized possessions. Rylee had her camera. Monroe had his boots. She wasn't sure aobut Eli, but she was almost positive he had something. Reese had her guitar, and her father's high school class ring which she wore on a chain around her neck. They were the things that made you feel better when things got hard. She wish Gabe had a little more respect for those things.
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