My name used to be Chandell Scott.
Recently, it was changed to Chandell Scott-Manzano.
I,um.....I think I quite like my new life. It was certainly fun to come home from university and be greeted with open arms instead of interrogation about my grades.
Not that my Da didn't love me; he just put a lot of emphasis on hard work.
He was there at graduation. We both thought it hilarious that I graduated high school
after attending university. He was also quite proud of me for being voted 'Most Likely To Succeed.'
It was......
interesting to have him and Jayli meet. She had come to the table to get some punch, and noticed me with Da. She had walked up behind me, looped an arm around my waist, and extented a hand to my father. "Jayli Manzano. You must be Tariq. Chandell talks about you a lot." Her voice had a steely edge.
Da shook the offered hand. "All good things, I hope." he matched her tone.
I escaped the situation when Jesse called me over to show off his ribbon. (Most Likely To Get Arrested. Wyatt won Most Popular.)
You know, in all honesty, I should have attend gradation a while ago. I can't seem to recall why it didn't happen.
Oh, yes; when we got back home, the house had gotten a slight makeover.
I quite like the boy's bedroom. It's quite unorthodox; but, so are they.
Notice the staircase? We don't have a third floor yet, but there are plans for a nursery. Nothing major, since Peggy wants to do a complete overhaul of the house when we get enough money, but there's not a lot of space left on this floor.
None of us really talk about it; you know, the fact that Wyatt needs a biological child, and all of the complications that come with that. I actually have a plan; but, it requires a lot of preparation.
Plus explaining it requires talking to people, and I don't really like talking to people. I prefer books and charts to socialization, so I packed a ton of new reading material for the boat ride to university.
We rented the same house, and re-broke it in with our customary practice of video games.
Wyatt laughed when he learned no one had cleaned up the graffiti all over the house.
Speaking of art, Jayli finally made her 25th ice sculpture! We celebrated with a classy date at the grotto, and packed one of Jesse's special key lime pies. (Wyatt loves them, so we always have plenty in the fridge.)
It was actually the second date we've ever been on. I have more classes than anyone else, so I have to spend even more time working, leaving very few occasions for dates.
I also have classes earlier than everyone else, but I kind of like that part. It's nice to getup in the morning and fix breakfast without my family all dashing around. And I enjoy biking to class early in the morning.
The climate is different at University, so even though it's the middle of summer back home, it's snowing here. I absolutely adore it in the mornings, when it seems like the entire world consists of me, the bike, and an endless, snowy road. Even if it is a bit cold in my shorts.
Of course, we Isla Paradiso natives have our own methods for keeping warm.
Those two....Oiy. The second they're both free, Jesse starts flirting with Wyatt. I try to show some sense of decorum, but it's hard to avoid smiling when Wyatt blushes every time Jesse does anything. I just hide my grins behind a book.
They really are adorable.
I'm lucky to be in this family, and I'm lucky to have a wife that understands that sometimes I would rather chat than WooHoo at 3 am.
I've actually always thought I was lucky. I have amazing grades, and a good family. I have a wonderful life.
Da never agreed with my theory. "Luck isn't real, m'girl." He'd boom. "Those who say it's trait? It's just a placebo effect! If you think it's real, you'll create situations where it becomes real. You got where you are by working hard. Don't let anyone tell you it's because of luck."
In most tings, I agree with him. It definitely wasn't luck that got me through me first set of exams with flying colors.
It wasn't luck that got me t level 6 of science skill in not time flat.
But it was luck that got me Jayli.
And I'm almost completely relying on luck to get me to higher levels of social networking in less than a week.
It's pretty crucial part of my plan.
