Filed to story: My Life with the Walter Boys Book (I & II) PDF Free
Print, hang, and distribute posters/flyers around school
Create social media content
Network with other student organizations
Order T-shirts (keep as a surprise?)
Help Erin prep for the debate
Draft victory speech
***
The kitchen was strangely packed when I wandered in for lunch on Saturday afternoon.
Nathan, Alex, Lee, Jack, Parker, Zack, and Benny were seated at the table, Monopoly money divvied up between them. Isaac stood behind the island with a cheese grater held up to his mouth as he displayed a mostly empty box of leftover pizza.
“Going once, going twice.
Sold to Alex for six hundred!” he announced in an exuberant voice.
“Come on,” Lee groaned and banged his head against the table.
Alex hopped up. “Tough luck, coz.” He exchanged the majority of his paper money for two slices of pepperoni. “Maybe you shouldn’t have spent so much on a granola bar.”
“How was I supposed to know it was expired?”
I slid into the empty spot at Nathan’s side. “What’s going on?”
“Jordan tripped and fell down the stairs,” he explained. There was a Smucker’s Uncrustables wrapper in front of him along with four beige hundreds and a blue fifty. “Mom had to take him to the ER, and she put Isaac in charge of making sure everyone eats lunch.”
Well, that explained the loud crash I heard twenty minutes earlier. “Is he okay?”
Nathan nodded. “Broken finger, but he’ll be fine.”
“That’s surprising, then.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, his forehead creasing into a frown. “Jordan’s tough. His finger was sideways, and he didn’t even cry.”
“I was referring to your mother, not Jordan. I figured the situation must be serious if she panicked enough to put
Isaac in charge.”
Isaac drew himself up to his full height. “I’m the oldest here.”
“And yet…” I said, tilting my head to the side.
“He’s the least responsible,” Nathan finished with a smirk.
“Says who? Not only am I feeding everyone, but I’m making sure they have a blast while doing it.”
I side-eyed Jack, who was eating out of a mixing bowl filled to the brim with ice cream. It was covered in chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and, strangely, jalapeños. “Yeah, I’m sure this is exactly what Katherine had in mind,” I deadpanned. “What’s with the cheese grater?”
“This is my microphone
,” Isaac said, feigning offense. “I’m an auctioneer.”
“Don’t you think you could’ve chosen something a bit more, I don’t know…cylindrical?” I glanced over at the ceramic utensil holder next to the stove; it held a plethora of better options, including a whisk and a wooden mixing spoon.
Isaac’s lips curved into a wicked smile. “I can give you something cylindrical.”
“Gross,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “Forget I said anything.”
The auction continued after that. Nathan spent the rest of his money on a ham and cheese Hot Pocket, which he split with me, while Parker made the mistake of buying a mystery item. It turned out to be a container of leftovers Isaac found at the back of the fridge. Normally Parker was a black hole that would suck down anything edible within range, but even she gagged when the moldy baked beans were revealed. Only Zack and Benny had yet to purchase something as they were too afraid to spend their money and kept getting outbid.
“Next up,” Isaac announced as he pulled a familiar can out from behind his back, “we have a strawberry lemonade Kickstart!”
“Hey!” Alex looked up from his pizza. “You can’t auction that off. It’s mine!”
I held up a finger. “Yeah, I second that.”
Isaac sneered at me. “You don’t need to take his side, Jackie. You’re not dating anymore.”
“I’m not taking anyone’s side,” I replied. “I don’t think it’s healthy to give six-year-olds that much caffeine.” I’d read the back of a Kickstart before; it was basically poison in a can, and everyone would suffer if one of the terror twins turned into the Tasmanian Devil. Besides, I didn’t think Katherine would consider a sixteen-ounce energy drink a proper meal.
“I doubt it’s healthy for anyone to have that much caffeine,” Nathan added.
“Don’t worry so much,” Alex told us. “I drink one of those a day, and I’m perfectly fine.”
“Well, that explains why he’s such a moron,” Lee mumble. “All those energy drinks must have melted his brain.”
Alex bristled and directed a dirty look at his cousin. “You know I can hear you, right?”
After bickering back and forth for a minute, we convinced Isaac to nix the Kickstart, which he replaced with another mystery item. Benny, who was elated to finally win something, burst into tears when Isaac revealed half an onion and a bottle of soy sauce.
Chaos quickly ensued: Alex’s chair toppled over when he jumped up in outrage, Jack and Parker started booing, and Lee chucked his uneaten granola bar at his brother’s face. I attempted to soothe Benny, but no matter what I said, he remained convinced that he wouldn’t get to eat anything for lunch.