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Play Dates and Permission Slips
Chapter Three: Seven Ten Split


Rachel hung up the phone after her friend Laura had made her giggle endlessly. She wanted to go bowling too now. Maybe she could convince her Mommy and Daddy to kinda sorta show up unannounced. The key was convincing them it was gonna be a good idea. She heard her brother cheering at his Xbox 360 in the play room and figured he was playing Project Gotham 4, and that he was racing his Forenza.

She stood in doorway and leaned on the frame. Indeed, there was Nate doing a victory dance with the camera circling around his purple Forenza while the screen blinked 1st Place . Her father was looking at him and the screen in open mouth shock. Then he turned to her and pushed up his red rimmed glasses and winked at her. She flashed him a big smile. He beckoned her to sit down next to him and she did with an enthusiastic plop.

Rachel stood on her knees and whispered in her Papper’s ear, “why do you let him win? You need to kick his butt.”

Scott Summers chuckled then leaned back in the black leather stadium recliner, and shrugged carelessly. He looked at his son dancing in front of their seventy-two inch mounted high def television. Their real purple Italian import sports car was sitting in their garages along with the other luxury vehicles. Yea, life was good. He could afford to lose a video game or two to his nine-year-old son.

Scott turned to his daughter and gave her his best wise old man look. “I let Nate win ‘cause I get to drive the real thing. Nothing good ole Microsoft or Sony makes beats that.”

Rachel nodded like she understood. Whatever. A butt kicking was a butt kicking. Grown-ups were weird. She shook it off, and looked at her daddy with big give-me-something-please eyes and said, “Hey Pappers, let’s go bowling?”

“What! You spring this on me now? C’mon baby, you know today is Saturday, and it’s Daddy’s poker night.”

“Please, Daddy,” she pouted an extra long time to get her point across.

“I dunno, sweatheart.”

By now Nate had turned around, and by the looks of it finally noticed that his sister was in the room. Seeing how she wasn’t getting her way, he stuck his tongue out at her, then proceeded to point and laugh. Silently. The last time he did that out loud, she punched him in the face. Then his mother had the audacity to ground them BOTH.

“Please please please pleeeeeaaase?”

“Go ask your mother.”

Rachel grunted out loud, and stomped past her father and brother. Before she left the room completely, she turned to glare at them. Then it hit her. Neither one of them knew who else was going to be bowling. Nate would love to go and cause a mess with Lucas, and her Father always got ants in his pants when he found out that Laura’s Dad was anywhere near Mommy. Rachel caught a quick glance at herself in the trophy mirror. She looked like the big grin Yahoo smiley.

“Fine, I guess Mom will say yes. After all, she doesn’t have a problem with Mr. Howlett, she *always* takes me to see Laura. And me and Laura will kick Lucas’s butt easily, even with gutters.”

Rachel walked out of the room and counted to three.

A-huh, sure enough, her Father and brother came rushing out of the room and met her halfway in the corridor.

Men. They were always easy, just like her Mommy said.

Jean poked her head out of the kitchen to see what all of the commotion was.

Great, thought Scott. He didn’t want her to know. He definitely didn’t like the way that now even the kids knew about Jean’s enthusiasm of making sure that Rachel was always around Laura, and her friggin’ father.

Nate, on the other hand, heard that Lucas was going and immediately wanted to go for several reasons. One being his boy Lucas was going. Fun was to be had. Second, he couldn’t let Rachel go and have fun without making her suffer. Thirdly, if Lucas was there, then his mother was going to be there as well. Nate knew it would only be a matter of time before Lucas’s Mom broke down and finely accepted one of his many invitations out on a date. Cause, like, he asked every time he saw her, he made sure of that. He even stole flowers from his Mother’s decorative vases to give to Ororo when he went to over Lucas’s house to hang out. She had to say yes eventually.

But it still bugged him. Why on earth would Lucas and Laura be in the same place at the same time outside of school? They were sworn enemies. He didn’t think too hard about it.

While Nate’s thoughts centered around what he could do to impress Lucas’s Mom, Scott was explaining to Jean about how he had the sudden urge to take the kids bowling.

Jean saw right through him. “Sweetheart? Isn’t today Saturday? Don’t you play poker with Hank tonight? I could take them.”

“No! I can skip tonight. Besides, when was the last time I did something like this? I’m so busy with Xavier’s campaign, I don’t get to do as much.” Rachel started to squirm in his arm so she could say something, but he flopped her on her stomach over his shoulder and clamped down on her mouth. Scott knew she was going to say something about Laura being there. Which also meant that Logan would be there. That would make him the third wheel in public again, while they flirted, laughed, giggled, and talked around and through him. Nope, not this time. He never understood what Midwest born, old money-havin’, upper crust, silver spoon-fed Jean Grey had in common with lowbrow, struggling, beer-guzzling, chopper riding Logan, anyway.

“Yea, Mom, it’s gonna be awesome. Finally, the men will outnumber the girls. Me, Lucas, Dad, and Logan will kick butt!”

Scott rolled his eyes and hung his head. So much for that idea. He grumbled his thanks to his son.

Jean grit her teeth to hide her elation. But quietly volunteered, “It’s not a problem. I can take them. Besides, the idea of Ororo alone with Logan is a bit disturbing. One sad pick-up line from him and I’m afraid she might pour water on him and stick his privates in a socket.”

“Ah-huh, Jean. I’m sure that’s why you’re interested,” Scott said quietly.

She narrowed her eyes, and he stared. Jean was the first to break contact.

Rachel squirmed more and said, “Why don’t we all go?”




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