Portal Read Online Free PDF Page A

other rooms. There were two guest bedrooms, they both looked spotless and unused at the moment.
    There was a sixth room on the floor but the door was locked. I tried the various keys from my set, but none of them unlocked the door so I decided to go downstairs and investigate.
    It was a magazine-worthy house, Mom had obviously gone all out. There was wood paneling everywhere, the walls were painted a warm red and the furniture was neutral – creams, beiges, and browns. The family room was warm and cozy with an elaborate Guitar Hero set up. I wondered who was so into GH, not Rupert surely. Ella?
    Next, I wandered into the kitchen. It was modern apart from a big green Agha oven in one end. I knew all about Aghas. Mom had gone on endlessly about these, now she finally had one. The rest of the kitchen was all chrome with a big table in the center, heavily used by the look of things. Gertrude’s bowls were on the floor next to the pantry. They looked new, as did her Burberry bed by the kitchen table. I decided to head down and investigate the basement.
    The basement door was locked, somewhat to my relief. I didn’t cherish the thought of going down there on my own. Instead, I went back into the kitchen and got Gertrude ready for a walk. I opened the doors to the patio and stepped into the fresh air. It was way too warm for a hoodie so I pulled it off and tossed it onto one of the garden chairs, happy that I had thrown on a tank top underneath.
    There was an enormous pool out back with a pool house on one side. I stepped inside to find changing rooms, showers, a refrigerator and bar area. Cool. I went back outside. It really was too humid so I walked Gertrude around the house hurriedly. Just as we got back to the patio, I heard Mom’s car, so I ran back inside and hid back in my room.
    I decided to call Darren to check if the party was still on. It seemed ridiculous under the circumstances. How would I even get to a party in Princeton? However, when I looked for his number, I noticed he was no longer in my contacts list – surprise, surprise. I did notice Justin’s though and called him instead. No pickup, so I texted him asking about the party. Then I put my ear buds on, turned up my iPod and floated back to my last game.
    The music stopped abruptly and my ears hurt. Ella had yanked my ear buds out and was shouting into my ears.
    “Dinner is ready, come on down!” She ran off downstairs. The little brat! Some things never change.
    Dinner was much the same as brunch. Mom’s home-cooked chicken penne (which I love, but will never admit to) with garlic bread and a fruit bowl. Ella grumbled about ice cream but my mother’s rules never change: Friday is ice cream night, not Sunday.
    “Have you done your homework, girls?” Mom asked.
    Homework? I wasn’t even sure what that really meant, so I grumbled a “yes” under my breath. Ella was all done with hers and proudly read us her piece on volcanoes. She’s always been obsessed with natural disasters. It was apparently family movie night and we all headed down to the basement after dinner.
    The basement space was awesome! It had been converted into a movie theatre, popcorn machine and all. We watched Grease for the zillionth time. I couldn’t help noticing how very intimate Mom and Rupert were again. It was impossible not to. There was not a moment when Rupert didn’t look her way to make sure she was happy. They sat close together as they watched the movie, his arm lazily around her shoulders. Her head was resting on his chest as he casually played with the strands of her hair. She looked happy and content, regularly glancing up at his face and smiling.
    Ella got bored sitting by herself half way through the movie and climbed onto Mom’s lap and fell asleep. I did feel envious of their closeness and I hugged Gertrude tighter.
    After the movie finished, Mom turned to me as if to start a conversation. I really wasn’t in the mood so I hastily excused myself saying that I