Peri wakes up, showers, and eats, realizing just how quickly time is passing. Before too long, she’ll be a young adult and will finally be done with high school. It’s exciting and scary at the same time.
Peri leaves for school, and Q steps out of the house for a jog. He immediately realizes that it’s hot out. Not just regular hot, but that sticky type of weather that makes you want to change clothes several times because you’ve been sweating through them.
Q changes into some cooler clothes and heads to the temporary food stand that’s been set up in the neighborhood.
Quincy: I’ll take a “Bee Cool Tea” please…
Q’s music has garnered him just enough fame to be recognized every once in a while…
Stranger: Hey…I think I know you. You’re a music producer? With Dinky Beats, right?
Quincy: Uh…yeah. I am.
Stranger: I read an article about you on their blog. Your music isn’t exactly my thing, but congrats on your success!
Quincy: Sure, thanks…I respect your honesty.
At home…Merit climbs the stairs, ready to eat. I give him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich just as Q arrives home from his jog. He greets me with a kiss on the cheek.
I sit down to watch the comedy channel, while Q takes Merit out of his high chair and changes his clothes. Merit sits down next to me on the couch and laughs at the TV. Apparently, he enjoys comedy too.
Every once in a while…an inappropriate joke slips by.
Alida: Cover your ears Merit…that joke wasn’t for you.
Merit looks at me and laughs. Eventually, he gets bored with the TV and pulls out his tablet to watch some kid-friendly videos.
Peri arrives home in a dark mood, but even she can’t explain exactly what’s bothering her. She’s one of the more popular girls in school, but she still feels like she’s not pretty or good enough at times. Especially when she sees Byron being surrounded by other girls at school who try to compete for his attention.
She takes the advice that her father gave her a long time ago…use painting as a way to deal with intense feelings.
Merit enjoys playing and splashing in the kiddie pool, so much so that it doesn’t take long for me to be as wet as he is. We’ll both have to change clothes after this…
Peri finishes her painting and goes downstairs to be sad alone in her bedroom. She gets distracted by her father playing guitar in the office. She goes in and listens for a while, but it does nothing to improve her mood.
(Generation 1a Chapter Summaries)
