The Grant Household

[aime]

Aimé De Isigney took a last turn, slowing down from his running. He had to admit; he was rather excited for his new school, East High. He had wondered if American schools really were as easy as the rumors said. He didn’t really put too much thought in it, however, for he had found French schools quite simple too. “Only because I am smart.” he reminded himself, laughing, as if he had pointed out something extremely funny.

Abruptly, he jumped in mid run, abruptly stopping, turned in the direction to look at the house before him. He reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of paper, before thinking a moment and pulling out a chocolate bar too. Though quite unusual, he didn’t begin eating it. Instead, he read off the paper, then looked up at the two story house before him. The address seemed correct; even though the order of the address was different from in France. The Grants.

He replaced the paper carefully into his bag, his faced wreathed in a grin. He practically danced across the lawn, in a type of running/jumping action that only he could do without looking….well, ridiculous. He stood at the front door and paused for a moment, before rapping his knuckles rapidly on the door, once, twice, thrice, in quick succession.

Then, he stood back, in all his glory in his old gray shirt and corduroy pants, brandishing the chocolate rectangle.

[rory]

Rory Grant was in the kitchen filling up his water gun. He sighed and waited for the darned thing to finish filling, he knew Harmony was upstairs on the phone was inviting someone over. Possibly Cordelia. He rolled his dark eyes at the thought of the obnoxious and self centered girl. How could Harmony stand her? Still, he was glad she could, because then he got a chance to soak the pompous cheerleader.

Rory laughed maliciously to himself and, unknowingly, his mom entered the room. She didn't even need to glance at her son to know he was up to something, he always was. "You are /not/ going to shoot Cordelia with that water gun." She said, as if she had read his mind. It amazed Rory how moms could do that. He groaned and turned the water off, pouting as he twisted the cap on. Then the doorbell rang.

He looked around, no one in sight. He would just explain he had an...Rory thought for a moment as he got his gun ready, Ah-ha! An out of body experience and he tried to stop himself! Or that he was answering the door and his finger muscle spazzed accidentally. Either way dad wouldn't /really/ punish 'the boy', he didn't care for Harmony's snooty friend either.

Rory snuck to the door and with one last chortle he flun it open and let 'er rip! Sadly, victory was not so sweet, it turned out that it wasn't Cordelia at all. Just some blonde guy eating chocolate. Maybe he was Harmony's new boyfriend, that at least, gave him a bit of satisfaction.

"Sorry, dude." He lowered the weapon and shrugged, opening the door more so the guy could enter. "Thought you would be someone else." With that he walked off, calling to Harmony that her 'boyfriend was here'.

[Harmony Grant]

Harmony was laying on her bed with her phone in one hand the other playing with her hair. She was talking to her best friend, Cordelia Valentine, they were talking about the dance, clothes, boys, how Cordy was going to be crowned 'Sadie Hawkins Queen'. "Oh that's perfect! So did you ask him?"

Cordelia answered in a very unhappy tone...oviously the boy had turned her down.

"Oh...well, there's still Jason." Harmony answered. Cordy continued to talk, "So like, you're still coming over right?" Cordelia told her that she was on her way as they talked.

Harmony smiled and squealed, "Yay!" Just then her brother yelled something about her boyfriend being down stairs. she rolled her eyes, "I've got to go, see ya soon."

She hung up the phone and walked to the foot of the stairs, "What?! I don't have a boyfr- I mean," she covered her mouth with one hand, this wasn't something she wanted him to know. She sighed, "Whatever!" Harmony walked down the stairs, maybe it was Oz, the nice boy she had met in the library. She saw some boy that she had never seen before, she cocked her head to the side, "Hello?"

[aime]

Aimé had quite a surprise when the door flew open and he felt himself rather wet, water dripping off his clothes, seemingly from the gun that had been held towards him up until a moment ago. Still, the grin still remained plastered upon his face as if all things in life were perfect. He shifted backpack, which held his clothes and such, before stepping into the room, his grin widening. As the boy called up the stairs, Aimé couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He knew that boyfriend and ’ami’ were not quite the same thing; ’ami’ actually meaning friend who was a boy, ’boyfriend’ being something completely different. He laughed at the thought of somehow already being a ’petit ami’ to someone.

He moved behind the boy, grinning ear to ear, finally getting his laughter under control. He was not the slightest bit upset over being attacked with water by whom he assumed was his new host brother. In fact, he was rarely upset over anything, and this seemed the most entertaining welcome he had ever received. And what else really mattered? He saw a girl come down the stair, and he assumed she was the one who had been called for.

He then spoke. “’Owever, may I say, zat I am not zis ‘dude’, but Aimé De Isigney!” Even though Aimé had brushed up on his English slang before leaving Paris, no one was perfect. Not to mention, one couldn’t be sure if he honestly had forgotten, or if he was just joking around. Many who knew him well enough would assume the latter.

He stepped up closer to the girl, bowing the slightest bit before holding out his hand. “’Ello, I am Aimé De Isigney!” His grin turned into a smirk when he stood, noticing the look upon her face. “And you are Miss Grant, I would guess?” Yes, if he could remember, his host family was supposed to have two children, right? Still, he found it rather entertaining that they all acted as if they didn’t have the slightest inkling who he was.

[Harmony Grant]

Harmony blinked, who the heck was this kid! And why was he all wet? She looked down at his hand and back up at him. Well, he did have an accent...hmm, maybe he was from another country? Wait, another country! Someone was suppose to be coming from out of the country to their house. There mom had been the one who had set the whole thing up but, Harmony hadn't really been paying attention when she mentioned it.

She took his hand, "Aime? Oh, Aime! You're that kid from another country who is going to live in our house!" She smiled, relieved she finally understood who he was.

"By the way, you can call me Harmony." She turned and lead him into the near by kitchen, "You are going to love it here and, as long as you're nothing like my little brother I'm sure we'll be good friends." She saw her mom and tapped her on the shoulder, "Mom, Aime is here."

((I assume I'll play Mr. Grant if you play Mrs. Grant, Shar))

[aime]

Aimé could only just stifle more laughter when the girl seem to realize who he was, and then she set out into motion. He saw her smile, and felt rather proud of himsef, even moreso than he usually seemed. He constantly strove to make people smile; it offering chocolate and jokes at all times of the day could indeed be called striving.

He followed her rather energetically into the kitchen, taking in the house that he was apparently to stay in. It was quite a bit different than what he was used to, but he was sure that much would be. And, he reminded people constantly that different was certainly not bad, which they would only see if they were to look at the wonderful him!

So, he shrugged off being called a goat when he saw the elder woman turn. He managed a bow, with his right arm tucked into his chest. "I assume zat you are ze lady of the house." he began, straightening himself. "I do zank you in advance for your hospitality."

[rory]

(Okay!)

Rory ignored Aime's comment about his name and threw the gun in the sink. He went to the fridge and opened it, the artificial light from inside showering him. Ah, the fridge. It was a boy's paradise, and, just like the boy he was, Rory piped up and said,

"Mom, when's dinner?"

Mrs. Grant was reading some mail at the kitchen's island. She was seated on a swervy bench chair and was doing just that, swerving. She sighed and set the letter down. It was from their weird neighbors. The Peterson's were the Grants 'enemies', even though this was never mentioned out loud. It was just a known fact...well, known to everyone but the Petersons; who thought they were best friends. Mrs. Grant looked at Ryan, her eyes meeting his matching, dark pair.

"Rory...you just got back from school, I'll start on it in a bit. You should be focusing on homework or something." Her eyes fell back on the letter, until Harmony interupted her thoughts. Without looking up she replied,

"Amy? Who's Amy? I thought Cordelia was...oh." Mrs. Grant turned and saw a blonde, wet, frenchmen. Something clicked and she remembered their foreign exchange student.

"OH! Aime'!" She shouted, a hand rushing to her heart out of surprise for his polite-ness. Something totally alien in her house. "Yes, I'm Mrs. Grant, these are my kids, Harmony and Rory."

She looked for her husband, he wasn't at his desk, where could he be? "Paul?" She called.

[Harmony Grant]

Meanwhile in the living room a lifeless lump laid on the couch. This couch normally wasn't occupied by this lump but today, it had chosen to be there. It had a happy smile on it's face, probably dreaming about sports or a world where his daughter could live without boys. Ah, these were good dreams...it slept peacefully until it heard it's name being called. Dreams so rudely interrupted, this lump finally moved becoming a not a lump any more but the one in this household called Paul.

He yawned and stretched replying to his wife, "Coming!" He stood up and groaned. Paul begrudgingly made his way to the kitchen. "What-" His eyes fell on the faces of his family and someone new...and it was a boy...standing near his daughter. Paul raised an eyebrow, "Who is this?"

Harmony looked toward her father as he entered the kitchen. She really didn't acknowledge him with a smile or anything, she just didn't see a reason to.

[aime]

The blonde boy had a rather large grin upon his face, holding back his laughter as 'Paul' made his way into the kitchen from the couch. Aimé found the entire deal rather hillarious, but when the man seemed to notice him, he decided that laughing would not be the best idea.

But, of course, being himself made sure that he didn't miss a single beat, even though the man had practically ignored him. He practically jumped into position before reaching out his hand. "I am Aimé De Isigney!" he said, as if the simple name should clear up all the questions in the world.

He grinned, yet there was a sort of ironic glee behind his facial expression. He always managed to find something funny, no matter what sort of situation he was in. He had always been that way, grinning as if nothing was wrong and the world was perfect.

[rory]

Mrs. Grant watched as her husband lazily crawled from the couch. It amazed her that he could sleep so well through everything else, and yet when she called his name he woke up. It was nice, ofcourse, just weird.

The middle-aged woman placed her hands on her hips and waited for him. Just as she was going to introduce Paul to Aime' her husband got his 'fatherly' look. The look he so often had when boys were near. Anyone around Harmony's age, if they were male, they were 'the enemy' in Paul's eyes. She sighed and couldn't help but roll her eyes at his protective nature.

"Our foreign exchange student..." She explained after the french boy had introduced himself. Rory turned, his interest piqued(sp?) when he heard, first of all, his father's tone of dislike, and Aime's name. He grinned and walked into the circle they had formed.

"Woah, you're name's Aime'? Isn't that a girl's name?" He couldn't help but chuckle. Cate, also known as Mrs. Grant, swapped her son on the back of his head and he shut up, though he continued to smirk.

[aime]

Aimé's violet eyes practically glowed with mirth while the boy mentioned his name. He had not had this much fun in a while. "But of course not," he began, his withheld laughter rather evident in his voice. "Eet is my name, and as I am a boy, eet iz a boy's name." Aimé found himself rather hoping that yet more people would come from the house, but, if he remembered correctly (which he most assuredly did), that was the entire family.

He still continued grinning his odd grin/smirk, as he felt rather accomplished for no apparent reason. France had allowed him to represent his country in the States, and frankly, he believed that it was a most wonderous idea. Who better than him?

He ran a hand through his hair, and one who knew him well would recognize the habit he did while he thought. "Ah!" he said, grinning even more. "I bear gifts!" he proclaimed, as if such a thing were perfectly normal. Which Aimé was certainly not. He would have been quite saddened if he hadn't brought something to thank the people who had opened their home for him; the chocolate in his hand had been for such also, but as it lay wet in his hand, he decided against it. But, he had brought gifts, and was glad, and he had brought the gifts, therefore not being sad, and therefore not being uncharacteristic of himself.

[rory]

Rory grinned at Aime's explenation, "cool." Rory could feel Aime's happiness, it was practically glowing. He thought he was weird, but he enjoyed it. Plus, maybe now he could have an accomplice to torture his sister! At the mention of gifts Rory knew he liked Aime'! His appreciation showed on his face. "Awesome!" He exclaimed.

Mrs. Grant smiled at Aime', appreciating his kind and happy demeanor. This, too, was alien in her house. So often her children (husband included) were either pouting because they didn't get what they had wanted, yelling at eachother, or pulling stupid pranks(Rory). She was already growing fond of Aime'.

"Oh! How sweet of you, Aime'! You didn't have to do that." She smiled at him, and then remembered he was wet. In all of the excitement she had completely overlooked this. Cate lifted a finger in a sign for, 'just a moment', and told him she would be right back. After her excepade upstairs she returned with a soft pink towel, one of Harmony's and offered it to him. She then swapped the back of Rory's head again. "Sorry about that." She said, to Aime', not Rory.

[Harmony Grant]

Paul stared at the boy...then at the boy's hand as it was offered... He was polite but, it could be a ploy to charm him. He looked to his wife who explained it was their foreign exchange student. He looked back at the boy, "Oh ok, our foreign exchange stu-" He looked back at Cate, "Our what?" he had also forgotten about this arrangement.

The boy then said that he had gifts for the family. Harmony smiled, "Oh my gosh, you are so nice!" This was great, she got presents and a new friend. She waited for him to take them out.

Her father looked concerned by his daughter's words, "There is more to life then-" but soon it was all forgotten by the sight of the gifts, "Oh my gosh you are so right." Paul picked up one of the gifts with a happy smile.

Harmony didn't mind that her mom had given the boy her towel, after all, she did have another one.

"So, where exactly are you from, Aime?" Paul questioned, now in a kind tone.

[aime]

Aimé accepted the towel from the woman, grinning widely. He wrapped it over his shoulders, grinning like a child who had decided to be a superhero when they grew older. Aimé had entertained a similar dream, but without the growing up part. He was rather happy over the reaction he had received from announcing his gifts. These people seemed happy at the idea, and he was glad.

He began opening the bring orange bag at his side, before he looked up at the man who had inquired of his previous home. “I am from Paris.” He grinned, even at the mention of the rather cliché place he had come from. For a student to transfer from a place most well known…but he ,of course, hadn’t chosen his home.

He looked back into his bag, and shuffled through the neatly packed items, including his books and some of his chocolate and retrieved what he had been searching for. He had been told enough background to know enough to decided what to get. At least, he knew names and ages, and also a bit of the parents careers. Sadly, he hadn’t been able to get as good presents as he had wished, as he didn’t know them yet.

Aimé, being himself, had the ability to acquire things most people would believe extremely difficult. As he didn’t know the family well, he had to only use it the bit he had been able to. The first thing he removed was a jersey, one for the Phoenix Suns, which he had been rather lucky to find. He had many people point out his uncanny ability to get what he wished for even using little money. It was a barely legible signature upon it, as signatures tended to be, inscribed, ‘3D’, which was a nickname of Boris Diaw. He had been French himself, and a good deal of memorabilia of his was found there. He was rather glad people like him enough to find him such useful items.

He handed it to the elder man, before searching again. He removed a box containing a bracelet with the word ‘Amie’ written upon it. He was the type to be friends with anyone. He handed this to Harmony, before looking at the fourteen year old boy. He grinned. “And, you, of course, get a new friend.” Aimé had chosen something for him, but as he had seemed so interested about the gifts, the blonde boy could not pass up the opportunity. He grinned, barely holding back laughter.

[rory]

Mrs. Grant noticed the way he tied the towel around his neck and she looked confused. He was proudly wearing it, like a cape. Seeing this made her remember when Rory had done this, he had even worn it to school like that. She smiled at the memory and at Aime'.

Rory leaned in and tried to peek into Aime's bag, impaitent to recieve his gift. He chewed his lip and was searching with his eyes as best as he could. He could see some books and chocolate..not much else at the moment. He was at a bad angle for snooping.

Mrs. Grant and Rory watched as he pulled out a large, orange, cloth thing from his bag. Mrs. Grant went to her husband to inspect what had been given and she frowned. Cate wasn't a big sports person, even when she was married to a sporswriter. The scriblle of a signature was, no doubt, Aime's. Even so she quickly changed her frown to a smile and said, "isn't that nice? A phoenix Suns Jersey, Paul."

Rory wasn't interested in this, since it wasn't /his/ gift. Besides, who would want some dumb, orange jersey? Bo-ring. Rory hoped Aime' had gotten him a video game, or a Wii, or an iPOD, or a car, or a- His dreams instantly diminished when it got to his turn. He scowled, blinking away confusion anhd looking at his dad and sister who had their gifts. Their /real/, material gifts. "What?" Was all he could sputter. In his mind he was reeling with how bogus this was.