Chapter 26: Ferrari II
After being scolded by Jay (I didn't tell him the truth about Alex, otherwise I would have had to listen to an even longer lecture. Besides, even though I thought she was hot, I knew I'd hardly ever see her again), we took a drive and I did the same with Gloria.
After that, I decided to head first to Malibu. I parked right in front of a car that had just stopped.
"Hey kiddo!" I waved to my cousin.
"Wooow, nice car!" Jake was thrilled, admiring the vehicle. "Is it yours?"
"Yep, bought it today, brand new," I confirmed.
"You bought a Ferrari?!" Judith screamed, her eyes widening in shock.
"What's all the commotion?" Charlie came out of the house with Alan.
"Hey dad, look what I got!" I showed him the car keys.
"humm, nice car. The chicks will be all over you," Charlie gave me a look of approval. "Already made one scream, right?" He nudged me, glancing at Judith, who had just shrieked.
Alan still looked perplexed, but finally spoke. "Where did you get all the money for this? Did you buy this, Charlie?"
"No, I was thinking about giving him a car, but not one like this," Charlie denied.
"Oh, I got my mother's life insurance today," I revealed the source of the money (not really).
"Do you know how much car insurance for one of these costs? The taxes and maintenance? You think your mother's insurance will last forever?" Judith gave me a judgmental look, as if I were an idiot.
"Don't worry, Judith. I'll do like you - I'll send the bill to the people who actually work," I mocked her (like I would ever let her have the upper hand).
Charlie and Alan burst into laughter.
Judith shot them a murderous glare, almost piercing holes in them with her eyes.
Alan stopped and turned to me. "Not funny, Francis."
"I thought it was hilarious," Charlie kept laughing.
"You know it'll be you who pays for it, Charlie," Alan told him.
"Relax, Alan. Let the kid have some fun. If anything happens, he can just sell the car," Charlie brushed it off completely.
"He'll be broke in no time if he continues like this," Alan kept on lecturing.
"Then I'll just live with Dad all the time," I pointed out.
"Ha," Charlie gestured at Alan, as if to say that's exactly the truth about his brother.
"Can I take a ride?" Jake asked
"Not a chance!" Judith quickly denied. "You will not get in that car with your irresponsible cousin."
"Sorry, champ," I looked at him. "Your mother's orders."
"Hey dad, want to go for a ride?" I tossed him the keys, already knowing the answer.
"Sure thing, kid." He caught them in the air and started walking toward the driver's door. "There are some beaches around here where pretty chicks hang out. We can cruise by slowly."
"You know if anything happens, you'll be the one walking home on foot, right?" I looked at him.
"Don't worry, we'll just put them on your lap," he said unfazed.
And we got into the car, ignoring Judith and Alan's stares.
Catching the faint smell in the car, he asked the same question Jay had. "Are you smoking?" But without the judgmental tone.
"Not really. I don't smoke… most of the time. It was like that…" I told him the story about Alex.
He patted my shoulder. "Glad you made the right choice. And glad your two weeks rule are over, we now can do so much together!" He made a wide grin
And we drove around for a while, picking up some good company during the ride (we would have anyway, the car just helped). We returned to the Malibu house to continue with some activities
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In the afternoon, I decided to stop by the Dunphys' house before heading home.
Claire, Phil, and Haley were outside chatting about something when they saw the car.
"Oh my God… is that yours?!" Haley exclaimed, realizing it was me stepping out of the Ferrari.
"Yep, my new car. Want to take a ride?" I offered.
But the first to answer, with a huge smile and childlike excitement, was Phil. "Yes, sure!"
Haley froze and looked at her father with indignation and fury.
"Not exactly the answer I was aiming for, but okay," I laughed, motioning Phil to come closer.
I placed the keys directly into Phil's hand (he would definitely have dropped them if I had tossed them).
"You'll let me drive?" His eyes widened as if he had just received a Christmas gift.
"Yes, come on, let's go for a spin," I said laughing, caught up in his excitement.
"Phil! Jake!" Claire snapped, stepping closer to me. "What is this, Jake?"
"A brand new Ferrari?" I tried.
"Oh, dont go all Alex on me, Jake" Claire scolded me.
"I bought it with the money I got from my mother's life insurance," I revealed what Claire wanted to know.
But before she could start her lecture, I opened the Ferrari's trunk.
"I also bought presents for everyone," I said, pulling them out one by one.
"It's a Sony Handycam DCR-TRV950!!" Phil exclaimed excitedly. No wonder - this was a top-of-the-line camcorder, worth nearly three grand.
I handed two boxes to Claire.
"A KitchenAid Artisan and a Tiffany necklace," she looked at them with sparkling eyes. "It's adorable," she said, gazing at the necklace, then called for Alex and Luke to come to the entrance.
"Here, for you, Haley."
"An iPod 3rd generation!" Haley said excitedly. "Thank you, thank you, Jake!" She hugged me tightly.
"I'll give you more later," I murmured to her.
Then I gave Luke a Nintendo GameCube, and an Apple iBook G3 to Alex.
"You can use it to study, Alex," I told her, receiving a strong hug - something rare coming from her.
Claire looked happy for everyone, but said, "This is too much, Jake. You spent too much of your life insurance."
"Don't worry, Claire, money I can do much more in future. When my mother died, I thought I was left all alone, but what I received instead was an incredible family," I added with a bit of cheap drama. I knew I would conquer everyone here with it.
"Ohhhh," Haley looked at me like I was a puppy and hugged me again.
"Group hug," Phil declared, already joining in, with the rest following right after.
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