Modern Family: New Life

On Sunday, ten minutes before four o'clock, Andrew left his house heading to Pip's house to work on their programming project.

Their houses weren't far apart. With just ten minutes of moderate walking, Andrew should arrive on time.

As Andrew walked, he thought about the events of the previous day. His lie had been discovered by all the people who shouldn't have found out: Pippa, his parents, and Veronica.

Of the three, Veronica was the one who took it the worst. As for Pippa, she didn't seem to care despite her perfectionist tendencies—who knows why—and his parents seemed almost delighted to find out Andrew had lied.

They didn't even punish him. Howard and Leonard were able to spend the night as planned. They even all returned home together in Mitchell and Cam's car along with Lily.

The reason for Mitchell and Cameron's excitement was that Andrew had lied for the first time like a normal teenager. That's why they were happy—because his discipline and good behavior were sometimes far too extreme.

With Veronica, he had a tedious phone conversation. 

He needed to end this relationship as soon as possible.

For this, he asked his cousin Haley, an expert in ending relationships, for help, and his shortest breakup holds the record at just two days.

If Haley's advice didn't help, he would simply end the relationship without further ado. He had already tried hard enough to take care of Veronica's feelings so as not to reject her in front of everyone.

Now he is the only one who is harmed, since Veronica only talks about herself in the conversations, which made him realize that she is very superficial.

After finishing the task at Pip's house, he would head to his uncles' house to talk to her.

Andrew stopped in front of a pretty, picturesque two-story house. Seeing it matched the address Pip had given him, he walked to the door, rang the bell, and waited.

Ding, dong.

The moment he rang the bell, Andrew heard quick footsteps rushing toward the door and loud but happy barking. He instantly knew it was a dog scratching at the door, eager to meet the guest.

"Barney, back! Don't scratch the door!" Pippa scolded, but the dog didn't seem to take her seriously and kept scratching the door until it was finally opened.

The first thing Andrew saw was a Golden Retriever jumping at him with great force. Luckily, Andrew's strength was high enough that he wasn't pushed or knocked over by the enthusiastic dog.

"Easy, buddy… easy," Andrew said, petting the dog with a smile and laughing softly as the Golden Retriever's tongue licked his face.

"Always the same, Barney!" Pippa said in a resigned tone, letting Barney give Andrew a proper welcome.

"Barney? Like the dinosaur?" Andrew asked as Pippa invited him in.

"Yes, like the dinosaur…" Pippa replied after a few seconds, debating whether or not to confirm.

"Seems like you're into kids' movies," Andrew teased with a slight smirk, remembering when Pippa had called him Andy, referencing Toy Story.

"And how do you know about Barney the dinosaur? Are you a secret fan?" Pippa shot back playfully as they walked down the hall toward the living room. They hadn't even greeted each other formally.

"I know him because of my little sister. She's obsessed with that show," Andrew replied.

"Is your little sister real? Or is she just a convenient excuse to save you when you're in trouble?" Pippa asked with a slight smile.

"Flesh and blood, and Vietnamese," Andrew answered without getting upset at Pippa's comment—after all, he had lied using his little sister as an excuse.

Considering that everyone knew him well and nobody was aware his parents were adopting a baby, it was understandable for Lily's existence to be questioned.

"Hmm, I don't know… If you want me to believe you, you'll have to show me proof or something," Pippa said, pretending to think.

"When I get back home, I'll send you a picture of her," Andrew replied, hoping to shake off the label of "liar" from his reputation.

"Fine, but you have to be in the photo. You can find plenty of pictures of Vietnamese babies online," Pippa said, and Andrew agreed, unable to argue with her logic.

They arrived in the living room, and Pippa frowned slightly upon seeing her dad and little brother sitting on one of the couches.

The living room was cozy, spacious, and filled with several sofas arranged around a coffee table, all facing a large television.

On the coffee table were already Pippa's notes and her laptop, everything ready for them to get to work.

"I thought I was pretty clear a few minutes ago," Pippa remarked, shooting a sharp glare at her father, who was smiling from the couch as if he weren't doing anything wrong.

"Hi, Mr. Amobi. Hi, Josh," Andrew greeted with his usual enthusiasm, not understanding why Pippa was frowning.

Pippa had been very clear in telling her father and brother that she and Andrew would be using the living room to work—no interruptions, no distractions, and absolutely no spectators.

But there they were: her father, with that mischievous smile that exposed him as the nosiest person alive, and Josh, her ten-year-old brother, practically bouncing on the couch, unable to contain his excitement.

Both of them were eager to meet the star quarterback who had been interviewed by a local news outlet, appeared on TV, and won two district championships in middle school.

It didn't matter that the championships were at a school level; in their community, that was more than enough to make him a local legend. Besides, this was Los Angeles, with an enormous number of schools, making it no small feat to stand out.

"Hello, Andrew. Welcome to my home. Make yourself comfortable, and please, call me Victor," said the African-American man with a warm smile, completely ignoring his daughter's piercing glare.

Pippa was not Victor's full-blooded daughter. Her father died when she was only one year old, so she has no memory of him.

Victor is her mother's second marriage who is currently away from home, having met some old friends.

As for Josh, he is the son of Victor and Pippa's mother.

Despite this Pippa considers Victor as her father, not as a stepfather and both have a very close relationship, father and daughter.

Andrew, always polite, smiled and nodded naturally.

"Thank you, Mr. Am—... I mean, Victor. It's a pleasure."

"Dad, Josh, what are you doing here?" Pippa asked in a calm tone, though a vein of frustration was beginning to show on her temple.

"What? I didn't know I needed an invitation to sit in my own house," Victor replied with total cheekiness.

"I rewatched the video of that incredible pass in the final against the Venice Spartans! It was awesome!" Josh blurted out, unable to contain his excitement any longer. He was even wearing a 49ers jersey.

"Oh, that was a good pass," Andrew said with a slight smile, recalling the game. It hadn't been a difficult match, but that final pass had gotten a lot of attention. It was the reason he'd been interviewed.

"A good pass? That was over 70 yards! That's elite high school quarterback stuff, and you were only in middle school!" Victor exclaimed.

A really good high school quarterback can typically throw passes between 60 and 70 yards with accuracy and power. That's the standard at high levels of competition. But exceeding 70 yards is exceptional—especially for a middle schooler. That's why everyone saw Andrew as having such a bright future.

Although Andrew had read some comments on the video of his pass on YouTube saying it was luck and similar things, if they knew that throwing that pass hadn't even been a challenge for him, they'd lose their minds.

"I watched the game five times!" Josh said enthusiastically, but just as he was about to continue, he was interrupted.

"Josh, enough," Pippa said.

"I told you, Andrew and I need to work. Remember that word? W-o-r-k. That means we don't need fans getting in the way," she added. They couldn't waste time; they needed to have a preliminary idea ready for tomorrow.

Her father raised his hands in surrender, though his smile remained.

"Relax, Pip. We just came to say hello. It's not every day we have a future NFL star in the house," Victor said.

"It's a bit early to say I'll play in the NFL," Andrew replied, recalling the heart attack from his past life. If he hadn't died, he'd be playing in the NFL now, so he figured it was best not to tempt fate.

"But you will!" Josh said with more confidence than Andrew himself, and we're talking about his future.

"You've said hello. Out," Pippa ordered.

"Come on, Josh. Let's give your sister and Andrew some space," Victor said, realizing he was pushing the limits.

"But, Dad..." Josh protested, reluctant to leave.

"No buts. There'll be plenty of time to talk football in the future," Victor said, giving Pippa a subtle smile, one she noticed immediately.

Perhaps her father noticed that she was more dressed up than usual.

"If you need a break or some inspiration, Josh and I will be in the other room watching the '95 game between the 49ers and Packers. I'm sure you'd love to see that historic game," Victor added, glancing at Andrew, who was tempted to rewatch that incredible match.

"Dad!" Pippa growled, losing her patience and pointing toward the door.

"Alright, alright! We're leaving," Victor responded with a laugh, guiding Josh out of the living room.

Finally, Pippa let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the couch across from Andrew.

"Sorry... Those two are huge football fans," Pippa said.

"Don't worry about it. Your brother seems like a good kid. If he knows that much, he's probably good at football," Andrew said with a soft laugh as he placed his backpack on the floor and pulled out his notebook.

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