“Isn’t he that rich guy from the ritzy private school uptown? I heard he flunked out and now he’s in Truman with us repeating junior year.”
I sighed. Just what I needed. A rich, judgmental jerk that was going to try to buy his way out of this assignment. I mean, I’m not saying my B average was stellar, but my parents would never accept something lower. I was going to be stuck tossing pizza for the rest of my life.
Rosalina sank into the chair next to me. “I heard he’s like… ridiculous hot.”
And a pretty boy. I bet he wears polo shirts and golf shorts. Just what I need. Mrs. Rogers must hate me.
“Who’s ridiculously hot?”
My younger sister Francesca floated into the room. She was only a freshman, but she was going to be one of those girls everyone envied. I could see it already. She was stunning to look at. Francesca would become a cheerleader, flirt and tease the boys. And, despite the fact that our family could barely afford to pay our rent each month, she always managed to throw together an outfit that looked straight off the runway. We had all chipped in and got her a sewing machine for Christmas a few years back, and she’s been designing her own wardrobe ever since.
“Liam Convington. Your sister hit the jackpot and got him as her history assignment.”
My sister’s jaw dropped.
“You have to be kidding me. He’s like… the dreamiest guy in school.”
I shrugged.
“Can’t be that dreamy if I haven’t noticed him.”
My brother laughed.
“You haven’t noticed anybody since the Marco fiasco.”
Whipping my head to face him, I gave him a death stare. My brother slowly rose and backed away from me, his arms in the air. No one was supposed to mention Marco’s name around me.
“Ooh, maybe he’ll do a wholePretty Womanthing on you, like Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.”
I gave my brother one last glare and aimed my anger at my cousin.
“You want the guy to pay me to be his hooker for a week?”
Rosalina sighed.
“You know what I meant. Like, maybe he’ll take you shopping and pretty you up. It’s been months, you know, since you…”
“Since I what?”
Francesca sighed.
“Since you cared about what you look like.”
I closed my eyes and tried to count to ten. My family loved me. I loved them, but sometimes, liking them was difficult. They were trying to help me in their own way, but the truth could sting on occasion. Like right now.
“Give me back my book!”
Opening my eyes, I saw my sister Angelina chasing after Sergio, who was holding what seemed like a diary over his head. Sergio was twelve, an age where torturing his siblings was a necessity. Today, his target was my nine-year-old sister. I rose from the table, grabbed Sergio, and put on my best mom voice.
“Give your sister her diary back and apologize to her.”
My brother didn’t budge and started to squirm, trying to escape. I gave Giovanni a look and he rolled his eyes but came over and retrieved the book. Angelina took it, although she was already crying. This… seemed as far from being blessed as I could imagine right now. Francesca had a soft spot for Angelina, most likely because they shared a bedroom, so she gathered her in her arms and they both walked away.
I would give anything to have a room of my own. My lovely abode was the living room couch. My clothes were in the boys’ closet since they had less to wear than my sisters. Tonight, I was done. Since I couldn’t crawl into bed, I did the next best thing. I left our tiny apartment and made my way to our roof.
The neighborhood was noisy, so I never had complete silence. But up here, at least for a few minutes, I was able to get something similar to a peaceful moment. At this point, I would take what I could get. My father was the only person that knew this was where I came when I got overwhelmed. He kept my secret. He had even set up a lawn chair for me and left a small lantern nearby. It was the only solitude I had sometimes. And yes, I realize how pathetic that really is.
Liam
