Possibly taking my silence as a judgment, she added, “I know it’s selfish.”
“That’s not what I was thinking. What you’ve done – raising your siblings – that’s the opposite of selfish.”
Our eyes met, and she gave me that look again. Just before I started squirming, she forced a smile on her face and said, “Your turn.”
“My turn?”
“Yeah, what’s your story?”
“I don’t have one,” I lied.
“Yes, you do. I know you’ve been holding back on me. You won’t even tell me your last name. Why?”
“What does it matter?”
“Come on, Kyle. I showed you mine, now you have to show me yours.”
“Oh, you want me to show you mine? Why didn’t you say that in the first place?” I asked, pretending to pull down my shorts.
“No,” she laughed and grabbed my hand. “Fine. If you don’t want to tell me, then I’m going to guess.”
I leaned in, very interested in what she’d have to say about me. “Please do. This ought to be fun.”
Her eyes scanned over me as she was coming up with a narrative. “Okay, let me give it a go. You’re a trust fund kid. Your parents are filthy rich, maybe even famous, and you’ve spent your life trying to figure out where you fit in. You know there’s more to life than just throwing money at a problem, so you volunteer at soup kitchens and try to make a difference in the world. You probably even wanted to join the Peace Corps at some point in your life…anything to shun the trappings of wealth and privilege. Yuck. Barf. Gag me with a silver spoon.”
Kenzie’s face was twisted up with disgust as if my fictional life was more than she could stomach.
“Wow, that was so totally bitchy of you.”
She looked up, shook herself out of her disappointed fantasy world, and laughed. “I know. I must have some real pent-up anger.”
“Seriously. I thought you were going to punch me for a minute there.”
Kenzie wiped sand off her leg then asked, “So how did I do?”
“Um… let’s see.” I started going though all the things in my head that she’d labeled me. “You got one thing right, and even that was only partially right.”
“Do you have rich parents?”
“No.”
“Do you volunteer in soup kitchens?”
“No. But I should.”
“Have you ever wanted to join the Peace Corps?”
“No again.”
“Then what did I get partially right?”
I hesitated before saying, “I am related to someone famous, but it’s not my parents.”
Kenzie leaned forward, immediately interested in my admission. “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. How famous are we talking?”
“Like,famousfamous,” I replied.
“Seriously?” she asked, making a face.
