My sister just crosses her arms.
I sigh. ‘Bi, I talked to Genny. I just don’t know. My job is Tali now, man. The past week – literally just today, like – I do anything where I, I don’t know, drop her off at karate camp, or I leave her with the sitter, or anything, and it falls on my shoulders.’
‘It doesn’t have to just be your shoulders, Roddy.’ Genny’s eyebrows crease worriedly as she musters a knowing smile. ‘It never has been. Not when you have us.’
‘Not when you have us,’ echoes Bia with a reassuring hand to my shoulder. She ruffles my hair with the other, despite my grumble of protest. ‘And if you want us to lay off, we’ll lay off. It’s not our responsibility to tell you what to do with your life, it just … hurts to see you keep doing this. That’s all.’
My sisters envelop me in a hug of short frames, Marc Jacobs perfume, and the vague smell of horses. They don’t wait for a reply this time.
Bia’s words hang in the air. It just … hurts to see you keep doing this.
Chapter Seventeen
Body Slammed
Jordan
‘Guys! Seriously? I thought we were done with this after last week! Hey!’
It takes my entire body between Josh and Nathan to break up what I believe is supposed to be some WWE gimmick, all the other kids absolutely not helping by cheering the two knuckleheads on as they basically roll around in the grass, getting dirt everywhere, including on me by the time I finally manage to separate them.
‘Josh, Nathan, ten minutes now. Please.’ I point to opposite sides of the field.
‘Coach, we weren’t even actually fighting!’ Nathan insists.
Well, that’s odd. Kid’s got dirt practically up his nose and he’s going to tell me this isn’t a fight. ‘Ya sure about that?’ I shoot back.
‘Yes!’ Josh cuts in now. He gestures to their adoring crowd. ‘This is Tag Team WrestleMania, Coach Jordan!’
I stand up, dust off my shorts and look at each of them in turn. Then, ‘What in the world is that?’
Josh raises a hand and starts to speak, but I stick out an arm. ‘Ba-ba-ba. I lied. I don’t wanna know. Please go wash up. And no more Wrestle Team. I don’t want to have to file an accident incident ever.’
They prance off to the water fountain to do said washing up – ew. Benny comes over soon enough, scratching his forehead in as much confusion as I’m feeling right now. ‘What was that?’
‘Some awful wrestling ring. This is lacrosse camp!’ I practically harrumph, pushing my new pink sunglasses up my nose before they slide straight down. ‘Come on! These folks have a massive game in a month, don’t they?’
‘You wish it worked that easily,’ calls Rod from across the field, where I’m pretty sure he’s disentangling a kid from the goal net. No way.
‘What is going on?’ I throw my hands up in disbelief. ‘They were brilliant just a week ago. Suddenly, it’s a dumpster fire?’
‘The honeymoon phase is over,’ says Benny.
‘Thewhat?’ Do I need to deep clean my ears? What is in the air today?
‘Honeymoon phase,’ he repeats awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. ‘It happens at the beginning. They start out really good. Then, two weeks in, they get used to you. Realize you guys don’t actually have any power over them. And this starts. The Trenches.’
‘The Trenches.’ I let out a sardonic laugh. ‘More like the bowels of H.E. double hockey sticks.’
‘We’ll get there,’ Rod, still at the goal with the stuck kid, yells. He raises an expectant hand. ‘Can I get some scissors?’
By the end of the camp day, Benny, Rod and I are all frazzled, bug-eyed, and totally washed out. I shake my empty Stanley for some extra drama-queen effect, and a sad little slosh of melted ice cubes reminds me that despite chugging a whole flask of chai, it still wasn’t enough to get me through the shift.
‘Oh, my-lanta,’ I grumble as Rod and I shove cones back into the shelves of the shed as per our usual day’s end routine. Benny comes in fifteen early and leaves at the end of camp, three thirty p.m., and we come in at the start of camp and leave fifteen late. He takes set-up, and we handle clean-up.
At that, Rod chuckles, eyes glittering in the dim light of the shed. ‘What did you just say?’
‘You’re gonna make fun of me. I know it.’
