in a nice place, but I wasn’t exactly sure how he kept it. Did fighting really pay that well or was he getting money from some other sources? It wasn’t like he couldn’t lie if I just asked him.
I remember the sight of his hard jaw nearly falling open as it pulled onto our street. He looked like a kid at Disneyworld seeing the place that was just plain ol’ home to me. Something in me warmed at the memory - not the parts he usually brought alive, but one closer to my chest.
Maybe I was the one being an ice queen. He was chasing me like a puppy and I was treating him like some rabid mutt.
My head felt fuzzy, so I set it all aside for the moment and did my hair in the mirror. The dark sweep was getting kinky again, and I brought out the iron to set it straight. The girl looking back at me seemed to glow a bit brighter. Was sex supposed to do that to you, or was it just the workout that had come with this round? I smiled and even that looked especially dazzling.
Someone pounded the bathroom door.
“Gabi, you ready?” Gina’s muffled voice came through.
“What are you doing home?” I said. “I thought you’d be at the library.”
She groaned like an old stove through the door. “Don’t play with me. We’re already late.”
It came back to me. I was supposed to take her to the volunteer center today. “Oh right. Yeah, I’m coming.”
I’d have to straighten later. I got dressed and came out to find my sister striking an indignant pose and clutching her purse. She was looking just like mom.
“You’re driving, right?” I said, as we headed back down. “My car’s not here.”
“Yeah I saw.”
My breath tightened. “You saw?”
She blew past to the door, a smile on her lips. “Yeah, I saw how you got here.”
“Jada dropped me off. My car’s in the restaurant lot.”
“That wasn’t Jada’s car.”
“It’s her SUV.”
“Those aren’t her plates.”
She was giving me a look, but I ignored it and put on my shoes. “I guess you read them wrong.”
“Maybe. I wasn’t paying attention really. I was more interested in that white boy who was giving you a kiss.”
Her grin was practically falling off her face. I sighed.
“Alright, so it wasn’t Jada.”
“Who was it?”
“Just some guy.”
She didn’t pester me more as we moved through the house to the garage. She got into her old VW silently, but I knew that steam cooker in her head was just building up to another release.
My sister and I didn’t see eye to eye yet on guys. Mostly I didn’t like the idea of her thinking about guys at all in high school. Unfortunately, she was as pretty as she was smart, so the attention found her anyway. None of it was good enough for my little sis. In my mind, I was the prototype and she was the finished car.
She saw herself as a poor knockoff. Which meant that when I trashed some of the beaus she’d brought home, it might have sounded like I was criticizing her. I hadn’t given her an opportunity to reciprocate. Not until now.
I decided to pre-empt any outburst and get her on track instead. “So you know what you have to do with the system?” I asked.
“Yeah, piece of cake.”
“You done anything like this before?”
She sighed and pulled the car onto the street. “Come on Gabi, just tell me about him.”
“Not now. Let’s just focus on what we’re out to do.”
“You sound like Dad.”
“Well that’s not a bad thing. If you really want to put this on your college application, then you gotta help these people out.”
I was taking her Downriver to work at a career center. The people there weren’t the worst of the worst, but our parents hadn’t wanted Gina to go to a more desperate neighborhood. Even in this one, I was there to keep an eye on things. At least here, she could practice her programming to help the management at the center. It sounded better on an application than ladling out food at a soup kitchen.
I managed to wrangle Gina to school chit chat for the
I remember the sight of his hard jaw nearly falling open as it pulled onto our street. He looked like a kid at Disneyworld seeing the place that was just plain ol’ home to me. Something in me warmed at the memory - not the parts he usually brought alive, but one closer to my chest.
Maybe I was the one being an ice queen. He was chasing me like a puppy and I was treating him like some rabid mutt.
My head felt fuzzy, so I set it all aside for the moment and did my hair in the mirror. The dark sweep was getting kinky again, and I brought out the iron to set it straight. The girl looking back at me seemed to glow a bit brighter. Was sex supposed to do that to you, or was it just the workout that had come with this round? I smiled and even that looked especially dazzling.
Someone pounded the bathroom door.
“Gabi, you ready?” Gina’s muffled voice came through.
“What are you doing home?” I said. “I thought you’d be at the library.”
She groaned like an old stove through the door. “Don’t play with me. We’re already late.”
It came back to me. I was supposed to take her to the volunteer center today. “Oh right. Yeah, I’m coming.”
I’d have to straighten later. I got dressed and came out to find my sister striking an indignant pose and clutching her purse. She was looking just like mom.
“You’re driving, right?” I said, as we headed back down. “My car’s not here.”
“Yeah I saw.”
My breath tightened. “You saw?”
She blew past to the door, a smile on her lips. “Yeah, I saw how you got here.”
“Jada dropped me off. My car’s in the restaurant lot.”
“That wasn’t Jada’s car.”
“It’s her SUV.”
“Those aren’t her plates.”
She was giving me a look, but I ignored it and put on my shoes. “I guess you read them wrong.”
“Maybe. I wasn’t paying attention really. I was more interested in that white boy who was giving you a kiss.”
Her grin was practically falling off her face. I sighed.
“Alright, so it wasn’t Jada.”
“Who was it?”
“Just some guy.”
She didn’t pester me more as we moved through the house to the garage. She got into her old VW silently, but I knew that steam cooker in her head was just building up to another release.
My sister and I didn’t see eye to eye yet on guys. Mostly I didn’t like the idea of her thinking about guys at all in high school. Unfortunately, she was as pretty as she was smart, so the attention found her anyway. None of it was good enough for my little sis. In my mind, I was the prototype and she was the finished car.
She saw herself as a poor knockoff. Which meant that when I trashed some of the beaus she’d brought home, it might have sounded like I was criticizing her. I hadn’t given her an opportunity to reciprocate. Not until now.
I decided to pre-empt any outburst and get her on track instead. “So you know what you have to do with the system?” I asked.
“Yeah, piece of cake.”
“You done anything like this before?”
She sighed and pulled the car onto the street. “Come on Gabi, just tell me about him.”
“Not now. Let’s just focus on what we’re out to do.”
“You sound like Dad.”
“Well that’s not a bad thing. If you really want to put this on your college application, then you gotta help these people out.”
I was taking her Downriver to work at a career center. The people there weren’t the worst of the worst, but our parents hadn’t wanted Gina to go to a more desperate neighborhood. Even in this one, I was there to keep an eye on things. At least here, she could practice her programming to help the management at the center. It sounded better on an application than ladling out food at a soup kitchen.
I managed to wrangle Gina to school chit chat for the
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