sunsets with jude

chapter six - stay away from my sister or i'll shoot you

chapter 6 / stay away from my sister or i'll shoot you

After a talk about school over cold Dr. Pepper, her dad decided to end it.

Emi tapped my shoulder to get my attention. "Just pretend we were working this whole time." She whispered over the sound of the garage.

"I got you." I said quickly, sliding the notebook full of numbers towards me and pretending to explain it to her.

Mr. Shapiro finally walked through the door, fancy shoes clacking against the hardwood. "Good evening, everyone." His dark curls were glistening and he sported a suit.

"How was your day, Señor Shapiro?" When my attempt to be polite tumbled out, I felt embarrassed trying to apply what I learned in Spanish to having a talk with a gorgeous girl's dad.

"Regular." Mr. Shapiro smiled. His perfectly straight teeth indicated where Emi got her cute smile from. "You may call me Ramon, Jude."

"How'd the showing go, Dad?" Emi asked.

"The buyers didn't seem as excited as I was about the house. Eso si que es." With that, Ramon's mood took a nosedive.

translation: it is what it is

"Dang." Emi turned towards me. "We just finished studying for math."

"She's really, really good." I told Mr. Shapiro.

"I knew it! She just gets nervous when it comes to tests and the like." Ramon's face lit up, and he patted his daughter's shoulder.

I chuckled in agreement. "Yeah. If I'm being honest, I'm pretty freaked out too. Just because I score the highest on everything most of the time doesn't mean I don't feel like literally ripping the paper to shreds." While Ramon howled in laughter, Emi raised her eyebrows in shock.

"Actually?" I swear to god, her eyebrows probably could've merged with her hairline if she raised them any higher. The crease in her forehead disappeared as she agreed, "That makes two of us, Jude."

"Keep being scholars, you two." Ramon left the two of us alone in the kitchen. "Emi, your mother won't be back for another few hours, but she will bring you and Victoria to the park tomorrow."

Victoria? As in the girl she's pretty much attached at the hip with. Other than my dog, I don't have that relationship with anyone. I don't know if liking Dr. Pepper counted as something we had in common, but not even that meant we were similar at all. She was always chatting and giggling with a different girl every time I saw her at school while I was always alone whenever Dawn wasn't around.

Emi nodded. "I know, papi."

"Anything else you want to go over?"

"No, I think I'll be fine."

"I have to leave. My sister has a soccer game tomorrow and it's literally at the crack of dawn," "This was a great session."

"It was. Thank you so much."

I stepped out and made my way to my house next door. Clearly I was there for a while, as the light blue sky was now a gorgeous mix of pink, red, and some dark blue.

I don't know if this is weird, but when I'm not with my camera, I love studying the sky at night. Not in a future NASA employee way, but I'm definitely a sky person. At my sister's track meets, I pay more attention to the warm colors decorating the sky than watching her run.

The person who drove past me probably thought I was crazy for standing on the sidewalk and staring up at the sky. Finally, I walked through the front door of my house and crashed on the couch.

"JP!" Abbey screamed. "I found the girl that you talk about non stop!" She was holding my yearbook with the most malicious grin on her face.

"Leave me alone, Abbey." I groaned, rubbing my eyes for emphasis. "We have to go to your stupid game first thing tomorrow morning."

"Alright, sleepyhead." Even though she swore to stop bugging me, she still just stood there. I could feel her wet hair dripping on my face. "Come on, you know you can tell me anything." Abbey's tattling phase was long over, but graduating from snitch to therapist is easier said than done. "Tell me about her. Now."

Since the day my parents brought her home from the hospital, she's used to getting her way all the time. She hasn't even walked through the doors of my school, but I knew for a fact the upperclassmen were either going to crush on her or run away from her yelping for help.

"Fine, Abs." I groaned, sitting upright on the couch. "There's nothing I can really say though."

"Just pretend you're explaining the plot of Fahrenheit 451 for the millionth time." She pleaded. "For once you're talking about something interesting."

"Where do I even start?" Abbey's right. When it comes to any topic that's not academic or photography related, I'm not big on talking. "Emilia...she's gorgeous on the outside and stunning on the inside."

Abbey shot me a baffled look, but she remained interested. "She's pretty, not gonna lie. It sucks that I'll never get to meet her."

"How come, Abs?" 

"You've got no rizz." She chuckled. If I'm being honest, she's one to talk. She's much more popular than me, but I don't know if that's true with boys or not. I'm not a boys, stay far away from my sister or I'll shoot you big brother, but I'm praying that her future husband can deal with her attitude.

Sisters who are going to be freshmen at the end of the summer, am I right?

"She gave me a Dr. Pepper." I reminisced, my cheeks turning pink. The events of the last two days were enough to make me blush. The two of us interacted more in the last few days than the four years we've known one another. That's right, I've liked her for a good portion of the time I've known her, but can't bring myself to tell her. 

I'll never forget the first day of high school when her new look turned heads, or at least mine. Before eighth grade ended so abruptly because of the pandemic, Emi was always down in the dumps and had no confidence. I'm pretty sure her self hatred was a byproduct of being tormented because of her weight.

Some people spent quarantine in the refrigerator. I fell into that category and my body looks like a middle aged dad. 

On the other hand, some people cringe in disgust at the things they did in the past and decide it's time for a change. Emi was pretty in middle school even though she didn't see what I saw in her. That doesn't necessarily mean that I wasn't in awe of her transformation in high school.

My jaw dropped on the first day of freshman year. I had to do a double take when I saw her because of her huge 180. Last year, I swear she was going to burst into tears every time I saw her. The depressed girl gave way to a more confident one, walking around school like she's in a fashion show or something. 

Most of her face was covered with those stupid masks, but her makeup went from- I can't make this up- shimmery green eyeshadow with a bold purple lipstick to a more simple look. The focus went from her over the top eyeshadow to her long, dark lashes and a layer of blush sits on her cheeks. She even turned her nose up at the crusty lipstick that had her in a chokehold in exchange for lip gloss. 

Also, the clothes she wore showed more of her gorgeous body. Not only did her style upgrade, but she gained some curves in the right places. Even a fucking garbage bag can't hide her juicy thighs and the pudge on her belly. 

"And?" Abbey's eyebrows knit together. "We all know you're addicted to it."

I don't respond, just sitting there grinning like an idiot. Seeing me happy made my sister drop the attitude. "Aww. You must really like this girl."

"She's gorgeous." I whisper more to myself than her. 

Abbey ruffled my hair, messing it up more than it was before. "Jude, listening to you talk is fun and all, but I have a game I can't lose." She kisses my cheek, her lips coated in chapstick or something. I watch her run upstairs to finally dry her hair.

Life is good. My crush is talking to me and for once, my sister's not being a brat.