dear jack • jack hughes

001

HUGHES BROTHERS
Liana's Point of View
📍Toronto, Ontario Canada
March 2013

I sat at my desk that faces my bedroom window. I should be focusing on my math homework right now, but my multiplication tables are stressing me out. Instead, I'm watching the three boys that live next door play hockey in the round about.

I go to school with one of them, I have yet to learn their names. The one I go to school with has curly hair, I think he's the youngest. His other brother, the one with braces, is in middle school already, along with the other brother, too.

I wish I have siblings but I don't, and I probably never will. My parents are fighting a lot lately, so I don't think I'm ever going to get a sibling.

I've lived here for a long time, I was born in New Jersey. My mom met my dad in college at NYU, then they moved out of the city when my mom found out she was pregnant.

I don't remember what New York or New Jersey is like, I moved to Canada when I was three. I've kept to myself in a school, so I don't really have any friends.

"Dinner will be ready in half an hour!" My mom yells from the bottom of the stairs. I should finish up my homework then.

I finish the 8 questions on my 6 times tables put my homework in my folder. I look out my window before I go downstairs, the boys aren't outside anymore.

My dad is in the living room, watching March Madness I assume. My mom is still in the kitchen. I go into the dining room to sit down at one of the four chairs we have around the table, but then something in the backyard catches my eye.

I open the patio door and find a hockey stick laying there. I wonder how it even got back here. I walk around the side of my house, against the fence that separates the three boys' house from mine.

I walk up the sidewalk, stepping over the cracks, until I reach the front door. I knock on it. After a couple of seconds, the curly headed brother opens it.

His hair is wet, only making the brown curls more present on his head. He's wearing a a blue shirt with a yellow M on it and black shorts.

"This was in my backyard." I hold out the hockey stick. "It might be yours." I know it's theirs, only because I've been watching them for a while, but I don't want to sound like a creep.

"Oh, thanks." He says shyly taking the stick back from me. We just stand there for a couple of seconds. "I'm Luke, by the way."

I smile. He's in my ELA class. "I'm Liana, everyone calls me, Lia though." I say. No one really calls me that, but if I had friends, that's what I imagine they'd call me.

He smiles at me before waving and shutting the door. I walk down the stairs of the porch and the rest of the way back around to the patio door.

"Where did you go, hunny?" My mom asks me as I close the patio door behind me.

"One of the neighbors hockey sticks was in our backyard, I gave it back to them." I state. It gave me a good chance to finally meet them... at least one of them.

"That's nice of you, you know," She speaks up a little so Dad can hear. "We should invite the Hughes family over for dinner one of these days."

Now I have a last name to the mystery three hockey brothers. Luke Hughes, braces Hughes, and the other Hughes. Maybe I should figure out their names.

My dad doesn't respond, instead he joins the two of us in the dining room. Mom grabs two plates and sets them in front of our chairs. I feel like we have spaghetti and meatballs at least twice a week, and I don't even like it that much.

"So, how was school, Liana?" She asks me. I get asked this every day I have school, weekend dinner conversations are boring to say the least.

"It was good, I didn't have much homework today." Is my answer every time she asks it. There isn't anything else to tell, and she just leaves it at that and moves on to Dad's day at work. Today, she had something different in mind.

"Did you hang out with your friends or anything? Like sit with them at lunch?" She asks.

"I don't really have any friends, mom." I say in a polite way, but I want her to drop it.

"You should be friends with the boys next door, I know one of them goes to your school. They seem nice."

"Okay, mom."

"Adam, how was work?" She asks. I zone out on what Dad says about work, because it's always the same answer. Like father, like daughter, I guess.

We eat dinner in silence after that. I don't finish all of my food, I swish it around so it looks like I ate more than I did. I wonder if the Hughes brothers like spaghetti.

My dad goes back into the living room and my mom cleans up from dinner. "I'm gonna go ride my bike for a little bit." I say to my mom.

"Okay, be back before the sun sets!" She says from somewhere downstairs, I'm not sure where. I put on my shoes and go outside.

I don't think Dad noticed I walked out, whatever basketball game he's watching has all of his attention.

I grab my bike, that's leaning against the house and walk it down the few stairs and the sidewalk. Once I get out of my yard, I hop on it. I used to need training wheels, but I don't anymore. I can even stand up on my bike.

I go round and round in the cul-de-sac until I see the sun start to set. I go round one more time before tearing off to my house.

I hop off my bike and run inside. I run upstairs and beat my dad to a shower. I brush my teeth and pull down my Barbie nightgown.

I go over to my window. Across from it is one of the Hughes boys' bedrooms. I see the curly headed one walk by, that is Luke's room.

He looks over at his window and I have to duck down so he doesn't catch me looking. I peek over my desk after a couple of minutes and he's gone. I hope he didn't see me.

I lay down under my zebra print blanket. I look at the stars my dad put on my ceiling a few months ago, they glow in the dark. I love stars.

I wonder if the Hughes brothers like stars too. Maybe I should talk to Luke tomorrow at school, he's in my class.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

MITCH MARNER JUST SCORED A GOALLLLLL i really hope the leafs win the series although i'm a devils fan :)