Simple As A Song (School of Rock)

six - sleepover

AFTERNOON SUNLIGHT FILTERS THROUGH the open window to my right, allowing a soft breeze to blow through the kitchen. Beside me, Tomika hums along to a song that's most likely stuck in her head while her older brother, Blaze, is hunched over his math homework, sighing. My own homework sits in front of me, forgotten. Instead, I'm looking around their kitchen, thinking about my first week of school. 

Tomika has been nothing but weird and kind of mean to me at school, and it's been bothering me. She's always had a knack for teasing me when we were younger, and that was okay. I teased her, too, especially about the fact that she's just like her brothers (she hates when I say that). I think her problem is that we go to school together now. When we were younger, the one thing we had in common the most besides our ancestry was gymnastics. Even there, she didn't make fun of me as much.

Maybe it was because we joined gymnastics at the same time. At her school, she had friends and social standing, and I infiltrated that. I'm the newcomer, the weird kid who is on a scholarship so that I could attend this school. And I also live with Tomika and her family. 

Aunt Milani rushes into the room, holding Kenji, Tomika's younger brother, in her arms. I was told he was a surprise, which would make sense because Blaze is currently sixteen, Tomika is thirteen, and Kenji is two. Apparently, Aunt Milani and Uncle Ethan still liked to have fun. My mom, on the other hand, did not have good luck with relationships since my father left her a long time ago. 

"Do you kiddos care if we have pizza tonight?" Aunt Milani says frantically. "I have to go pick up Ethan from the airport, and I totally forgot I had to do that."

"Poor Dad," Blaze says, chuckling. He stands up and stretches his hands above his head, letting out a loud groan. "You go and get him, and I'll handle dinner."

Aunt Milani stops in her tracks, giving Blaze a weird look. Even Kenji is staring at his older brother with a funny look on his face, but he always has a weird look on his chubby face. She steps forward and places a hand on his forehead. Blaze ducks out of the way with a grin on his face. "Are you feeling okay? You never volunteer for things to help your dad and me."

"Come on, Mom," Blaze says, waving a hand through the air. "You know I always help out around the house!"

"Sure," Tomika says, snorting, "and I clean the toilets."

Blaze makes a few noises before saying, "I just want a truck, that's all. If working around the house helps, then so be it."

"You can get a job," Tomika says forcefully. Blaze looks over at her with a glare, so she sticks her tongue out at him. "Instead of asking Mom and Dad to buy you a car, get a job and do it yourself."

"Enough, you two," Aunt Milani says. "Blaze, I'll think about your proposition. Just make dinner while I run and get your dad."

"Wait, where's Mom?" I ask, dropping my pencil to the table. Glancing around the kitchen, I try to peer into the living room area and don't see her in there. "She could make dinner so Blaze wouldn't have to do it."

"I want to!"

Aunt Milani looks at me as she sets Kenji down on the ground. He toddles over to Tomika, who takes him into her arms. Dropping her fierce exterior, she kisses Kenji all over the face, and he giggles loudly. "She had her own errands to run," she says without elaborating more. I frown, wondering what she could be doing. "I'll pick her up after getting Ethan."

"Um, okay."

She slings her red purse over her shoulder. "Can you three watch Kenji? It's getting late, and I don't want him to miss out on his bath and bedtime."

"It's a Friday, Mom," Tomika says while she's still hugging Kenji. He doesn't seem to notice that Tomika doesn't want to watch him later. "And Summer asked if Harlow and I can go to her house for a sleepover, so . . ." She trails off, and I look over at her. I didn't know that Summer wanted us over at her house for a sleepover. "If you could take us there, too, that'd be great."

Aunt Milani sighs, rubbing a band across her face. Even though she's younger than my mom, she looks so much older right now. "Quickly get ready."

"Thank you!"

Tomika turns Kenji around and steps out of her chair right behind him, motioning toward me. I follow her to her room, which is where I am sleeping right now. She slowly shuts the door behind me, cornering me. "Summer didn't ask me if we could come over tonight," she whispers, her eyes intense. "I'm going to quickly text her, so you pack us some clothes."

"You get to text Summer while I do all the work?" I ask. It seemed like I was too loud for her because she covered my mouth with her grubby hand. I glare at her, but she doesn't drop her hand. 

"Be quiet, Harlow," she says. "You will do as I say, or you can stay with Kenji and Blaze and I'll go to Summer's house."

This time, she drops her hand. "Maybe I will stay with Kenji and Blaze," I say, crossing my arms over my chest. "They're nicer to me than you are."

"You will have to help bathe Kenji, and he loves splashing people," she says, shaking her head. "With more than just water, mind you."

"Right," I say, turning around. "I'll help you conspire against your mom." To the right is my makeshift bed, a cot that is covered in mismatching covers -- dinosaurs and fairies stare up. I lean over my bed, picking up a new pair of pajamas and an extra pair of clothes. Setting them down on my bed, I say over my shoulder, "Where do you keep your bags?"

"Over there." I turn to look at her, and Tomika's focused on her phone, typing a message to Summer. 

"Over where?"

"There."

"Tomika, I don't know where there is," I say angrily. "Please show me where your bags are."

"Can you not look for them?" she says, looking up from her phone. She points past her massive bed at the far wall. A few hooks line the wall, and I notice a multitude of bags hanging from them, near her skateboard. "There they are. Can you see them?"

"Yes, I can," I say, rolling my eyes. "Thanks."

Marching over there, I grab the lowest bag from the hooks. Walking back over to my clothes, I shove them in the bag. I'm afraid to ask her where her clothes are, so I head over to the big, wooden dresser in the corner of the room. Opening the first drawer at the top, I see her underwear, so I quickly shut that, hoping she didn't see that. The second drawer is full of jeans, so I grab the first pair and put them in the bag. The right side of the dresser is a wardrobe, so I open that and pluck the first shirt I see off of a hanger. Folding it up, I set it in the bag. Finally, I grab her pajamas lying haphazardly on her bed and put them in the bag as well. I zip it up when Tomika cheers. 

"Summer says her mom says that it's okay for us to come over," she says, grinning up at me. "Riley is already over there anyway, so the more the merrier, right?"

"Wait, Riley is over there?" I ask, growing still. Her words about the rest of our class being in a band washed over me, and I hope Tomika doesn't notice how different I'm acting. I can't believe that my own cousin didn't want to tell me about the band she's in. "It can be a girl's weekend!"

"Girls! Are you ready?" Aunt Milani calls out, sounding more frantic than before. She pops her head into the room, her eyes widening when she sees the mess in our shared room. "When you get back sometime this weekend, you guys need to clean the room."

"We're ready!" Tomika says, grabbing her backpack from the ground. She slings it over her shoulder while I pick up the bag. "Let's go!"

She grins between her mother and me before slipping out of the room, a pep in her step. Aunt Milani gives me a weary look, so I shrug, kind of wishing I didn't have to go to Summer's house. My cousin didn't tell me the truth about what she's a part of, but my new friend (I hope) told me. I'm sad that she didn't tell me, but I'll get her back at the sleepover, I know I will.