Straighter than Parallel Parking

≈ e l e v e n ≈

{ Chapter Eleven: Biting the Tongue Before Your Fist Draws Blood }

JANICE WAS SILENT ON HER RIDE. It was a sharp contrast to the earlier enthusiasm that she'd been suffering, but this-- this was ridiculous. She wanted to put on a brave face and refill her anticipation, but her aunt's serious, ugly reaction happened to be a freaking large mood killer.

Karlo picked up on her moodiness, but refused to initiate something about it too soon, a little terrified to agitate the girl beside him, who was glowering at the window like she wanted to break it. Janice was so annoyed, she probably would've. And that was twenty bucks he was so not paying.

After the radio went into a drawled intermission and they'd stopped at a red light, he couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, enough. What's eating you up?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah, even bull's have crap more legitimate than that."

"It's nothing," Janice replied, her words coming out more harsher than she wanted. Still facing her passenger window, she rolls it a down a little so she could cool the heat in her cheeks, careful to keep her hair in place.

"Janice, I can tell something's wrong. Is it about the hangout? Are you still scared?"

"No."

"Goddamn, Janice, will you stop acting like a ch--"

Janice was already walking on a tightrope with her emotions, but she felt as if Karlo's pushing made her misstep somewhere. "A child? Why? Sick of hanging around them all the time suddenly? Tough luck."

"Alright, what the hell?" Karlo asked, sending her a frustrated look.

Janice sighed, exasperated. "Karlo, look. It's nothing. Aunt Maria was being a jerk. And I guess she's not the only one. Sorry."

"What did she do?" Karlo asked softly, hoping not to antagonize Janice any further.

His sister fiddled with her necklace, and with a short side glance to the side, Karlo noticed that her hostile mood had melted away to nerves. "Alejandro let me borrow mom's necklace." At the stunned silence, she barreled through with, "and Aunt Maria saw it and told me to take it off and that I didn't deserve to wear it and I don't know, I guess it isn't fair for me to wear someone's necklace that isn't even related to me but I loved it and Alejandro seemed like it was a good idea and--"

Karlo interrupted Janice's rambling with a raspy, "she was your mom. Of course you're allowed to wear it. Aunt Maria can't tell you otherwise."

"I-I." Janice stopped herself, not knowing how those couple sentences eased her mind considerably. She settled for a heart-felt, "thanks."

"Now if you're over with that, I hope you know you don't look like you walked out of a dumpster anymore, so props to you."

And that is how Karlo Diablo complimented people. "Actually, Alejandro kind of designed this, ha," Janice said, and laughed as Karlo's eyes bugged out.

He pretended to look contemplative at the road in front of him. "I always knew there was something wrong with that kid."

Janice just shoved her brother, and although the car tilted to the side and a honk burst the air, she still glared at him playfully. "There is nothing wrong with a boy knowing how to look smart. Especially if it somehow benefits their fashion blind sister."

"I don't know, is he going to work at Victoria, too? Bet he'd be a fabulous mannequin, you know? He won't even need those spray on tans; he already resembles a Doritos," said Karlo with a cheeky smile.