I Meet the Mutt [CURRENTLY BEING EDITED]

1 | Having a Sister Makes Me Wish I Was An Only Child

Change is a weird thing. It has the power to make or break relationships, friendships - anything you can name.

For most of my life, I had little change that actually mattered. That made a difference. I never went through a mid-teenage life crisis, there was hardly any drama that made me into a different person, and most of my childhood was pretty...dull. Mundane. Nothing much went on.

Then come freshman year, when I moved to a different school and district half an hour away from my old school. At the time, I wasn't the most confident person. In most cases, I leaned on my slightly older sister Victoria for support. She was my voice, my best friend, and the one person I went to if I needed help.

And maybe she didn't seem to reciprocate how I cared about her. Because when I was left all alone in a completely new school with no one to hang out with but an old, distant guy friend I hadn't talked to in years...I had never needed my sister more.

She left me. She and her outgoing, strong personality found a new group of friends. Friends who were unafraid of picking on people who seemed just a little too quirky. People that weren't the life of the party. People that Victoria could be related to. 

What about your sister Angela? What about the girl you shared so many memories with? The girl who kept all your secrets? What about the girl that gave up so much for you? What about her?

The answer from Victoria? She didn't care about me. If she ever did, well, it had long but faded. Years had passed since she stood me up and finally, finally, as a senior I wanted to do something back. I wanted to hurt her just as much as she had hurt me.

I'd been too patient and forgiving. It was time to go all out. And how did this sudden realization come to be? On a boring Sunday night, when I found out my sister had once again plagiarized my homework.

"Victoria?! What the hell? Did you just copy my English essay again?!" 

Grabbing my essay and hers, which was oh-so-coincidentally next to mine, I stormed downstairs, ready to pick a fight. Said sister was doing squats on the yoga mat, probably trying to make her butt bigger or something. I don't know, does squatting actually do that? Never been good at human anatomy or exercise.

She paused her obnoxious rap music and rolled her eyes. "Yeah. So what?"

"'So what?'" I felt like ripping my hair out. "It's plagiarism and I'm so not getting in trouble again. Mind you, I'm the smarter sister. I think your teachers will notice if your essays actually start to make sense."

My obvious diss of her intelligence practically bounced off of her. When it came to school and education, I could say anything and Victoria wouldn't care. 

So I ripped her essay in half. That certainly got her attention.

She leaped off the mat, an enraged expression on her face. "Oh my god, Angela, you are such a bitch. For once in your life, can you just leave me alone?"

"I'll do that once you stop copying me."

Scrutinizing me, she sneered, "And since when did you care?"

"Maybe I just don't want you using me like garbage anymore."

"Oh please. You were garbage even before I used you."

It was amazing. This revelation about how I wanted to push  Victoria off her high horse gave her words absolutely no effect on me. If anything, they just made me angrier. More willing to show her who's boss.

Darkening my tone, I said, "Really? Because last I checked, garbage doesn't go chasing after a boy that will never love her. Garbage doesn't get rejected by the boy. And garbage certainly isn't still salty about something that'll never change."

The whole subject with Victoria and Joshua Robertson, her ex, was a touchy one. One of her friends brought it up a few months ago, and Victoria almost strangled her. From what I know, it happened in the summer of sophomore year, straight into the beginning of junior year. I heard only from rumors that Josh had dumped her, but I saw first-hand how devastated she was. 

Being the good-hearted sister I was, I'd tried to talk to her, you know. Console her, as it seemed that none of her friends wanted to. 

A breakup does something nasty to everyone - Victoria in particular. Awful insult after awful insult just came flowing out through her mouth. Her anger and frustration poured out, making me the target. So I kept my distance and I always have. I saw her when she was most fragile, most vulnerable, and that pisses her off for some reason. 

Josh was my only ammunition. I was proved right when her face colored, her eyes becoming abruptly glossy. 

"Angela, don't talk shit about something you don't know. Now kindly kill yourself so I don't have to deal with you being a fucking prick all the damn time."

With that biting statement, Victoria stomped away, making sure to slam her door shut when she got to her room. I shook my head. Drama queens will be drama queens.

Only, the more I mulled over her words, her erratic and frankly rude behavior over the last few years, I began to formulate a plan. A devious, sneaky plan that was wrong in every way and would definitely land me in hell. 

If only Josh knew, somewhere in our town, that I was coming for him.

What would make Victoria angrier than knowing that her ex was now with her sister?