Group Therapy

Forty One

Remington

Wednesday's suck. It's like hey, you're not at the beginning of the week, but you still have almost an eternity until Friday. But then the weekend goes by fast as hell, and the next thing you know it's Monday again and you're crying because school sucks ass.

I think school sucks, even though everything comes naturally to me. True, I have to study more than the average person would, but the average person isn't trying to get into Yale.

I decided to skip work today, because I really need to catch up on my studies. Group therapy takes up some of my time, even though it's just useless and is wasting two hours of my life a week.

I'm trying to complete this AP Lit homework but I can't because I'm thinking about Warren and how I saw him kiss Nancy after school today and how I'm probably going to be alone for the rest of my life.

Camilla is supposed to come visit later today and I'm not to thrilled about it. Sure she's my sister and sure I kind of love her. But I loathe her. It's not even that she's a bitch or rude or ignorant, because she's not. She just over achieves at everything and my parents clearly love her more than they love me. They don't put as much pressure on her as they do me, yet she still manages to do better. She's supposed to be bringing her new boyfriend around. He's probably some preppy douche who drinks tea and plays golf and wears loafers, which actually just sounds like a description of me.

I hear the doorbell ring and I sigh. Maybe if I can just make it through this dinner, everything will be fine. I can lie and say I don't feel good and my mother will let me come back to my room.

I hear the doorbell ring again and for some reason, my parents aren't answering the door. So I have to walk all the way downstairs just to open the door for Camilla.

Before I open the door, I take a deep breath and prepare myself for the mess dinner is about to be.
I open the door and Camilla is smiling bigger than ever.

"Hi little brother," she says and hugs me. I grunt and lazily hug her back.

"Camilla, there's my little girl," my father says.

"Daddy!" she screams and runs towards him. It's always been like this. Camilla will always be daddy's little girl.

My mother comes from the dining room and gives Camilla a hug. I'm so angered my Camilla coming back that I almost miss her new boyfriend. When I look at him, I almost start laughing. He's nothing like Camilla's past boyfriends. He has this whole badass demeanor. He looks so disinterested in being here that I almost want to leave and ask if he'll come with me. He also looks so familiar, like creepily familiar.

"Mom, daddy, this is my boyfriend. His name is Henry."

"Hey," Henry says and I almost collapse on the ground.

"I'm sorry, you don't happen to be related to a Nolan Tate?" I ask.

"That's my brother," Henry says and I know this is about to be the best night of my life. I've heard Nolan talk about his brother, how's he's some burnout who lives in a small apartment and only gets his money from his job at CVS.

"Hello Henry, it is a pleasure to meet you," my mother says and extends her arm out to shake his hand. He fist bumps her instead and I try to hide my smile. My father scowls and for once, I'm not the one who's going to feel his hatred.

"Let's go eat dinner," I say, just to get this mess started.

We all sit down at the large rectangular table. Henry doesn't put his napkin in his lap like the rest of us do.

"So, Henry, what are you studying?" my father asks our guest

"Studying? I don't do that school life."

"You don't go to college?"

"Nah man."

"Camilla I thought you said you met him at college?" my mother asks.

Camilla shifts in her seat. "No I didn't."

"So where did you meet?"

"We met at my job," Henry states.

"Oh, so you already have a job?" my father asks.

"Yup. I work at the CVS near Bunder Wood," says Henry. I almost start laughing until I realize my father would start being mad at me.

"CVS? As in the pharmacy?"

"That's the one." Henry is all proud, as if working at CVS was the biggest accomplishment in the world.

"Where do you live?" my parents ask him.

"I live in the apartments, you know Allenville Meadows. It's great there."

"How can you afford that?"

Allenville Meadows is the only place in Allenville where you can find apartments. But they're nice apartments, classy and all.

"I have a roommate that pays for most of it."

"Does your roommate have a job?" my father asks. I'm sure he's probably thinking that Camilla needs to date Henry's roommate instead.

"No. She gets money from her dad's bank account."

"She?"

"Yeah, she."

This is probably the best night of my life. It's probably going to be the first time my parents will ever be mad at Camilla.

"Tell us about you're family life Henry," my mother says.

"Well I lived in Australia for almost all my life. But when I graduated high school my parents got a divorce and my mum bought me and my brother here. He goes to Bunder Wood. Are you friends with Nolan?" Henry asks.

"Something like that," I manage to say without laughing.

"He's friends with Warren. Do you know him?" my mother asks, she probably thinks all Australians know each other.

"Yeah, he's my cousin," Henry says, sloppily eating his steak.

"Why did you parents get a divorce?" my father asks. I would hate to be in this position, my parents ask way too many questions.

"My dad's gay. So he's with some guy now. It's all good though, we visit him for like two weeks in the summer."

My father looks angered. I don't even want to here him say anything about the topic. I know he's about to go off on some rant about how gays aren't right in the world and I've heard this so many times that I just can't hear it another.

"Excuse me," I say and get up. I can't here this. I just can't.

I go to my room and start pacing. My life is just a big mess right now. ACT practice testing starts next week. I have a serial killer after me. Also I have to worry about what my prick father has to say about my sexuality. I know eventually I'm going to have to tell him. But that eventually is not now.