Against All Odds

Chapter 11

Eve

Exams.

I hate exams.

All they bring is stress.

The past month has been full of revision, work and exams. It's hell. The one thing that's getting me through it is Max who has been spending so much time helping me revise, knowing these exams are extremely important. My grades could affect the rest of my life.

My friends have been giving me space because they know how stressed I've been lately. I can't say I don't miss seeing them daily but at the moment surviving my exams is the highest thing on my list.
AJ comes over a lot, playing music as we revise on my bed. Mike comes over more than I would like and always distracts me from my work. Charlotte has phoned me plenty of times, as has Lex but they too are busy with their own revision. When exams finally came, it was like everyone retreated into their own houses, realising they actually needed to revise.

At the moment I'm sat on my floor, staring at my law notes in desperation. Tomorrow is my last exam and I feel like I know nothing. I'm clueless.

"Evie, can you play with me?" Benji enters my room, peaking his head round the door inquisitively.

"Not right now I'm busy." I sigh in frustration, angry at myself for being so stupid. I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail this exam.

"You're always busy." He whines, snatching the text book from my hands. "Play with me!"

"Give that back!" I protest, reaching to get it but he runs away, out of my room. "You little..."

Biting my tongue, I drag my tired body to my feet and plod after him, angry at my little brother.
Benji is giggling, leaping downstairs without a care in the world. He doesn't realise how important my exams are. A levels are make it or break it. Without A levels I can never get into uni.
I follow him until we get to the kitchen. To my utter horror he throws it in the sink and turns the tap on full blast, laughing as he does so.
"Now you have to play." He smiles triumphantly.
My blood boils. I watch for a second as the water seeps into the pages of the book. Then I shove my brother aside and turn the tap off, saving my poor book which is already soaked.
"What the fuck did you do that for! Do you want me to fail my exams?!?" I find myself shouting loudly at my brother who's expression is no longer amused. "You're so stupid! How could you do that?!"
"I..." Benji's lip wobbles and his eyes glaze over.
"For fuck sake my exam is tomorrow and now I can't..." I get cut off when Max rushes into the room, alerted by my unusually loud voice.
"What happened?" He looks confused, glancing between Benji and I.
"He soaked my text book!" I spat angrily. Literally shaking.
"Oh Benji, that was a bad thing to do." Max shakes his head, cool as a cucumber. He kneels down so he's at Benji's height, putting his hands on his shoulders. "I'll have to sit you on the naughty step for that."
Strangely, Benji doesn't resist like he usually does. Instead, he nods and walks out of the room.
Once he's gone I let out a frustrated cry, glaring at my text book.
"Eve calm down." Max stands up, this time placing a hand on my shoulder. "Don't you think you're overreaching a bit? You scared the poor kid half to death."
"I need that book! Now I'm definitely going to fail." I lean back against the kitchen work surface and take a deep breath, trying to push away my irrational anger.
"But you've been revising so hard, you ace every test I give you. You know stuff." Max smiles at me, sensing there's something deeper. "You're not going to fail, but you know I'm always here for you right? Anything you need to talk about, just say the word and I'm all ears."
Sometimes I don't understand how my brother is so strong. He's an amazing person, forced to look after two children.
"There's...something I need to tell you." I take a deep breath, readying myself to tell my big brother about seeing Stan again. About how he'd been coming into the cafe a lot. About how Harvey's friend beat him in a skating competition. I know Stan will come back for revenge at some point. But as these thoughts run through my mind, I'm unable to put it into words. Max doesn't deserve to be worrying about his old schoolmate. Oh, did I forget to mention that Stan was in the same year as my brother at school? They hated each other. Big time. Telling Max would just work him up and he really did need that right now. "I'm sorry it doesn't matter, I guess I did over react. I'm stressed about my last exam."
Max gives me an unconvinced look but thankfully let's it go, kissing my cheek and then saying he believes in me. He knows I'm going to ace the exam.
He leaves to deal with his other sibling and my eyes flicker to my text book. Benji didn't mean to annoy me, I know that, but seeing my text book in such a state made me snap. I replay my little brothers terrified face when I'd been shouting at him, suddenly feeling extremely guilty.
Exams are important but, no matter what, family comes before everything.
I leave my text book on the kitchen work surface and rush to the bottom of the stairs where my brothers were hugging, Benji's eyes watering with tears.
"Eve's just tense at the moment, she didn't mean to snap." Max is saying, comforting our sobbing brother.
I walk into sight, Max smiling gently at me.
"She h-hates m-me." Benji chokes out, face buried in Max's shoulder.
"I could never hate you." I sit down next to them, feeling a lump in my throat. "I'm so sorry I shouted at you Benji."
My little brother surfaces from Max's tear stained T-shirt, sniffing as he looks at me.
"I didn't mean to make you mad." He says quietly.
"Let's forget about it yeah? Sometimes your brother and I have a lot on our minds. But we'll always make time for you OK?" I slide a tear off his face with my sleeve, hating myself for making my brother cry.
Benji smiles ever so slightly and nods.
"I love you two." I sigh, and Max brings us all into a bear hug, Benji giggling in the middle of us, sadness forgotten.
"Who feels like going out to the cinema?" Max suggests and Benji leaps up in excitement, breaking the hug and whooping in joy.
"Yes yes yes yes!" He runs to the bottom of the stairs and looks up at me with the most adorable puppy eyes I've ever seen. "Pleease Evie?"
"It's time you have a little treat after all the revision you've done." Max puts in, also giving me puppy eyes. Quite skilfully if I might say.
"I'd love to go to the cinema." I grin and my big brother joins in with Benji's whoops. I can't help but laugh at them when Max joins him at the bottom of the stairs and they do a strange victory dance. "Oh god, I live in a mad house."