To Be Frank

Two Much Drama

•  •  •

The Timber-Leigh boys are made up of three members: Frank and Kyle Leigh, and their cousin Christian Timber.

The Leigh brothers have lived across the street from us since almost-always. In elementary school, who you were friends with was largely determined by the proximity of your houses, so it made sense that Amery and I got along well with the Leigh boys. By the time the guys discovered my irritating knack at puns, it was too late; we had sworn the irreversible code of friendship— the till-death-do-us-part kind. About a year ago, Christian came into the picture and joined us on several of our many endeavors.

Christian is a senior this year, like Kyle, and is very good-looking, like Kyle, sporty, like Kyle, and is older than Frank and I by one year, like Kyle. I like comparing the two because their similarities end about right there.

Kyle is the most responsible teenage boy in our incompetent generation, to the extent where he doesn't even register as "a teenage boy" anymore in my mind. It used to be my dream that him and Amery got married, since they were both sensible, reliable, a little bit stuffy, and good at taking care of others. Obviously a perfect match. When I told Amery, she just laughed and shook her head knowingly, saying that Kyle liked me more. I didn't believe her back then and even now occasionally.

That was one of the two reasons why I was so surprised when I heard Christian and Amery were going out with each other, the other reason being that it had never occurred to me that he, Christian Timber, could ever like my sister.

Christian is more of your go-with-the-flow type of guy, the ones who usually drive Ames crazy. She hates last-minute planners, and I don't know what exempts Christian from that category.

Except, maybe I do know.

Although unorganized, Christian is adventurous, willing to risk everything, even when the odds aren't in his favor, and manages to come out victorious almost every single time. He's just a darn lucky guy.

On the other hand, Amery has always been looking after Katie and I, and done a great job. Ever since Mom left, she's stopped believing in luck. Ames never gets involved with anything unless she already knows that she can help resolve everyone's conflicts. She's the best sister I could ever wish for, but sometimes she might be a bit too hardworking and I worry she's straining herself to keep up with everything. I hope Christian's luck and easygoing attitude will rub off on her.

The last member of the Timber-Leigh boys is Frank, Kyle's younger brother. We're basically best friends, even though Frank isn't very special. He's just... Frank.

Katie simply adores him though, so I guess you could call that in itself pretty special. He's her favorite Timber-Leigh boy, because he's the only one who takes her seriously. He absolutely spoils her.

The only reason Frank is still labeled as a Timber-Leigh boy is because he's related to Kyle and Christian, both of which are athletic, popular and smart— but not Frank. In a way, that's one of the many things we have in common: older siblings that are impossible to outshine.

• • •

The rumors about Amery and Christian spread like forest fire, and by lunch the very next day, the news had already been circulated throughout the entire school. Although some didn't believe that Christian was going out with Amery, no one could deny that Christian had broken up with Jennifer Park. They no longer sat with each other during their classes together, and barely made eye contact in the hallways. Come lunch period, and Jen was sitting with her girlfriends on the other side of the room from our table.