An Unpredicted Life

chapter 1- lua

Sometimes I think people take parents for granted. My mom made me do this, my mom made me do that. My dad's so annoying. Why won't they let me? I know that parents don't always come cheap. You can't expect the best in the parental unit— you need to expect the worst. Otherwise you won't know what to do when you need it the most.

~~~~~~~~~~

    Dinner time is mac n' cheese from a box at 10:00 pm. That's not what I would prefer for a growing 8 year old boy, but Dom doesn't complain. We both know that that's all we can afford ever since Mom died and Dad left us.

"Lu!" I let out a sigh. He calls me that a lot. Ever since he was 2 and couldn't pronounce Lua.

"I wanna show you a picture I made at school. Mom's in it 'cause I miss her. Mrs. Simpson said I should put Dad in it because he's my family too, but I told her I didn't want to." After seeing my worried look he said, "I didn't tell her Dad went away though because I know you don't want people to know."

"Dommie," I said with all the patience I have, "did you brush your teeth? It's almost 10:30. You're supposed to be asleep by now. You have school tomorrow, remember?" And with a grunt, he headed upstairs. Thats been our routine for the last 2 weeks.

    After I got out of the hottest shower on earth to recover from a long day of my new job (that I needed when our own father decided to be selfish and left a 17 year old girl in charge of a second-grader), I throw on my comfiest pajamas and call Dad. I call him every night but he never answers. I only know he's alive because of the one text he texted me the night after he evaporated.

I need to figure some things out. Don't know when or if I'll be home. I'm so sorry Lua. Take care of Dom. Love you.

Yeah? Well I don't know when or if I can forgive you. I only call him for Dom. I have to. And again, he doesn't answer. And again, I try not to scream at the sky for this god-forsaken life.

    When I get settled into bed, I pull out my favorite books, Sense and Sensibility and Romeo & Juliet. Tonight I feel more on the Shakespearian side, so I get comfy and start reading the tragedy. Reading is the only way I've gotten through these awful few years, and it makes no sense to be reading a sob story when your whole life is a freaking sob story, but it makes me feel better anyways, as I drift off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

    Today is the first day of my new school. For me, at least. Dom and everyone else started last week but I took a week off to get work crammed in to feed us and pay the bills at the same time.

     I look at myself in my bathroom mirror. Long chestnut hair straight as a stick, big brown eyes, tiny frame, and golden skin turning lighter as summer ended. Dom used to call me Belle, from Beauty and The Beast. It boosted my confidence up a lot, but then everything bad happened and now I just hate looking in mirrors. Maybe because I look like Mom. The Mom my Dad fell in love with. I brush my hair quickly, dab on a little lipgloss and a swish of mascara. I pull on my favorite white spaghetti strap dress with a subtle blue pattern and my navy blue hightop converse. It's my senior year and I intend for it to be good.

    Mom died in the beginning of the summer to brain cancer and now I only have to worry about Dommie. I wake him up, get him dressed and fed, and fix him up for school.

    While I'm maneuvering his hair into a front spike with some hair gel, he surprises me with a question he hasn't asked since the day Mom died.

"Why does God take away good people? Mama was good. And Dad didn't die, but he's still gone." I really don't want to tell his innocent self that Dad wasn't taken away. He chose to leave us. So I answer with an innocent answer myself. "Because God wants the most beautiful souls. So—"

"Does that mean I'll die soon? Or you? Lu, I don't want you to die."

"I'm not going to die, Dom. Neither are you."

"Why not?"

"Because I need to take care of you," I was getting antsy with this conversation. "Now enough of this talk. We're going to be late, so go get in the car and I'll be out in a second. I need to grab your lunch bag."

    The ride to Dom's school was silent except for his constant drumming on the seat to a song I was sure would be stuck in my head later. I pulled up to the parent drop-off, kissed Dom on the head, handed him his race car lunch box, and he was gone.

    I silently prayed everyday that Dom wouldn't let his blabber mouth get the best of him so she wouldn't tell anyone that our Dad left. If a teacher found out we had no guardian, could barley pay the bills and only had enough money for Dom and I to eat leftovers with an occasional takeout, they would take him away from me. Im only 17, and wont be 18 for a few months. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Joey got taken away the second week of school. Or at all.

    The hallway was quiet as I made my way down it, looking for the right class, schedule in hand. Hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I started to hear the scruff of sneakers behind me, and I became instantly paranoid. I guess thats the side affect of having to become a mother figure at my age, staying up all night to take care of your brother. I spun around on my heels to find the custodian. God. I need to relax.

    I opened the door to Mr. Singer, my new English teacher. Okay, I'm nervous. Really nervous. After my Mom died, the summer my Dad left, we moved across the state. I lost my friends, my Mom, and my Dad all in the same two months. I know Dommie had to deal with meeting new friends too, but thats easier in second grade. You just lend someone a crayon or share your snack and BOOM. Insta-friend. 

"Lua Summers?" A loud voice breaks me from my trance.

"Yes, sir."

"Welcome to AP English. I'm Mr. Singer. We missed you last week," he said.

"You can sit there. Next to Victoria and Jasper. Jasper, do you mind showing Miss Summers the school during lunch period? She's new to Ridgeway High. And our city, really." My cheeks get hot. I hate being the new girl.

The boy who seemed to be Jasper looked up in the slightest way and nodded. Then dropped his head down again so he was looking at his desk. I sit down, taking in the surroundings.

    The girl next to me had gorgeous auburn hair, friendly hazel eyes, and legs a mile long. Lets just say she belonged in a castle. Or on the front of a magazine. Jasper had jet black hair that flopped into his eyes, which I couldn't see from the way he avoided all contact with the world. He had a long, slender body, and looked pretty tall, even sitting down. His fingers were prolonged and thin, pianist fingers, and they tapped the top of his desk anxiously.

The Fairy Tail Girl tapped on my shoulder.

"Hey. I'm Victoria but call me Vicki. You're new here?" She looked curious in a kind I-want-to-be-your-friend way. The way puppies look at babies.

"Yeah, we moved here from Aspen."

"Wow. I love Aspen. Its beautiful."

"Yeah. Hey, whats up with that Jasper guy?" I was wondering as to why it looked like he was so scared of his classmates.

"Jasper Blake? His mom's from Germany, and I guess he lived there till  he was like 11. He has a slight accent so the other kids call him things— mean things I don't want to repeat. Lots of people bully him," Huh. "He doesn't say anything about it though. Just... stares straight ahead. And I think his sister died too. Don't know how or when though."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Depressing shit. He doesn't trust a lot of people, so maybe if you're looking for a friend, just be nice to him. He'll come around. And of course I'll be your friend." Her smile was reassuring but I still felt jittery, ready to get this day over with. At least I made one friend.

Hi guys! This is my first time showing people my writing, and I hope you like it! I'll try to update as much as I can, but for now, here's the first chapter!

-julia2785