APARTMENT RUMBLE!

EPISODE 1: AN OFFER

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I should really introduce myself. My name’s Adeline Jade Collins. My family and friends call me Addie. I was born on November 27 and I’m now 15 years old. What should I say about myself? Uhm, well, I’m a sweet girl and I have a good personality. I have a lot of friends, not like I’m bragging or anything. I was a member of the student body and discipline committee in middle school. I was also a member of the karate club and earned my black belt last year. I am at the top of my class, although Harper Fischer is always getting in my way to be 1st, so I’m really second, till I graduated middle school. Anyway, I’m an only child, and I’m my Mom’s pride and joy, which is a bit suffocating at times. She likes to flaunt me to her friends at work. She’s a fashion editor see. I got to walk for runway shows for her when she’s short of models or if one was injured, I’d be like her “INSTANT” substitute. She’s a bit of a stage-mom at times and she likes to spoil me. Well, that’s what I get for being the only child. Tch.

How about my Dad? Well, Mom and Dad are divorced, for like 5 years now. I don’t get to see Dad very often since he’s always so busy. He’s a journalist and my Mom hates his job. She says that Dad had never been home for Sunday dinners. If Dad was home, he’d stay for a couple of hours. Afterwards, he’d be off to New York to work for the Herald*.  In the end, Mom decided to split with Dad. I was 10 then, so I could have chosen Dad, but Mom made me a good deal so I’d stay with her, and besides, Dad would probably be too busy to take care of me. I might have ended up like one of those teens that smoked weed next door. That, I wouldn’t like. So I decided to stay in the countryside with Mom.

To be honest, my Mom was no different from my Dad when it came into terms on who was busy. But, she always had the time to go to events in school. That made me feel like the luckiest girl alive, although, things started to change when I was about to leave middle school. During August that year, Mom brought somebody to my karate competition. That was the time I got my black belt and also the time when she introduced me to Federico.

Federico and my Mom met at L.A. Fashion Week, like a couple of months before she introduced him. He was a stylist of some of the models. After a few coffees together, he asked my Mom out for dinner and soon, became an official couple. Honestly, Federico was handsome and charming, and my Mom had great taste in men, but what I couldn’t take was the fact she never told me anything. I felt like a total idiot when she brought him over. So what did I say to her? Well, nothing. But I hated that she was not honest about this. A few months later, they decided to get married. Okay, that was fast, but my Mom looked happy, like crazy happy. So who was I to tell her to not get married when she’s as happy as a clam? I would’ve hated to do anything to hurt her.

In the end, I couldn’t do anything. She ended up marrying Federico, two days after Christmas. They had a Grand wedding, top of the line; everybody enjoyed the wedding, except for me. It’s not like I hated Federico, I just didn’t like him. He doesn’t seem so bad; it’s just that it was like my Mom was stolen from me. Okay, so to put it straight, I’m a little jealous of Federico. Maybe it’s ‘coz he gets to go with my when she has a fashion show to organize. She can spend more time with him while I’m alone at home, going through high school pamphlets. But that wouldn’t cut it, so I just let it be. Nothing else I can do, right?

Now that I graduated middle school, Federico started to live with us at our house during summer break. Dad’s old, rotting things get to have a share of the basement and the room for my books was changed into Federico’s personal walk-through closet. Since I had no right to complain, he got to have it. Lucky bastard. One more thing about Federico is that he loves Mexican food since he’s Mexican, and I hate it. So instead of eating his “creation”, I’d order some take-out from Mr. Chow’s. I found veggies on soy sauce or oyster sauce amusing and filling rather than his greasy Mexican food. He was also a bit commanding, telling me to go to this school and saying, “It’s only my opinion” when he talked for hours about the blasted school. I really can’t fully hate him even with his shortcomings or his unconventional bossiness. I think that’s just part of who he is, but thinking about it now, I’m going to blow up! I need to get away from him, away from here. One day, my wishes were granted, at last.