Five Kids and Me

1

It was a bright and beautiful morning in Clue, Utah. The first day of summer was finally here, and I couldn't wait to spend time relaxing after enduring the stress of Junior year. I had forgotten to shut my blinds before going to sleep, so golden sunlight streamed through my windows and across my duvet. Even so, I didn't mind. I was done, free from the constraints of homework, tests, and the ACT. This was the first time in 10 months that I didn't feel suicidal about waking up at 7 am. 

Living in the middle of Utah meant being surrounded by nature. Behind my house was a huge river that ran through the state, and in front of me, I could see the most beautiful mountain range. On this particular morning, the air smelled fresh and pure, mixed with the sweet scent of gasoline.

Wait, what?

My mom drove an electric car, like most Utah residents, and I hadn't smelled gas in years. I shot out of bed and clambered over to the window. To my surprise, there was a huge, rusty moving truck parked smack in the middle of my driveway. The white paint had almost completely chipped off of the exterior, and the words "Sunisco Moving Co." were barely visible. 

"MOM" I screamed as I looked out the window of our suburban home, "MOM! WHY IS THERE A MOVING TRUCK IN OUR FRONT YARD?!" For the last couple of weeks, I had noticed my mom acting weird, throwing away the majority of our clothing and completely clearing out our basement. My grandfather who used to live with us grew up during World War II. Because of this, after 1945 he consistently lived his life with a passionate hatred of Germany and the compulsive need to hoard absolutely everything. My basement was filled with old shoe boxes, mattresses, rusty bikes, tools, broken chairs, metal hangers, and an excess of fur coats. Over the last month, however, Mom had doned a hazmat suit and cleaned the entire lower level from top to bottom. When my best friend Clara's parents had done the same thing, it was in an attempt to make their house seem presentable to those looking to buy it.  My stomach started to sink as I thought of the possibility that I would have to leave the house that had been home to me for my entire life.

I fell back on my bed. My room was painted a simple white and housed my desk, mirror, bed, and bookshelf. The floor was covered in a sea of clothing that smelled, in a word, slightly repugnant. My closet was off to the left, walk-in size and filled to the brim with purses, pants, cardigans, shorts, shirts, and shoes. To my right was my window, and on either side were white bookshelves where I kept my collection of color-coded books. Last names like Verne and Orwell could be seen. When I would lay in bed, I could see the top of my head in my mirror, which hung over my beige desk. It was spacious and perfect, designed by my father when I was younger.

Hopping into a pair of shorts and the closest t-shirt, I waded through a pile of crop tops and sprinted out the door. By sliding down the white banister of our house, I reached the kitchen in three seconds flat. There, I saw my mother and her best friend Aly. A tall woman with golden hair and sparkling eyes, Aly could have easily been a supermodel. Even so, today she had piles of duffle bags by her side and a red, puffy face from crying. Aly turned around when she heard my footsteps. "Misty!" she said and tried to smile. Aly called my Misty because I'm Sierra, Sierra Mist... you get the deal. "Aly," I said, "What are you doing here?" Aly's smile dropped and a perplexed look crossed her face. "What do you mean?" she said. Turning to my mother, Aly whispered harshly "Jenna, you didn't tell her?" Mom shook her head and stepped back, pushing leaning into the marble countertop behind her. "I wanted to wait until you were sure this was happening." 

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I hated when my mom was cryptic. She would never give me a flat out answer, opting to skirt around whatever unpleasant event was about to occur until the last second. I looked over at Aly's duffle bags again, and suddenly the pieces started to click. Clearing the basement, re-organizing, the increase of food in our pantry even though only my mom and I lived here. Add on my mom's mysterious phone calls about the bank and a mortgage falling through and:

Aly had never been wealthy, and when she started to have children, it made it harder and harder for her to support herself. Even so, I never knew the extent of her financial turmoil.

Until now, that is.

So we weren't moving out; Aly was moving in. And the last time I checked, she had five sons. FIVE. "No no no no no," I said as the reality of the situation hit me. I could not live in a house with five smelly, unhygienic, rowdy boys. I stepped back, knocking into our pantry. The wall shook, and a bunch of cans fell on top of my head. My mom yelled, "Sierra, watch out!" but it was too late. My eyes roll back and I fell to the floor, but not before I saw someone rushing towards me. 

And it wasn't my mom.

*******

I woke up in bed. My head was throbbing and there something sticky in my hair. I sat up too quickly, and the room started spinning. "Woah, slow down there," someone said. After touching the back of my scalp, I saw that something red had stained the palms of my hands. Was I bleeding? I reached out for my mom but was met with a nicely toned stomach that definitely did not belong to Jenna Bloom.

I screamed and shot up, having realized that a shaggy-haired boy was sitting on the end of my sheets. He had brown eyes with flecks of green and dirty blonde hair. He was wearing a white shirt with red stains and a pair of dark washed jeans. My mom would kill me if she saw him up here, whoever he was. I screamed again. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears with his hands while shouting "Dude, be quiet!" I was shaking, my covers pulled up to my neck. How did he get in here?

My mother suddenly entered the room. "Sierra, what's wrong?" I looked at her, stunned. Was she not aware of the boy sitting at the edge of my bed? "Am I missing something?" I said, completely bewildered. My mom came over to the side of my bed and handed me an ice pack, which I placed on the back of my throbbing scalp. She was smirking, obviously reveling in my confusion.

"Sierra, honey, Aly lost her house to the bank yesterday." I rolled my eyes and said, "Yeah, I kind of deduced that my now." My mom sighed and continued. "Anyways, we both know that Aly would do anything for me, and in return, I would do the same. That's why I offered for her to come live with us until she and her boys can get back on their feet."

My stomach dropped. I knew that my mom was the most selfless person on the planet, and it was more than probable that she would be the first person to offer help to Aly in her time of need. Even so, was she really taking it upon herself to care for an extra six people on her salary alone?" 

"Oh Mom," I said, and reached out for her hand, "that's amazing." Even though I was obviously upset at the prospect of sharing my house with five other kids, I had never felt more proud to be my mother's daughter in that moment.

She smiled "Ok, great. Why don't you go wash your hair and come downstairs so we can talk about logistics and everything." I shook my head in agreement. Suddenly I heard a sneezed and was reminded of the mystery boy's presence.

"Oh," mom said, "Sierra, do you remember Luke? He's Aly's second oldest."

Of course I remembered Luke. We were the same age and used to play together all the time as children. I hadn't seen him in years, though, and the chubby, bucktoothed Luke that I had known was completely gone. We made eye contact and he smiled at me. I didn't motion back.

Continuing on, Mom said, "Luke actually saved you from hitting your head on the floor earlier, so be sure to thank him."

I was confused. If I didn't hit my head, why was there blood in my hair?

As if reading my mind, Luke said: "A can of tomato sauce opened." I let out a small laugh. His voice was nice and deep when he wasn't screaming. "Thanks," I said, and he nodded. 

My mom kissed my forehead and got up to leave, with Luke trailing behind her. Who knows, maybe this whole situation wouldn't be so bad after all.

******

Hey, guys! Sorry for the year(s) long absence from writing. I'm going to continue working on DTMIS, but plan on finishing soon, so I started this story in the meantime! Leave any comments you have down below and thank you so much for reading! <3

-S