The Boy in the Rain//Klance

3. Lance

I wake up to children screaming, the usual. I'm in the small twin bed with the little munchkin. My little brother Luis is tucked in my arms.

I gently get up and try to let Luis sleep but the screaming wakes him up as well. I hear baby Marco crying in his crib next to the small bed and I scurry over.

"Shhhhh Shhh It's okay." I soothe him. I reach down into the baby blue crib and scoop up my little brother. He has the same dark blue eyes as me and curly brown hair but his skin is slightly darker. His wailing stops as I cradle him in my arms.

I place him in the bed with Luis. Before leaving the cramped bedroom I say to Luis, "Help him get to sleep and you sleep in too." When he nods and rubs his eyes groggily I walk out of the bedroom.

Immediately to the right is the kitchen and to the left is the bathroom. I go into the kitchen to see what's causing the racket.

My older brother Daniel and my older sister Veronica, who happens to be my twin, are arguing. Daniel is holding his little baby girl, Nina, in his arms while screaming at his little sister. I rush over and take Nina from Daniel, "Danny! You're making Nina sad! Ver stop it too!" I yell at them and stand in the middle with a crying baby.

"You'll both wake up Abuelita! She needs rest!" I yell. My sister and brother look down at the floor guiltily. They both know how hard Abuelita works. Veronica rubs her dark arms and Daniel ruffles his dark brown hair awkwardly.

I take Nina to the bedroom and put her in bed with Marco and Luis. I tuck them all in in their blankets and kiss them each on the forehead.

I walk out of the room and straight into the other tiny room that consists of two twin beds, one for Veronica and one for Chloe.

I walk in and shake Chloe lightly. "Come on Chloe, it's time for school." I whisper and she slowly gets out of bed. I pick her small frame up. "First day of middle school! Chloe you're getting so big!" She giggles, "Not so big! You can still carry me and you're a stick!" I gulp, it's true I don't eat but that's only because there are others in our home that needs to eat more.

I take Chloe to the kitchen where Veronica is making bowls of cereal for everyone and I let her down. I see Daniel trying to convince Mama to take the day off of work.

"Mama, you're sick! You have to stay home." Daniel holds Mama's shoulders and keeps her in front of him. Mama's small frame is getting thinner and thinner by the day and we are all worried for her.

"Danny, I can't stay home, we don't have money." Mama says to him while patting his cheek, "I'm looking for jobs Mama!" Danny begs but Mama is already walking out the door.

"Te quiero Danny." Mama says before she leaves the cramped house. Danny stomps back into the kitchen and grabs a bowl of cereal. He sits on the table and eats his breakfast without saying anything to me, Veronica or Chloe. The couch is where he sleeps, eats and pretty much completely lives.

Our house is small and we are very poor so we all have to use what we have. Danny sleeps on the couch, Nina and Marco share a crib in the same closet sized room that Luis and I share a bed in. Veronica and Chloe have a tiny room as well with two separate two beds, they are the lucky ones, they don't have to share their beds.

Mama and Abuelita share a blow up mattress in what was supposed to be a sunroom. We put a fan in there and a rug and now it's Abuelita's and Mama's room.

Our house is small and cramped but we all love each other so it's livable. Mama is the only one with a job because of Danny's lack of highschool or college degree. Veronica is looking for a job with me but until we can find one we still are broke. Abuelita is too busy taking care of all the kids to have a job and that's it.

We've only got a little money to spare, so when Veronica and I found out that the ultra fancy Highschool we wanted to go to was actually free we jumped with joy. For a couple days actually.

Ver and I have been attending the dumpy high school in our neighborhood for the past two years so we are really excited to be going to a new school. We live in what people would call "The Hood". We are poor and there is lots of crime in our neighborhood. We have a rule about not opening doors, even if we know who it is, at night. Anyone could jump you and run in.

It's a cruel world so you have to have rules so you can be prepared.

Veronica, Chloe and I get on our bikes once we get outside after breakfast. We pedal hard and fast in the warm summer weather and we all laugh and exclaim how nice it is today. We drop Chloe off at her middle school and then we pedal towards our new high school. Garrison High.

I grin at Veronica, who's dark curly hair swishes in her ponytail. When she grins back we pull to a stop in front of the school. I get off my bike and we lock them on the bike racks. We help each other out by checking our outfits and making sure nothing is off.

Veronica is wearing a simple white t-shirt and blue jean shorts. I give her a thumbs up and she smiles. I'm wearing my band favorite rock band t-shirt. I'm not goth or anything I just love the music. I'm wearing black jeans and Veronica gives me a thumbs up too. We walk through the courtyard together with smiles on our faces.

I may have the biggest grin but I am terrified.

The school bell rings.