Simple Manipulation

Chapter 27

My morning routine has become a burden I must push through in order to ease myself out the door. If it weren't for my inner-self worrying about people asking what is wrong with me, I would be sporting the fashionable sweatpants and sweatshirt combo, complimented by the "I slept in this" messy bun. The effort needed to just get myself out of the bed in the morning is about as much as I usually put into a final project when I need to raise my grade to reach my own personal goal.

Fake smiles have even become quite impossible for me. I don't smile at my mother when she greets me, I don't laugh at my brother's cunning pranks, and I haven't seen Marren in over a month. A month of uninteresting afternoons that are not filled with questionnaires about how many goats we are worth or stories about the latest celebrity scandals. I guess the saying of "you don't know whatcha got till it's gone" really is true.

Thanks Counting Crows.

"Good morning sweetie!" My mother beamed a warm smile in my direction as I descended down our front stairs. She grabbed my chin and planted a kiss on my cheek while balancing the laundry basket under her arm. "Finals are coming up aren't they?" I nodded.

"Oh perk up honey I know school isn't any fun. But enjoy your senior year while you still can. You've made it this far don't give up now!" She nudged me towards our kitchen where I grabbed an apple and headed for the door.

"Now I know my sister eats way more than an apple in the morning." Nasher teased opening the door ahead of me. 

"Is it a problem to just not be hungry sometimes?" I responded with a static tone.

"It is when you have done this for a month and just thrown the apple away in the trashcan when you get to the top of the driveway. What's up Pey-Pey? I get that I'm the younger brother who should be coming to talk to you about stuff, but I can tell you need to get some stuff off your chest." His voice was warm and his pace was in step with mine as we strolled along together.

"You honestly wouldn't understand. It's way too complicated for me to just explain." 

"Peyton. I lied to a girl in the sixth grade saying that I was actually from Kenya but I had a rare skin condition that made me white. I told her that my entire family were dark skinned Africans who attended festivals every Sunday. Peyton, I had to invite her over to my friend's house to meet his parents who fit my description so she wouldn't find out I was lying. Try explaining that one to your parents when they get called into the principal's office because their son lied about his race on a standardized test because Vicky Thompson was sitting next to him watching him fill in the information bubbles on the answer sheet. I think I can handle complicated." 

I eyed Nasher in suspicion, but stopped quickly knowing I could trust his crazy ways. "Alright. But no interrupting or I will not be able to finish by the time we reach school." I solemnly obliged.

"A few months ago, Luke Marshal and I got stuck in detention together. A real cliché breakfast club scenario, I know. Anyways, we got to talking, or, he got to talking about how convincing we both are. Basically we ended the detention on a better note than we started on, he even gave me his phone number. And I giggled, Nasher. I giggled. But anyway eventually we agreed to help each other improve our convincing skills. He took me to dinner a few times, one that landed me an allergic reaction. And everything was great!" I smiled at the end of the sentence remembering everything that had happened before my senior year climax.

".....but then?" Nasher spoke, voice cracking from lack of speaking.

"But then...our lives slowly rolled down a hill. A hill covered in cacti....and wasp nests. And by we, I mean Marren and I. We got suspicious of Luke's "activities" with Derek. Luke and Derek had a fight over something, broke up their little friendship and practically became enemies. Derek tried to beat us up for heaven's sake!"