No Requiem

Chapter 2

The jarring sound of my alarm clock jolts me awake. I hastily rub the sleep out of my eyes and and heave myself out of bed. Pulling on some jeans and a purple top,  I give myself a once-over in the mirror. It'll do, nice enough that my mom won't make me change for the obligatory "first day of the school year" photo, but nothing that will draw any unwanted attention. I grab my backpack and head downstairs. 

My mom is still insistent on us all eating breakfast together as a family. If this is her solution to fixing the growing rifts between us all then she's delusional. I sit there eating my cereal as I listen to the inane bickering ensuing between my brother and my parents. 

"It's your senior year Connor - you are not missing the first day."

"I already said I'd go tomorrow. I'm trying to find a compromise here." 

huh? Connor being reasonable? a likely story. My mom sighs in exasperation, and turns expectantly towards my dad,  seeking some backup, only to find  him immersed in his emails with the blue light of the phone screen reflected in his glasses.  Without looking up he offers a meagre-

"You have to go to school Connor."

My mom is frustrated.

"That's all you're going to say?"

 With his eyes still glued to the screed he replies,"What do you want me to say? He doesn't listen. Look at him- he's probably high"

My dad has a point. "He's definitely high." I second, without looking up from my cereal.

"Fuck you." Connor raises his head out of his arms to look at me. I reply, expressing the same sentiment. 

My mom turns to me-"I don't need you picking at your brother right now. That is not constructive." I give a derisive snort. She can not be serious right now. 

She attempts to defend him but it quickly becomes clear that her trust in his sobriety is misplaced,  because my brother is most definitely high. I don't think that it exactly comes as a surprise to her, but she was definitely still holding out hope. She admonishes him,  saying he doesn't want him going to school high. My brother might be stoned, but he's not stupid and before she's even finished he's twisted her words into permission to stay home. Hah good luck with that Connor. It's the first day of the school year, my mom needs you to go to school to maintain the appearance that this family is just as is used to be. She'd rather have you  at school high than not at all. 

My dad extracts himself from the table, citing bad traffic as an excuse to leave a good ten minutes earlier than normal. I can't stand it much longer either, standing up and swinging my backpack over my shoulder. I leave the room, yelling behind me that I am more than willing to leave without Connor.