Rose 28: Reverse mohawk

Skye

     I'm practicing my logic skill in the greenhouse on a very rainy afternoon when my kid brother, Milo, walks up to me and sits in the chair across from me.

      "I learned how to play that in my gifted class." he mentions.

      "That's nice." I answer, trying to figure out which first move I'm going to make since I've reset the board.

      "I bet I could beat you." Milo quips in his little child voice.

      "No you can't." I say in an almost-bored voice.

      "Yes I can."

      "No you can't."

      "Yes I can."

      I stop this back and forth and just stare at him. "Alright then, try. Don't say I didn't warn you." I say as he eagerly pulls up the chair. I get it, the kid is smart, but nobody beats me except when I play myself.

    For a little while, he mirrors my moves, studying me. Smart, but easy to trap.

     Until, that is, he sees my planned trap and counteracts before I can implement it.

     Then I see it. An opening so wide you can hear the wind blow through the wide open space. I move my bishop.

    "Check." I say, smiling and hoping he moves his king where I want him to. I plan on moving my knight if he does. He does.

      "And mate." I finish after I let go of the knight. I never had to use my queen. She sat in her comfortable little square where I'd placed her close to the beginning of the game.

      He stares, shocked for a few moments, at the board. "That's not fair! You tricked me!" he wails as he figures out what I did and how I did it.

      "It's perfectly fair, and I played the game like it should be played. I warned you." I reason. Nobody can beat me.

      "Don't be cocky, Skye." Link says from where he stands working on a potion of some kind. It really stinks in here thanks to him.

      "Oh, yeah, like I could never accuse you of that." I say and grin at him. 

      Link's going to graduate coming up on Spooky Day. Then he and Chasity plan on getting married and moving in together (naturally). Her family is buying them a house.

     "Yeah, Yvette, you should come over and see it. It's certainly no Mona Lisa. It looks a bit ridiculous actually, but for some reason, that makes me like it more." Donovan laughs. "It must've been that psychedelic 'still pictures in motion' thing Mr. Banks threw at us yesterday."

      I have no idea what he sees in Yvette Ferrari. They talk on the phone nearly every day.

      "Are you serious?! Your parents are having another kid at their age?" he asks her.
      Well, that's interesting.

    He's going to go to university. He says he wants to be a computer game designer, and that's one of the most competitive jobs going right now. The way he's going, he'll be valedictorian when he graduates.

     I want to go to university too, but I'm not ready to take the test yet. I have no real idea what I want to do. I just want to go for the parties... and the sorority girls.

    But until then... there's her. Her name is Carmen James. Our dads went to school together as if that really means anything. She already has a boyfriend, Efren Denney.... who's apparently my sister's nephew now. I've got to get out of this small town someday and live where I'm not related to everyone.
    We're 'friends', and I have no idea what that really means. Her boyfriend is a jerk, and he treats her bad. I honestly don't know what she sees in him. Does she want to be treated like crap?
     She doesn't need that. She needs to be adored and worshiped. Oh, I've got it bad.
     She asked if she could come over today. Like I would say no. ?! I asked if she just wanted to walk since our house is just down the road, but she insisted that we ride the bus. I start getting the feeling that she was hoping to avoid getting Efren's attention.

     Link heads upstairs to use Fiona's old desk to do his homework. On his way, he wiggles his eyebrows at me, teasing me about Carmen.
      I swear, Link, if you ruin this for me I will shave a reverse mohawk down the middle of your head in the dark of night while you sleep. Somehow, I doubt that would look all that great in his graduation photos.
     Carmen acts like she's upset about something. I figure that if she wants to talk about it, she'll talk about it. I've never had any trouble getting her to talk if she wants to talk. All I have to do is ask and she starts talking and talking and talking and talking and I just listen to her voice and watch her mouth move.

    She doesn't start up on her own, so I go with a little prompting. "Everything okay? You act like something's bothering you."
     She takes in a deep breath, shakes her head a little, and says, "It's nothing. I'm fine."
     Right. Sure you are, I think sarcastically. I'm confused that she didn't immediately tell me whatever it is. "It doesn't look like nothing." I say.
      "Listen Skye, can we please just talk about something else?!" she nearly cries.
      Oh no. No waterworks, please,  I think before I say, "Okay. Okay! Um ... " My mind draws a blank.

     "He's cheating on me." she admits quietly and looks at her feet.
     I'm afraid she's crying. I have no idea what to do! Should I hug her? What if she reads more into that than just friendship? I think I'd have a hard time hiding how I feel if I hugged her. She's already rebuffed my mild attempts to take things further than just friendship, and I backed off, making her comfortable again.
      Now what?!
      "I saw him. With Angela." she continues, unaware of my internal struggle.
      Not that I'm really a judge here, but in my opinion, Efren is kind of strange-looking. It's weird enough that he has the prettiest girl in school as a girlfriend, but to then have the gall to cheat on her?
      "Um, but didn't Angela graduate?" I ask.
      "Not yet."
      "Did he see that you saw him?"

     I hear Donny walk in, sigh, and slap his homework on the table. Then I hear Giselle humming to herself as she makes her way to the kitchen for a snack. Carmen looks nervous about answering my question now that we have an audience.
    "No." she finally says quietly. "What am I going to do?"
     Easy. Break up with him, I think to myself, but I prevent myself from saying it because I'm not positive that's what she wants to hear.
      I can't believe the words coming out of my mouth as I say, "Have you thought about talking to him about it?" Ugh. Okay wait.... yeah, talk to him about it, find out it was exactly what it looked like, and break up with him!
       "What on earth do I say?"
        Say 'You're lower than the dirt you walk on, and I never want to see you again.' That would make a great start.

       "What was going on when you saw them?" I ask instead of saying what I really want to say.
       "I'd just finished helping out with the ballet class." she answers. "He didn't know I'd be there since Miss Astrid had only asked me about an hour before school let out."
        "Um, well, you could just mention that you'd helped with the ballet class, and then see what he does. If he even knows when ballet meets." Because I have no idea myself. She looks at me like she's expecting me to say more. I let out a huff and finally say, "Or, you could up and confront him with it and hear what he has to say." Then dump his sorry ass for me. I worry my last thought is too easily read on my face because of the way she looks away.
         I decide since I may have started walking that line again that I'll try just a little... "He's an idiot."
        "Why do you say that?" she asks. "Because he got caught?"
        "Well, yeah that, but..."

     I can no longer stand it, and I take my chances again. "He's an idiot because he has the prettiest girl in school as a girlfriend and then has the nerve to go and cheat on her." I hear a pencil slap down on a notebook behind me and the chair creak a little like Donny is turning around to look at us.
     Carmen looks embarrassed, and she turns her face away from me.

     "Skye, please don't." she says while facing the front door.
     "I'm just saying." I quickly try to salvage the situation. "That's all I'm doing, just pointing out the obvious."
      "Don't call me the 'prettiest girl in school'." she groans.
      "Alright, fine." I say, trying to sound apologetic. What does she not like about me that she keeps shooting me down like this?!
      I try to stay cool and not let any aggravation show on my face. I hear Donny turn back around because Giselle starts talking to him.
       "I'll try doing what you said." she says quietly.

     I quickly work on changing the subject, and soon we're laughing about the dumbest things.

     After a little while, she suddenly thanks me for my advice, and then she hugs me.

     I can't help it. Her hugging me is so unexpectedly welcome that the second my arms go around her, I stand up straighter and pull her along with me. Her posture changes infinitesimally, but I notice as her back straightens like she's a little surprised. I feel amazed that she doesn't immediately push me away. Instead, she threads her fingers through the hair on the back of my head for just a second, and in that second, I forget there are other people in the room with us.
     She must've remembered, because she straightens up even more and pulls away, blushing.
     I think fast to avoid the awkward moment that's building, and I ask her to dance.

    My mom smiles at us as she walks in the room. I have no idea why.

-----------------------------------------

Stuff I want to document:
Pedro reached guitar lvl 10
Pedro achieved his lifetime want of $4000/week book royalties, his latest one being a poetry novel, Unintentional Poetry, for $823/week. (edit: no, it happens on the next book, not this one.)
Rose completed the brushmaster skill challenge.
Beppe married Marta, making an honest woman out of her.

Births:
Clemete Rossi, son of Santos and Victoria
(expecting are Ron Frey and his wife)

Deaths:
Patrizio Monty, Tiana Padilla

Click newer post to go to chapter 29