Oh, Brother!

by Cochran, Peg

  I nodded without looking at him. I couldn’t take my eyes off Travis. Here he was sitting at my own kitchen table. It should have been a dream come true, but it wasn’t. It was like my worst nightmare.

  “Travis can give you a lift to school, can’t you, son?” Mark looked over at Travis.

  “Yeah, sure.” Travis shrugged.

  I was so totally torn. How cool would it be to arrive at school in a car with Travis instead of on the stupid bus? On the other hand, maybe Travis would feel he was stuck taking me? I would die of embarrassment.

  I ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room. My life so totally sucks. My mother never makes me pancakes anymore, and here Travis has only been here a day and already she’s cooking for him. I’m starving half to death, but I know that if I’m sitting at the same table with Travis I won’t be able to swallow a thing.

  If Travis and his father stay with us much longer, I will become even thinner than a super model and eventually die of starvation.

  I was in the girls room fixing my make-up when Tory, Amber and Laurel walked in. My mother had given me this lecture about not hogging the bathroom now that Travis and I had to share. I guess she expects me to wear my watch in the shower or something. Anyway, I didn’t have time to do my make-up properly, and if I don’t put on eye liner and shadow, my eyes sink into my face like raisins in rice pudding.

  A, L and T (as I think of them for short) did their usual ignoring-of-me thing. As if I were completely invisible like that man in the movie where the only way you could see him was if he wrapped himself all up in this bandage-like thingie. How uncomfortable would that be! Then I had a terrible thought. What if I really were invisible? And I could see myself, but no one else could?

  I felt a bit panicky, but when I tried to get closer to the mirror, Tory gave me a dirty look and pushed me aside with her elbow. Which was reassuring, actually, because obviously she could see me just fine. Amber had all her make-up spread out along the back of the sinks as if it were her own personal spa or something. Fortunately I was already finished.

  Tory was putting in some earrings, and Laurel was jumping up and touching the wall to see how high she could get. Well, she is the captain of the volleyball team, so I guess she does have to practice almost constantly.

  “He is so hot.” Amber was saying. Tory and Laurel nodded like those dolls some people put on that shelf in the back of their car.

  “Yeah, but he and Kristen are back together.” Laurel jumped up and slapped the wall.

  My ears perked up. Kristen? As in Travis and Kristen?

  “She and Travis have been going out like forever.” Laurel was a little breathless from all that jumping.

  “Yeah, well maybe he’s going to get tired of her soon.” Amber smiled. But it wasn’t a nice smile. It was more like one of those evil ones the villains in movies are always going around giving people.

  “Travis is my stepbrother.” My voice sounded funny. Like I hadn’t used it in a long time.

  All three turned around to stare at me. My first instinct was to bolt out the door and run for the safety of my French class.

  “Your stepbrother?” Amber said. “You’re lying. Travis doesn’t have any sisters or brothers, I happen to know that for a fact.” She rummaged around in her make-up kit. “Got yourself a date for the Snow Ball yet?”

  She smiled at me, and I could see her pointy eye-teeth.

  Tory and Laurel smirked.

  I sighed. “I said, he’s my stepbrother.”

  Amber stopped with the mascara wand halfway to her eye. “How can that be?” She looked suspicious.

  “Simple. His father married my mother. Bingo. Travis is now my stepbrother.”

  “How come I didn’t know about this?” Amber flicked the mascara wand over her lashes.

  “It just happened. The wedding was this weekend. Travis moved in yesterday.”

  “Really?” Amber began packing up her things. She put her make-up case away and turned around. She was staring at my hair. “Have you ever used those Velcro rollers?”

  I shook my head.

  “You should. They’ll give your hair a bit of bounce. But not too much.” She looked me over. “What’s your next class?”

  Duh! We have been in the same French class all year. “French.”

  “Really?” She sort of bounced up and down on her toes. “We can walk together.”

  She linked her arm through mine and tossed her head. Laurel and Tory fell into place in back of us. They didn’t look very happy.

  We passed Celia and Emily in the hall on our way to class. They both went bug-eyed when they saw me walking arm-in-arm with Amber. I smiled magnanimously at them. Kind of the way the Queen of England smiles at the peasants.

  Chapter 10

  Dear Lucy Love,

  I think I am falling for my brother’s best friend. Is that okay?

  Sincerely,

  Upset Teen

  Dear Upset,

  That’s practically incest. Find someone else.

  Yours,

  Lucy Love

  I managed to get my mother to drive me to the drugstore after dinner. If they would only let us drive sooner we wouldn’t have to bug our parents so much. And we could do errands for them and stuff like that. Which I think they’d like since they are always complaining about being tired. Although, what do they expect? They’re old.

  I felt kind of weird taking Amber’s beauty advice, but I have to admit she probably knows a lot more about it than I do since it is an obsession with her. And who knows? Maybe some boy will notice me if I have bouncier hair.

  I found the last pack of Velcro rollers and took them up to the counter.

  “Is that all you needed?” my mother said and her lips got that pursed up, squishy look they get when she’s annoyed. I should have picked up a box of pads or something too. Just to make her happy.

  We had to stop at the grocery store on the way back. Big yawn. Seems the parental unit needed coffee for breakfast. They can’t start the day without it. And they think teenagers are addicted to stuff, what about them? Coffee in the morning, drinks at night, vegetables with every meal. The list is endless.

  I put the rollers in and looked in the mirror. I looked like an angry porcupine. I figured if I was going to be doing this beauty thing, I might as well go all the way. I slapped on a sea green mask which was supposed to refine my pores. Whatever that means. And since my mother is always bugging me about wearing my retainer, I stuck that in too. She goes on and on about how much it cost and had such a spazz the time I accidentally threw it in the garbage, and she had to go through all the cans to find it.

  All that work made me thirsty so I thought I’d slip downstairs and get a soda from the fridge. The house was quiet. My mother and Mark were in their room watching television, and Travis was out somewhere. Probably with Kristen, but I tried not to think about that.

  I caught sight of myself in the glass doors to the patio and nearly screamed. I looked like an alien with my green face, bristling hair and the retainer thingie sticking out of my mouth. Sometimes you have to get really ugly in order to become beautiful. Kind of like the butterfly-moth thing.

  I grabbed a can of soda from the fridge and popped the top. It was good, but I wanted something to go with it. Like chips or popcorn or ice cream. I rummaged around in the pantry, but found nothing other than some boxes of spaghetti, four cans of chicken noodle soup, some dried beans and a half empty box of cereal.

  I poked around in the fridge, but there was nothing in there either—just a couple of apples and the usual things like milk and juice. The freezer was stuffed with frozen vegetables, icky looking chicken parts and a turkey breast.

  There was nothing to eat in the entire house! If my mother didn’t go shopping soon we’d all starve to death and end up on the news. Entire family starves to death. Film at eleven.

  I thought maybe being hungry would put me in touch with my inner self like a Buddhist monk or something, but it d
idn’t. It just made me grumpy.

  I was about to go back to my room when I heard this rattling noise at the back door. Needless to say Rufus was off napping somewhere instead of guarding the door like a dog is supposed to. He is totally useless. More rattling. Someone must be breaking in.

  I grabbed a frying pan and stood to the side of the door where they couldn’t see me. My knees felt a bit wobbly, and what I really wanted to do was run upstairs and hide under my bed. But it was too late. The door was opening.

  I raised the frying pan over my head, but before I could do anything, the burglar looked at me and started to scream.

  Which was a good thing because it wasn’t a burglar, it was Travis. He kept backing away even after I put the pan down which was kind of weird, but then I remembered the rollers, face mask and retainer.

  And I started to scream.

  My life has reached a new low. I’m standing in the kitchen with a green face, a head full of purple Velcro rollers and a retainer thingie that looks like half a football helmet, in front of the hottest guy in the school. Who is now living in my house 24/7. I will never, ever, have any privacy again. On a positive note, it is impossible for things to get any worse which means the only way to go is up.

  Just then Rufus strolled into the kitchen. Great. He finally makes an appearance now that it’s too late.

  Travis had stopped backing away and was just staring now. Rufus went over and rubbed up against his leg, and Travis bent down to pet him.

  “What’s that in your mouth, boy?” He and Rufus engaged in a brief tug-of-war which is Rufus’ favorite game. Finally Travis got whatever-it-was out of Rufus’ mouth. He held it up. “What’s this?”

  It was my thong with the red hearts on it and the word “Next?” on the waistband.

  Remember when I said my life couldn’t get any worse? I was wrong.

  On the bright side, I woke up the next day with bouncy hair. My pores were very refined, and my teeth hadn’t migrated at all which is what my mother says they will do if I don’t wear my retainer every night.

  Our whole English class got sent down to the Veep’s office today. All because we played this trick on Mrs. French. Mrs. French is the oldest teacher in the school and perhaps the universe. She wears glasses that dangle from a chain around her neck although they don’t actually dangle because they are supported by that massive bosom of hers.

  If she hadn’t been late for class, we wouldn’t have done it, so really the whole thing is partially her fault although the Veep didn’t see it that way. I mean, anyone knows better than to leave a bunch of high school kids alone in a classroom. That’s the perfect recipe for trouble as the Veep himself would say. All we did was get up and move to the empty classroom next door. We sat in our regular seats and all, and we were halfway through the period before Mrs. French figured it out. If she hadn’t had to get a pen out of her desk to write a hall pass for Hannah to go to the bathroom, we would have gotten away with it.

  Of course she couldn’t find her pen in the desk because it wasn’t her desk. Things just snowballed from there, and we ended up all being sent to the Veep’s office and being lectured on things like proper behavior and not telling lies. Some people have NO sense of humor.

  I was half hoping we’d have to eat our lunch in the Veep’s office which sometimes happens, but he said there wasn’t enough room, and we’d probably make a mess of the carpet.

  The orchestra had gone on a field trip to play for a bunch of old people in some senior citizen home so Celia wasn’t in school. Which almost made me wish I could play the violin too and get zillions of days off and not have to sit in a boring classroom for thousands of hours. Emily was out sick with something bogus like a sore throat. Her mother pampers her way too much. Mine would send me to school even if I had a two hundred degree fever and was covered in boils.

  All of which meant I had NO ONE to sit with in the cafeteria, and there is nothing more pathetic than sitting at one end of a table all by yourself, while all the people at the other end are talking and laughing and having a good time.

  The cafeteria line was short which was not a good sign. On the days when they have pizza or hamburgers or normal food like that, the line can be hundreds of miles long and take a gazillion hours to get through so that you end up eating your lunch all in a rush. Which is probably not good for you, so I can’t understand why the administration doesn’t do something about it. They waste too much of their time worrying about stuff like our scores on standardized tests and who gets which spaces in the parking lot.

  I walked into the cafeteria with my tray and stood there looking around. There was one table with a bunch of girls who weren’t talking to each other much. Maybe they were all misfits like me. I was headed their way when I noticed someone waving wildly in my direction. It was Amber. I turned around, but there wasn’t anyone in back of me. I pointed at myself, and she nodded “yes” like we were a couple of mimes. Next thing you know we’ll be standing on some street corner pantomiming stuff like being stuck in a box.

  She was sitting with Laurel and Tory of course. Maybe she needed to ask me something about our French homework. I carried my tray over to where she was sitting.

  “Why don’t you sit with us?” Amber pointed to the seat next to her. “Your hair looks nice. Did you use the rollers like I said?”

  I nodded. This was weird. It seemed as if they actually wanted me to sit with them or something. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but everyone was too busy with the usual stuff like eating or talking or throwing food at each other.

  “So tell us everything,” Amber gushed. She had about three lettuce leaves on her plate and a handful of those baby carrots.

  “Everything?” I cut my sandwich into diamond shapes which is the way I like it.

  “About Travis!” Laurel was eating a meatball hero from the deli down the street. We are not supposed to leave the building during lunch, but her boyfriend is on the football team, so the teachers don’t dare say anything.

  “What do you want to know?” I probably knew more about Alex next door than Travis since we had spent hardly any time together since he moved in.

  “Boxers or tighty-whities?” Tory giggled. She had on a ton of make-up, but somebody said she had to leave right after lunch to go into the city for a modeling job.

  Fortunately my mother asked me to empty the dryer the other day so I knew the answer. “Boxers.”

  “What about Kristen? Are they still together.” Amber pushed her plate away with her lunch half-eaten. If you could call some lettuce and carrots lunch.

  “As far as I know.” I thought I’d heard him talking to her on the phone yesterday.

  “We’re getting together tomorrow after school. Would you like to join us?” Amber checked her lipstick in her compact.

  “Sure.” I wondered if I was suddenly going to wake up and be back at my usual table watching Celia try to pick a piece of sandwich out of her back teeth with a corner torn off her notebook.

  “Can we come to your house?” Amber put her lipstick away and started to pick up her tray.

  I nodded because I didn’t think I could trust my voice. It might come out sounding like a gerbil or something.

  “Good.” Amber went to dump her tray and Laurel and Tory followed close behind.

  I floated off to class with this feeling like I was moving inside a bubble or something. How weird was this? Amber actually wanted to come to my house. Of course, I’m not stupid even though I don’t always get all A’s on my report card. Amber just wants to get close to Travis. But that’s fine. Because maybe if I hang out with the popular girls for a bit, I will have a chance at getting a date for the Snow Ball. And then I won’t lose my bet with Amber, and I will have the money for a ticket to see Life Cycle.

  Which means everything will work out just fine—the way my mother is always telling me it will.

  Although, not really. Because Travis will still be living with us, and I will never, ever get used t
o it.

  Chapter 11

  Dear Lucy Love,

  Is all fair in love and war?

  Sincerely,

  Losing at Love

  Dear Loser,

  Yes!

  Yours,

  Lucy Love

  I wonder if there’s time to get in a decorator before Amber, Tory and Laurel come over? I never really thought much about our house before. It’s pretty ordinary and very clean since my mother insists on vacuuming and dusting every five seconds. The dirt is just going to keep coming back so why chase it around with a rag and broom all the time? She would be much better off pursuing something like inner peace.

  The living room is okay. And we have a sort of family room in the basement where we put Mark’s stuff. It looks much better than the old couch and chairs we had down there before.

  But we’ll probably just go hang out in my room anyway, so I suppose it will be okay.

  I didn’t have to take the bus home for once since Amber has a car. It’s a cute red Jetta. I would have to save my allowance for a gazillion years to get one. And that wouldn’t be any fun since I wouldn’t be able to buy stuff when I got to the mall, so what would be the point? I will just have to convince my mother to buy it for me.

  Amber checked her make-up in the rearview mirror every time we stopped at a light and sometimes even when we weren’t stopped. It made me kind of nervous, and I was glad when we pulled into our driveway.

  I thought about inviting Emily and Celia too, but I didn’t know how Amber would feel about that. I figured they would understand. If I don’t do this, I may never get a date for the dance. And I absolutely have to, or I won’t be able to go see Life Cycle with them.

  I told them that I had a doctor’s appointment after school, and my mother was picking me up so they wouldn’t be looking for me on the bus. I felt a little guilty about it, and I was worried they would see me. Amber gave me a kind of funny look when we went through the parking lot because I kept bending my knees so no one could see me over the cars. I told her I had a trick knee, and she seemed to believe me.