Growing Pains

Chapter 5 - Same old shit but a different day

T R I S T A N

It was 7 a.m. and already Sam was knocking on my door, asking for help. I needed help too, but Sam wasn't exactly someone I would go to for help. I looked around at my little brother all the same. He had pushed the door slightly open and was sticking his blonde head inside my bedroom.

Most days, he wasn't allowed in without a valid reason.

"What?" I had been throwing textbooks into my backpack. I doubted I would use any of them, but it was better to have something in front of me in class. I couldn't really pretend to do something if I had an empty desk in front of me, could I?

"Can I come in?" Sam asked. He always wanted to come in. I caught him going through my stuff at least once a week.

"Do you have to?" He didn't. Except if he wanted my help tying up his shoes. I was sure he didn't. He was old enough to do it himself. But then again, he was old enough to read and he was still blind to the sign on my door that said, keep out.

"Please?" he asked, his little hand wrapping around the edge of the door.

I rolled my eyes. He took it as a yes. I rolled my eyes again.

"Right," he said once inside. "How do I convince mom not to take me to school?"

Mom. Why the fuck did he call her mom?

I reached for the pack of cigarettes on my nightstand and shoved it in my pocket, "Why would you want to?"

"My teacher wants to talk to her," he said as he scratched the back of his head. He was wearing his school jumper inside out. I didn't tell him.

"Do I wanna know why?"

"Probably not." He smirked. "But I can tell you anyway."

"You usually do, don't you?" I said, throwing my bag over my shoulders. Everything hurt. I wasn't surprised.

"I just need her to stay away until the end of this month," he said all the same, sitting on my unmade bed. "Then she can know all about how I'm disruptile in class."

"You mean disruptive?"

"I guess." He shrugged, looking at what else I had on my nightstand. I threw the bottle of vodka into one of the drawers.

"What did she promise you this time?" I asked. He opened his mouth. "Actually forget I asked. I don't care."

I could probably guess. She'd told him she'd buy him a new video game if he behaved for at least a month. Maybe even a car. Or a yacht. Something ridiculous. Something she wouldn't be able to afford if she wasn't a human leech. I was surprised she hadn't signed a book deal yet. Parenting for Dummies: How to Fuck Them Up.

I looked up from my junk drawer. It was things like this I wanted to keep Sam away from. There were three packs of cigarettes there, a small bong, two bags of weed, a flask of months-old scotch (I had to throw that away), a pocketknife (I liked to scare kids at school), and condoms (could condoms go bad?).

Sam was trying on my leather jacket. It was too big for him. Obviously.

"Did I tell you-"

"Nope," he said before I could finish, making a scene out of taking it off and folding it perfectly over my bed.

"Good," I said. He watched me grab it and put it on.

"Any advice then?" he asked, swaying his legs where he sat on the very edge of the mattress.

"Just take forever to get ready," I said.

"But I'm already-" I just looked at him.

"She hates being late. If you decide you need to take the longest shit right now, she might just leave without you."