I checked the message notifications on my phone, one from mom and two from the class group chat.
Mom-zilla:
Hey Sweetie! Dad and I have just arrived in Aunt Bella's house, the doctor said that she just needed more rest. Oh, the poor girl! You remember Betty the Labrador, right? She is still as precious as she was the last time we saw her. I wish you could've come with us. How are you and Jake holding up? We scheduled for the housekeeper to come every day from 9am-12pm. No fighting, no guests, and no parties. Luv, Mom & Dad.
Jake would be so screwed if I snitch on him, but he could just not drive me on my last and most important school week. Besides, I didn't like to keep grudges with him. We would verbally fight sometimes, but we would never snitch on each other to get the other in trouble.
Like any other good sibling, we would negotiate a deal that would benefit us both equally. So, I did just that. I took a screenshot of the text and sent it to him. I told him he owed me one for using our house to hide Julian's dog and for not driving me home.
Jake*ss:
Fine, if u shut up abt the boys, the dog, and Julian, I'll owe u a big one and I'll shut up abt ur guests too. Just keep outta my music studio.
Jaded_orcas:
Deal!
Jake*ss:
Wru losers at? Don't tell me u made out w/ him or I'll make him kiss my fist.
Jaded_orcas:
@ Don's. Woah there, bro! Didn't know u cared that much abt my love life.
Jake*ss:
R*pe is not a joke Jade.
Jaded_orcas:
Geez! Ok Uncle Sam. I'll reply to mom. Be back in 45.
I replied to my mom's text and made sure she wouldn't worry or call us in the middle of any activity. I would be just as grounded as Jake if she knew I agreed to any of these deals. "You are just as responsible for the decision you agreed to" was how she would put it. Sometimes I would forget that Jake was my brother.
He felt like more of a housemate that was overly protective about boys but would beat me up himself. The group chat was discussing which parts of the play were worth studying. I would sometimes make some money giving exam pointers for lazy students. $5 for every picture.
"Is this a joke?" Julian emerged from the pizzeria with Jake's special.
"No, want one? The pizza's gonna take about half an hour. Gotta kill time," I took out and lit a cigarette from the pack he had brought.
"Jake's special is a pack of cigarette? What kinda weird childhood do you both have?" he took one and borrowed my lighter, "and why are you carrying a lighter in your pocket?"
"You never know when you'll need it," I took a puff.
"It's ok if you don't wanna tell me the reason why it's called Jake's special. Can you at least tell me your name then?" he exhaled a cloud of smoke.
I looked at him with reluctance, 'We used to order a box of pepperoni pizza from Don's every time our parents would fight in the house. I would hide in a corner of my room and Jake would retrieve me and drive us here. Don used to work for the mob or something and offered Jake a pack for $20. It might've been a bad way to help, but it helped. It became a weird tradition to buy a pack every time we would visit.'
"I'm sorry to hear that, are your parents okay now?" he looked concerned.
"I guess they tried to seem that way. I honestly couldn't care less. We'll move out once I graduated high school. Then it wouldn't be our problem anymore," I inhaled deeply as I gazed off the empty part of the lot.
"I was thinking of moving out too. I asked Jake if he was looking for a roommate. But he said he was stuck at home until his sister graduated high school. And that's how the deal started. My mom left us earlier this year.
"That's why my grandma decided to visit my dad all the way from France. My dad's health had deteriorated significantly since. But fortunately, he wouldn't have to worry about his only son. I can support myself, and I have a stable job while taking my degree simultaneously," he huffed and leaned on my side of the door.
"I'm sorry to hear that, I'm sure Jake would love to share an apartment with you," I smiled and pat his back.
We collected the pies and set it on the backseat. The drive home was smooth although Julian wasn't familiar with the road there yet as he had only dropped Jake off once after a night of beer and darts. There was an unfamiliar car on our driveway. Jake opened the garage door and told Julian to park where our parents usually park.
"70 bucks," I put out my hand.
"You've been smoking without me?" he pulled out his wallet.
"I'll give you half of mine if you help me review Othello," I pocketed the cash.
He shot a look at Julian who had been listening to our conversation the whole time. Julian sighed and passed him the pizza boxes before carrying my book-bag and followed him to the living room where his friends had gathered.
"I didn't know you have a hot little sister, Jake!" a guy with blond hair uttered.
"Say that again and I'll shove that bass guitar up your *ss, Peter," he shot him a dirty look before dumping the boxes to him.
"Hit a nerve there, didn't I? Peter, nice to meet you," he smiled as he walked with the rest of the boys to the backyard gazebo.
The grass was still wet from the rain. I stuffed my phone and the bundle of cash in my bag before tossing it on one of the garden chairs. I changed into one of the gardening boots and offered one to Julian. He politely accepted and followed me to the garden by our pool.
Nancy the Samoyed had been following him around the house and seemed to be enjoying herself in our spacious backyard. I squatted by the pool and lit a cigarette as the group of boys had started to munch on their za's and opened the bottle of whisky. Julian excused himself to put the wine he bought for us in our fridge.