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the refrigerator while mom unloads her
purse and slips off her shoes.   “Yeah, mom.   It was
good.   Not much happened.   Sebastian is at the football game.   He’s picking me up after, and we’re
going to a party.”
    She crinkles up her
eyebrows.   “Really?   You don’t usually go to parties,
honey.”   Leave it to my mom to
state the obvious.   I shrug.   A bright smile grows over her face, and
she claps her hands together.   “This is great!   Maybe
you’ll get to know more kids this year, Nicolás.”
    Is this her way of
telling me I should have more friends?   That I should be more social?   More like my extroverted cousin?   I try to smile, but her words sting, and I’m left with an awkward curve
of my lips that feels plastic.   “Uh, yeah.   Maybe.”
    After putting the
groceries away, I grab my Hot Pocket and walk toward the family room to watch
TV.   My mom carries her shoes in
one hand and her oversized purse in the other and makes her way to her bedroom,
saying she’s going to shower off all the cooties she caught today at the
daycare.  
    I hate that my mom
has to work two jobs.   Being a
nurse and a daycare worker is exhausting, and she frequently comes home and
retreats to her bed immediately.   She is too skinny, and I worry that she isn’t eating enough.   I tried to get a job over the summer to
help with the bills, but she told me not to.   She wants me to focus only on school.   I think she’s hoping I’ll get a
scholarship for college.   There’s
no way we could afford it otherwise.
    I don’t see my mom
again and assume she fell asleep after her shower.   I spend the night watching a Criminal Minds marathon on A&E.   At one point, Raj calls to tell me he and Dylan are going to
see the new horror flick, and he wants me to come.   He seems disappointed and shocked when I tell him I’m going
to Jeff Weaver’s party.   We usually
don’t do parties.
    It’s almost ten
o’clock, so I expect Sebastian will be home soon.   I decide to head upstairs to brush my teeth and change my
shirt.   Only a few minutes pass
before I hear the front door slam and heavy steps coming up the staircase.
    Sebastian barges
through the bedroom door.   “We
won!   Suck that, San Clemente!   42 to 6.   It was a slaughter!   You totally missed it.”
    His excitement,
though exuding from his very core, lands flatly on me.   I really couldn’t care less about our
football team.   “Bummer,” I say
sarcastically.
    Because he’s used
to my sarcasm, he’s not offended.   He flashes a smile and says, “Let’s go.   The football team won’t be there yet, but everyone else was
heading over.   I guess Jeff’s
brother is at the house to let us all in.”
    The realization of
actually going to this party hits me, and I find myself having second
thoughts.   I think Sebastian sees
it on my face because suddenly he’s pulling me by the arm and leading me
downstairs before I can change my mind.
    “It’ll be fun,” he
says.   “Maybe someone will get
really wasted and start a fight.   Or maybe some drunk chick will think you’re hot and try to get in your
pants.”   He takes his car key from
the kitchen table, and we walk out the door toward the Mustang.   “The night is full of possibilities,
Nick.”   He raises an eyebrow at me
from across the roof of the car before ducking under to the driver’s seat.
    I follow suit and
climb in the passenger side.   Full
of possibilities.   Yeah, I’ll
probably be walking home tonight.

Six

 
    SEBASTIAN

 
    Expensive cars line
Jeff’s street.   Nick was quiet on
the five-minute drive.   I can tell
he doesn’t want to be here, which makes me wonder why he agreed to come in the
first place.   I hope he’s not a
downer all night and wants to drag me home early.
    I love my cousin
and all, but seriously, his moodiness kills me sometimes.   I never make a big deal about it
though.   I know that’s just how he
is.   I