“I’d rather deal with the baby than the cat,” I murmur.
“What’s your problem with Alfred?” Milo asks, scratching the cat under his chin. “What’d he ever do to you?”
“I just don’t like him,” I say, wincing. “Can you get him off the bed?”
“It’s abit hard to break his routine. He knows he’s always allowed to be here,” Milo says, brushing the fur along Alfred’s body. “Usually, you guys are out on the couch making a racket with the TV blaring. It’s your fault he comes in here to hide.”
“Ugh. Well, if it’s my fault, shouldn’t he be hiding now?”
Milo smirks. “It was quieter with you than hanging with me and crying Gandalf.”
I turn to the baby carrier and sneak a peek at Gandalf. “What did he want now?”
“I fed and changed him,” Milo replies, walking back to the baby carrier. “I’m guessing it’s sleep time.”
“Did you burp him?”
“Yeah, but nothing happened.”
“Remember what the guide said? Sometimes it takes ages.”
Milo picks up Gandalf and rests him against his chest. “Maybe he doesn’t need to be burped every time.”
I stare at him with tired eyes. “No, he does. You need to persevere.”
Milo groans, patting the baby’s back. “So boring.”
“Get a grip. At least it’s not three a.m.”
I turn back to the desk and Milo asks, “What are you working on?”
“My history paper.”
“How are you doing with memorizing the dates?”
“Huh? I’m not. I’m just writing them down as they come up in my essay.”
“You know how Mr. Duncan likes to give pop quizzes,” Milo says, bouncing Gandalf as he pats his back. “You need to know the dates, important document names, and the figures in power.”
I groan, collapsing against the chair as I look up at the ceiling. “I can’t handle all this crap in my head. Every teacher wants me to memorize endless notes. When does it end? I can’t do this.”
“Hey, hey,” Milo coos, getting off the bed and edging closer. “Don’t spiral. You already have all your information for your paper. Maybe if we just go through it one paragraph at a time, it’ll be easier to digest.”
“I don’t want to do that,” I say, defeatedly. “I just want to finish the paper and move onto the next subject.”
“But history is one of the classes you need the grade boost the most,” Milo says with concern. “You know, acing a few pop quizzes will be beneficial.”
I pout hard. “Milo, I don’t wanna.”
“You didn’t choke in class when Mr. Duncan asked you about the Bill of Rights,” Milo says with growing confidence. “Jamie, you’ve already got this. Back yourself.”
I get off the chair and pace between the desk and the bed. “I’m just sick of this. I feel like I’m doing so much work but only forming a dent in everything that’s due. Kai already gave me a hard time about not hanging at the skatepark, and I just wish I was there.”
“Hey, don’t let Kai derail your progress.”
“I’m not. I just want to grab my blades and get out of this house.” I move over to one of my bags and pull down the zipper, revealing the rollerblades. “I packed them like an idiot. Your mom won’t let me take them out because Aunt Maddy doesn’t want me wasting time.”
“Would getting on them help clear your head?”
