He gives me a gleeful grin, and all I can think about is this six-bedroom house and how badly I want to be in itright now.
“Go and get yourself unpacked.” My mother sniffs the air near my arm. “Take a shower too.” She frowns at me like I’m a filthy little street rat who hasn’t bathed in months.
Bàba nods. “And after dinner, I want to sit down with you and go over the tutor list I’ve compiled for your academic year. I know you’re about to start summer school, so I want to make sure you’ve got some support. I’d like to start interviews soon so they’re all lined up for your first week. If it’s a good match, they can see you through your academic year, and then after that, I’d like to go over a new contract I’ve been working on. I had a wonderful meeting with one of our lawyers today, and he’s given me some fresh ideas on how we can…”
His words become a static buzz in my ears, and I start to feel like a volcano about to erupt. This hot, scorching energy is building inside me. And as my parents talk up at me—all expectant presumptions and demands—I feel like I’m on the cusp of exploding.
I’ve just come away from a weekend where no one seemed to care what I said or did. Sure, the drinking game was a challenge, and I didn’t love the party, but no one was demanding anything of me. No one was talking at me. They were talkingtome. And it’s only now that I’m truly starting to realize that.
I’ve been home for all of three minutes, and I’m already being bombarded.
I want out!
I want?—
“I’m moving this year,” I blurt, my heart jumping into my throat when my parents blink at me in surprise.
Did I really just say that out loud?
“Excuse me?” My mother’s voice is soft and just a little terrifying, making it abundantly clear that yes, I did say that out loud, and there’s no going back now.
Swallowing, I brace myself as I try to stay on this path, as I fight for a resolve that feels tenuous at best. “I’ve been invited to move into a house off campus with some of my team, and I’m going to accept.”
“No, you’re not.” Bàba shakes his head with a short laugh. He’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. “You have your studio, and that is perfect for all your needs. You will not be moving in with other people. That will only distract you.”
“And members of your team,” Ma scoffs. “That is the worst decision you could ever make.”
“But it’smydecision.” My voice is too quiet. I wish I could project it more around these two, but they know how to steal my thunder without even trying.
“We willnotbe paying for you to live in a house with other people.”
“You won’t have to. My scholarship will cover it.”
Ma rolls her eyes like I’m stupid. “You need good grades. How will you remain top of the class living with a bunch of basketball players.”
“They will only distract you, son.” Bàba slides his hands into his pockets, shaking his head. “It’s a bad idea.”
“It’ll be fine,” I counter quietly. “I can maintain my grades. I can?—”
“But I don’t want you to,” he clips. “I won’t allow it.”
Clenching my jaw, I grip the stair rail for support and keep trying to fight my cause. “I need to do this. It will be good for me to live with other people. I’ll learn how to read them,negotiate with them. I can practice all those subtle manipulation techniques you’ve been teaching me.”
That should butter them up a little.
Bàba pauses for a moment, looking at Ma, who’s still shaking her head, though not with the same vigor as before.
So I keep trying to sell this thing, repeating myself with slightly different wording to really get this pitch working for me. “I know this seems like a strange decision, but living with other people this way will prepare me for the real world. I’ll learn people skills I can’t get when I live on my own. It will force me to deal with conflict, learn how to get my way through charm and politeness and all the things you’ve taught me.” I feel sick spouting this stuff at them, but I’ve got to say whatever it takes to make this battle end already. “You want me to join the family business? Well, think of this as training.”
And that’s the clincher.
My stomach knots as instant regret floods me.
I don’t want to join the family business!
But the look on Bàba’s face right now…
My internal sigh becomes a loud wail:“No!”
