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Iwake up with a jolt. The panic takes over immediately as I try to figure out what woke me.That’s never a good sign.
With bated breath and a heart filled with terror, I remain seated in complete silence, intently listening for any sign of noise. My body frozen in fear until the distant sound of a departing car confirms it was the engine's noise that disturbed me from sleep. I look over at the small digital clock, which I'm pretty sure has been here since the dawn of time. It’s held together with duct tape, and it’s so old and damaged from either being dropped or thrown that most of the original colors and details have long since worn off. I see the numbers 4:07 a.m. in bright red. Briefly, I consider turning over and going back to sleep, but decide that since I'm awake so early, I'll do all my chores in hopes that they can be done sooner. With my heart pounding, I cautiously slip out of the room, silently hoping that I won't come across my father slumbering on the couch. To my surprise, the sofa is empty, and I discover the note he left behind. I stare at it, desperately trying to figure out what it says.
Gabe, gone to work with Fat Tony. It's cash in hand.
Here's $10 to get some beer for when I get home.
P.S. I told John you'd help him out with a few more shifts.
Don't disappoint me!!
I immediately recognized Gabe, $10, beer, and home, but the rest of the note is hard to understand. I continue trying to break it down, using the word blending tricks Gabe has been teaching me, so I can write to Bella. I don't manage to read the full note, but I figure out enough to know that he’s gone, for the day at least.Thank God for that.
I do a little happy dance before I start doing the laundry. Lost in my own thoughts, daydreaming about seeing Bella later, I suddenly jump as something collided with the back of my head. "Ouch." I rub the back of my head before looking down and seeing a roll of toilet paper on the floor beside my feet.So that's what hit me then.
I look behind me and see Gabe standing in the doorway to our bedroom.
"About time, Nate. I've called your name five times already, but you were too busy dancing with the broom." Gabe laughs so hard he has to put his hand over his mouth to suppress the sounds.
"Shut up, I was not!" I say sheepishly, blushing with embarrassment at being caught. I reach for the toilet paper and try to throw it back at him, but miss completely as he moves to the side effortlessly.God, he's just so cool. Why can't I be more like him?
" Yeah, you definitely were, bro," he says, grabbing the broom and twirling around the room like the ballroom dancers you see in movies.
"Aww, has my little Casanova been dreaming of his Princess Isabella?" he says, ruffling my hair.
"Casa-who-a?" I ask, stopping to look at him as if he’s finally lost his mind.
"Casanova, it means ladies' man," Gabe says matter-of-factly, as if I am a complete idiot for not knowing.
Sometimes, I look at him and wonder why he even wastes his time talking to me. He’s so cool, knows all these big words, and is just so grown up. Unlike me. I’m a total loser who can't seem to do anything right. "Yeah, but who is Casa-nopa, and why does he get all the women?" I ask, scratching my head in confusion.
"I don't know, bro, it's just what adults say. Everyone calls John's son a Casanova because he has a different girlfriend every week."
"But I don't have another girlfriend. I don't even have ONE girlfriend. Bella’s not my…" I say, struggling to find words in my embarrassment. "I don't have any girlfriends. I only have a Bella," I insist.
"Honestly, you two seem to be the only ones who DON'T realize you're basically dating, bro. You need to officially ask her before someone else does,'' says Gabe as he pours himself a bowl of stale cereal and points his spoon accusingly at me.
Is she my girlfriend? We never stated we were dating, but we do spend all our time either together or writing to each other. But she can’t like me like that. Can she? I mean, she’s her, and I'm just me.My mind spirals with all these unanswered questions. I'd be lying if I said I’ve never noticed her beauty; of course I have. She has long, brown hair that’s a wild mass of big curls. She’s short like me and has a cute little smile that showcases her little chipmunk cheeks. I know she complains about them, but I think they’re adorable.
"It's not even like that," I say, snapping myself out of my fantasy. "What if she says no? I could lose her forever. It's not worth it." I groan before turning and walking past him toward the bathroom. "Now, if you're done teasing me, I'm gonna take a shower. I'm meeting Bella soon."
"Oh, that reminds me,'' Gabe says, pointing a finger in the air as if he's had some breakthrough idea. "Oh, baby brother of mine. Your guardian angel and fairy god brother comes bearing gifts of the fragrant kind," Gabe says in his poshest voice.
"Err, English please," I say, stomping my foot in frustration.
"You're no fun this morning. Wait here a second." Gabe pouts, and hurries off returning a few seconds later with a plastic bag.
"Like I said, John's son is a bit of a ladies' man and just broke up with yet another of his many girlfriends." Gabe smirks, rolling his eyes. "She dumped all his stuff from her apartment at the construction site. He was going to throw it in the trash, but I brought it all back and thought we could share it. There's deodorants, aftershaves, some t-shirts, hair gel... a bunch of shit. I thought you might want to dress up for your date."
"It's not a date!" I huff but soon cave anyway, walking over and snatching the bag before hugging him. "But thanks Gabe. You’re the best big brother I could ask for."
"It's alright Scruff, someone has to look out for you, right?" he whispers, hugging me back briefly before pushing me away in that cool dude way of his. Gabe leaves, and I empty the bag of goodies in the sink. I look through them and just like he said, there’s an assortment of barely used toiletries. I find a can of deodorant and carefully read the name.
Af..afr..Africa. What the heck does Africa smell like?It has to be better than sweat, so I set it aside.Next, I look through and find some body wash. I take a quick sniff, almost squirting it up my nose. Then, I find a tube of toothpaste. The one that promiseswhiter teeth in just one use,on the advertisements on T.V.… I look at myself in the shattered mirror above the sink and, after flashing a wide smile, decide that I should brush my teeth twice to achieve that whiter smile. I jump in the shower, spending way longer than I usually would in there. Coming out smelling like I've been rolling around in flowers, which I guess is a good thing.
"If you stay in there much longer, you'll look like a dried-up prune," Gabe calls through the door. I wrap a towel around my waist before opening the door and letting him in. "Finally, I was afraid you fell down the drain," Gabe jokes, looking over at the sink, which is still full of the remains of the bag.
"Can you put this in my hair, please?" I ask, reaching out and handing him the pot of hair gel.
