Chapter 12 (ii)

Multiple footsteps barrelled up the stairs and I could hear the nonsensical chattering of the newly minted teenage boys. It was as I’d thought, only my brother’s germy friends. They would lock themselves away in Matt’s room trying to uncover the mystery of girls and comparing their facial hair—or lack thereof. The puny one with the lanky limbs and pronounced Adam’s apple had one hair long enough it could be plucked. It made him the winner by default.

I lay listening to the music on my iPod for what could’ve been an hour before I heard the faint approach of too many feet. I stashed my prized possession beneath my pillow then trained my gaze to the ceiling.

As far as either my mother or brother knew, it was all I did when there was no schoolwork left to be done. Without a phone, I couldn’t text anyone. Mother never bought me either a computer or a laptop—Matt had already broken three. The only books I could read were those taken from the library, but Mom refused to take me there and I h