Living on Perfectly Remembered Memories

Franchesa

Ever since school began, I haven't been able to hang out with Kenny. I knew he was sad that I barely spent time with him. It made me sad too.

Some think that the two of us are so close because we're brother and sister but it's much more than that. Since Kenny has ADHD, it's difficult to get him to calm down and make him do the things you want him to do. The people who have the most problems calming my brother down are mom and dad. Half the time they just give up and ask me to control him. I really don't mind. I like the fact that Kenny listens to me over everyone else.

Matt loves Kenny too. Although Kenny is eight and Matt is 15, they act like they're both the same age. Kenny doesn't act like he's 15; Matt acts like he's eight. Isn't that a shame?

The both of them might as well be brothers. They sure act like it all the time. The only thing that would not make them brothers is how Matt would talk about Kenny sometimes. He isn't an asshole about it, but he is a jerk. Matt says that my parents always "throw" my brother at me because they don't want to deal with a hyperactive kid.

It hurts the same whenever Matt mentions it, even if he's said it dozens of times. I sincerely do not mind if Kenny went everywhere with me. We have that bond I mentioned before.

I'll stop rambling and mention the situation at hand. Since it's a very nice and warm Saturday today, I decided to take Kenny to the skate park. I would never approve of him skating since it's dangerous; here we go with me in my mom mood. But, skating is the only thing that Kenny truly loves and it makes him happy.

As of right now, Kenny and I were waiting for Matt to get to the skate park. He told us to wait by the entrance but I decided we would wait in the middle of the biggest ramp. It might be a stupid idea but the truth is, what evil skater would try to jump a trick over a girl and her little brother? Besides, sitting here made it easier to keep a heads up for Matt.

"Izzy!" Kenny tugged at my hand.

"You have to wait for him," I sighed, adjusting the sunglasses on my face.

Not a minute passed before Kenny tugged my hand once again. "Franchesa I can't wait."

Oh boy. He was using his "serious" tone with me. I had to entertain him quickly or he would go crazy very soon. I dug through my tote bag before finding my disposable camera.

"Kenneth, do you want to do me a favor?" He nodded his head, shaking his helmet too. I smiled. Cute as a button. "Well you know how I'm in a photography class? I need your help to take good pictures. And you're the only one I can trust with my camera. Do you want to take the offer?"

I didn't even hear a yes from him. He took the camera and started snapping pictures of people strolling by on their wheels. I sighed in relief.

"Hey Fran!" Matt's distinguished voice called from far away. I stood on my feet and wiped away any dirt from the back of my jeans.

"Matty," I smiled and hugged him. Kenny was right beside me in a heartbeat. I laughed at his speed.

"I want you to meet one of my new friends," said Matt.

I waited patiently for his friend to walk over to us. He was around 5'10", his hair black and it looked like he needed a haircut, his eyes a dark brown, and he was slightly tanned.

"Franchesa this is-"

Matt's friend waved his hand. "No need to introduce us. I think I can do it myself." He and I both smirked. He was cocky and I loved that he was being an asshole. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Brian."

I winked at him. "I'm sure."

His eyebrows wiggled suggestively. "Cocky girl? I love that."

He seemed nice enough. After the quick introductions, Matt, Brian, and Kenny went on their way to skating. I took a few pictures with my professional camera that belongs to the school. There wasn't much action today though. I stared out the gates of the skate park and saw a group of people playing soccer in the field across the street. It couldn't hurt to go over there and watch them play. Maybe I could get some good sports pictures.

I searched for Kenny. He was with Matt and Matt was trying to teach him how to push forward without losing his balance. I screamed to Matt to watch over my little brother before taking my belongings and walking over to the bleachers of the soccer field.

I definitely made a good decision by walking over. The players were running back and forth along both ends of the field, showing off their soccer skills. My fingers were so tired from my fast snapping. Pretty soon, I finished one roll. I cursed, digging through my bag for more film.

I grumbled when a shadow blocked my search. I looked up to scream at the jerk for blocking my line of sight. I opened my mouth to see Rafael, the foreign exchange student, shirtless. Damn, is all I can say, if I could speak actually.

He smiled at me, sitting down on the empty spot that was next to me. "I did not know that you like to watch soccer," he said, taking a drink out of his water bottle.

I found my voice after I realized he was talking to me. "I like all sports. I'm a photographer too so I figured I should take some pictures here. I didn't know you're an athlete."

"Oh yes I am. Soccer is one of my favorite sports." I saw the twinkle in his eye as he mentioned the sport. It must be very important to him.

Without thinking, I replaced the roll and snapped a picture at Rafael. I caught him off guard and he only noticed I took a picture of him after he heard the click sound.

"I am curious, why did you take a picture of me?"

"You had the perfect pose and I had to take it," I smiled. He nodded his head, smiling too. This boy could steal my heart.

"FRANCHESA!" I wonder who that could be. Notice the sarcasm dripping in my words.

I saw Matt running towards Rafael and me, red in the face. Rafael looked at Matt and then at me nervously. If you didn't know Matt, you would be scared too. When Matt's angry, he looks like he's ready to kill. I know him well enough to know that he would only scream a lot. He was never violent unless he was playing a game of football or someone pushed his buttons way too far.

"Where were you?!" he boomed once he stood in front of me. He looked like my dad. He crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot on the grass impatiently.

"What does it look like? I was talking to Rafael," I answered coolly, leaning back and holding myself with my elbows.

"You left your little brother there!"

You know how Matt can make me stop being angry by just smiling? Well I can make him feel very guilty by hitting him with the truth.

"I asked you to look after him for a while before I went over here and I saw you nod."

"Oh..." There's the guilt. He looked away, the red tint on his face slowly fading. "I'll leave you alone then," he mumbled, walking back to the skate park.

I sighed, fiddling with my camera. Rafael probably felt the tension between Matt and me.

"You know what Franchesa? I must get back to playing soccer or my coach is going to make me run five miles tomorrow. I shall see you at school."

I nodded, putting my things away. I walked back to the park, waiting for my little brother to tell me that he wanted to go home.

Matt was standing by the entrance, taking a breather. I knew he saw me walk past him. I knew he saw me ignore him when he called my name.

I looked past Matt, seeing Kenny was with Brian. I walked over to them with a fake, happy smile on my face. Kenny noticed my presence and smiled.

"Are you ready to go home?" I asked cheerily. He nodded tiredly, jumping off his skateboard. I told him to go wait at the entrance for me. I wanted to thank Brian before I left.

"Thank you for being able to stand my brother's hyper moments," I grinned.

He smiled thoughtfully. "It's okay. He's a cool kid. I'll see you some other time." I gave Brian a nice hug before walking to Kenny. He was so tired; I saw how sluggish his movements were. I took has skateboard, holding it under my right arm and holding his hand with my free hand. Matt was probably following us from far away but I didn't care at this point. One day his anger is going to be the cause of his downfall. And when it is, I won't be there to help him through it.