Blue Sunflowers

I dragged my feet down the stairs, acknowledging the off-key shower serenade to Sophie, and creeped towards the kitchen.

My hair all over and Jack Skellington pajama-clad, I peeked over to find my parents making coffee. I knew what had disturbed my golden slumber; motherfucking coffee. I took a deep breath so as to relax but instead inhaled a wallop of their Cuban poison. I broke into a cough and they noticed me, fuck.

“Oh Carol! You’re up already!” My mother twirled around.

“Yeah…hi.” I nodded to myself and looked around for my sister. Instead, I found my dad, who nodded as well.

I sucked in a breath and scurried back to my room. No amount of my arguing could convince my parents to have the child in their room or the fucking guest bedroom. They made me keep her in mine, because “we’re family”. Family, my ass.

I got ready in the other fucking bathroom, and stepped into my uniform Mary-Janes. Only two more weeks till graduation and I’m a free bitch, baby.

I pulled my hair back into a pony tail and put in a red ribbon to match my school colours for the hell of it. I threw on my backpack and finally caught up with my sister in the hallway. We overheard my mother’s shrieking laughter through the floorboards. I glared at her and she rolled her eyes, “Only two more weeks.”

I rolled mine and flew down the stairs and out the door, “Bye Carol!” Sophia waved and yelled at me from the kitchen table. I didn’t disguise my disgust, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, she was oblivious.

I knocked on Frank’s door; I hadn’t seen him in a whole. night – yes, that is a lot. But he snores, so it’s not like I could sneak him in. His mom popped out, she was in her nurse uniform and headed for the hospital.

“Good morning, Carolina.” She grinned down at me.

“Good morning, Mrs. I- I mean Linda.” I squinted and snapped my fingers with the last bit, to her amusement. “Okay, I have to get going but Frank’s still inside waiting for you.”

“Kay, bye.” I waved and walked in.

I found Frank tying his shoes, which weren’t in accordance to the school dress code, I might add. He looked up and smiled, “Hey.”

I couldn’t just not smile back, “Hey.” He stood up and looped his arms through his empty book bag – ours match.

He put his arm around my shoulders, led me towards the door again and asked, “How’s it so far?”

“It fucking sucks.” Might as well get it straight out. He giggled as we made our way to my car, which had to park somewhere else so that theirs could be front and center.

We belted up and set off.

A red light after peace and quiet – comfortable as usual. “You know,” he started, “I always wanted siblings. Like, you’d see them in movies and shit, and it’d be like, totally rad.”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “But those are normal families. We – as you should know, are, like, pretty much everything but normal.”

He rolled his eyes and didn’t put up a fight. We got to school and said our goodbyes; long, lengthy, overtly-kissy-to-the-point-we-get caught-and-are-late goodbyes. The security guards broke us up, so we flipped them off and skipped to the second class of the day, having missed the first.

I sat in AP European History, contemplating that freckle on the girl that sat next to me - Chastity’s - face. Hell, anything was better than whoever’s class I was in. I looked around at all those cheesy posters they always put up. I always felt that they were there to simply distract students.

I sighed and decided on putting my head down, I knew this shit. I ruler snapped next to me and I cracked one eyes open. A nun, I guess the one “teaching”, glared back at me.

“Yes?” I tried my best not to groan.

She rolled her baggy eyes, “Miss Saco, what have we talked about?”

“We haven’t talked about anything, really.” I smirked and sat up straighter. The class laughed and I could see her fuming.

“Well, then, why don’t you recite what the class was discussing?” she raised her raggedy eyebrows and I stood up, dropping my book bag/pillow at my feet.

I took a deep breath and pointed my eyebrows, too, “Look lady, I’m gonna be honest here and tell you something.”

She was appalled.

“There’s like two weeks of school left before I’m home free. I’m your best student and quite frankly dude,” I shrugged. “I don’t give a fuck.”

I smiled and the class gasped along with her. I bent down to get my book bag, “Don’t you ever set foot in this classroom again, young lady!”

“Pss, whatever, bitch.” I grinned and she looked murderous, “I guess I’ll see you around”, I looked around for her name, “Sister Margaret.”

I waved and turned to leave and the class started clapping and cheering. I bowed, “Thank you, my fellow inmates.” I ran out before she could respond.

I sat down at a bench in the hallway. My Darth Vader watch told me it was ten minutes till lunch, ten minutes till Frank, ten minutes till Cookie – not in that order, though.