Hunger

Rory: The Thief

My alarm isn't supposed to go off for fifteen more minutes, but I'm startled awake by a racket that has become familiar over the past few months: Seth, yelling. This morning the object of his wrath is Blanca, our housekeeper and the closest thing to a mother we've had since our own mom died.

I think about just yanking the pillow over my head, but I know that would be useless. Plus I can't leave sweet, soft-spoken Blanca to defend herself. I throw my legs over the side of the bed with a groan. My muscles and feet are still sore from yesterday's class.

I stomp down the first flight of stairs descending from my loft bedroom at the top of the house. Then I have to stomp all the way down the main staircase too before I finally get to Seth and Blanca in the kitchen. Our house is huge but empty, occupied by just the three of us now that summer is ending. Dad is back to being gone most of the time on some kind of political or campaign business. He's running for mayor this year and devotes all of his time to the endeavor, essentially ignoring the fact that Seth is home.

"What the hell is your problem?" I snap at Seth, who's already got his huge headphones on and is stuffing a messy pile of papers into his backpack.

Against everybody's recommendations, Seth decided to start school in August, only three months since coming back home. Since he's been home, things have been tense to say the least. I lost a sweet (if somewhat troubled) little boy and got back a moody teenager who cusses like a sailor, despises everyone and has tried to run away twice in the last two months. I'll never wish he was gone, but I hate to say it... Seth isn't easy to love anymore.

"Hey! Talking to you!" I shout at him.

I know he hasn't heard me. I can hear the steady bass of his rap music playing through his headphones. Rap or metal. This kid doesn't believe in other types of music.

"I heard you!" he yells back, "I'm fine, Rory, just leave me alone."

"Why are you yelling at Blanca?"

"Because the stupid bitch threw away my math homework!"

I glance at Blanca, who just shrugs. I'm seething with rage on her behalf, but she's ever the patient one and has loved Seth through all of his verbal abuse since he got back. She never reacts in anger like I do.

"Don't you dare talk like that about her! Apologize right now!" I shout.

Seth rolls his eyes. "Fuck you," he mumbles, pushing past me and heading out the front door to catch the school bus.

I just stand there trying to get hold of myself before I lose it and start screaming. I ball my hands into fists and force myself to breathe deeply.

"He can't help it, Rory," Blanca says gently.

She's a small Hispanic woman in her fifties with streaks of gray like shooting stars all through her dark ponytail. She's pretty, sweet and quiet, but I know she's capable of defending herself because I've seen her be a badass with my father before. She's just holding back with Seth, and I can't imagine why.

"How can you let him talk to you like that?" I ask, ashamed of the tears I feel pooling in my eyes. The old Seth didn't even know those words.

"Because somewhere under all that mess is the little boy you used to love more than anyone," Blanca says.

"I still love him," I mumble, "It's just harder now."

"Well, I don't think love is supposed to be easy. Cheer up, it's Friday," Blanca says, turning back to the stove. "You want eggs?"

"Sure. Just the whites though," I say. I have class later and need the protein but not the fat.

I'm a senior this year, which means I can finally join the performing arts program that allows me to dance in the afternoons instead of taking regular high school classes. I worked twice as hard to finish all my major credits to graduate last year, which is partly why Kyle broke up with me. He doesn't say much to me these days, and I have nothing to say to his skeezy, lying ass, so I'm glad I only attend school part time. Now that he's out of my life, my afternoons are devoted to practicing with the Dallas Ballet Theater.