"Tyler, can I get you anything?"
"Tyler, that outfit looks very nice on you."
"Tyler, you are such a good older brother."
And then, the worst, my weakness, the pushing of my button:
"Gee, Tyler, don't you miss Angela?"
She actually said 'gee'. I glared at her and said, "You are really getting on my nerves." She smiled and said innocently, "I'll stop if you tell mom you want to move back to grandma's neighborhood."
"You are not even sneaky about this."
"Why should I be? Being direct, I find, is much more efficient." I rolled my eyes and looked back down at the homework in front of me, waving her off with a flick of my hand. She sighed heavily and left my room.
"Leather? Or cashmere?" Kelly asked, holding out a sweater and a jacket in front of my face. I looked up from the book I was reading the back cover of and stared at the clothing items presented to me. "Hm," I said, "Well, what look are you going for?" She bit her lip, "I don't know."
"Well, more biker, or more church-goer?"
"I don't know."
"I like the cashmere one. The leather jacket seems a little over-exaggerated. And I don't think it will work with those jeans. Unless you were planning on changing...?"
"Nope. Thanks." She walked away from me, pulling the crimson cashmere sweater over her head. I looked back at the book in front of me, completing the summary before putting it back on the shelf and walking back to the cash register.
My mom could never cook. Well, that's the understatement of the century. When she "cooks", the responsible thing to do with her leftovers would be to deposit them into a pile of toxic waste. So when she walked out of the kitchen as I walked in the door after work, which had started right after school ended, wearing an apron that said, typically, "Kiss The Cook" and smiling widely at me- surprisingly not covered in flower like every horrible cook movie character to ever be created- my buzz from getting my check plummeted. "Um," I said, not sure what else to say. She smiled widely and said, "I made burritos!"
Burritos. Simple enough, not something easily destroyed.
But never doubt the skills of my mother in making a lovely dish turn evil.
Jake stared at the burrito on his plate for about five minutes straight before my mom finally said, "Are you not hungry, sweetheart?" Jake blinked at her and said, quickly, "Nope. I'm not. I think a bowl of Cheerios will fill me up, but thanks anyway." He quickly deposited the burrito into its rightfully deserved home, the trash can. As he poured a bowl of cereal for himself, I sighed heavily, imaging evenings to come- two months worth- of this same ritual. When I was finally released to my room, I climbed into my bed, pulled the covers over my head, and blasted my iPod in my ears, trying not to think about the fact that I was going to be stuck-alone- in this house for two months straight.
New York City. "The Big Apple". "The City That Never Sleeps." A highly desired place for people all over the world.
If only Angela lived there.
I didn't really have any idea how to go about the making of this decision. So I asked Sadie. Sadie, at first, said that I should make the decision to stay, but when I told her that wasn't an option, she composed a few lists to help me make a reasonable decision.
Pros of NYC
1. Makes mom happy
2. Saves gas
3. Social network to die for
4. LIGHTS
5. Connections
6. Always something to do
7. Opportunities
8. Desirable destination
9. Good schools
10. Cheap rent
Cons of NYC
1. High crime
2. Traffic
3. Hard to find housing
4. Difficult to find jobs
5. Familiar faces
6. Crowded everywhere
7. Tourists
8. Noise
9. Easy to get lost
10. No Angela
Pros of Old Town
1. Makes Milly happy
2. Close to grandma
3. Angela
4. Safe area
5. Familiar faces
6. Angela
7. Easy to get across town
8. Good water polo team
9. No traffic
10. Angela
Cons of Old Town
1. Not what moms wants
2. That's it.
© 2010
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