The Attorney ✓( A White House occupants prequel)

Chapter Two

7.5 years ago

Chaos. Absolute-fucking chaos is the only thing that can properly describe my current living situation. It won't be too long before I turn eighteen, and I have no plans, no place to go. Most of my oldest siblings would gladly take me in if they could, but they're currently dealing with the same problems I'll have not too long from now. They live in tiny apartments or run down trailers, all because my parents kicked them out before they were ready.

I turn over, coming face to face with the other five beds in this room. All of them are empty, which can only mean one thing: I'm late for school again.

Great- now they have another thing to yell at me about. I jump up so fast all of my covers get knocked in the floor, and grab the first pair of pants I see. They could be dirty, and they might not even be mine- but I don't have time to be picky, so I pull them up and leave my sleep shirt on. I shove my feet into a pair of flip flops, simultaneously swinging my backpack over my shoulders.

The thing slows me down, but oh well.

When I open the bedroom door, I come face to face with my father- who has yet to leave for work. He seems so disappointed, but that's nothing out of the ordinary- so I do my best to ignore it and push past him.

"Hold on a second." He puts a hand on my shoulder. I gulp. This is exactly what I was afraid of; why I try to rush out of here every morning. "Why the hell are you just getting up?"

I could give him a bullshit answer- like I was up studying late last night and just slept through my alarm. That wouldn't be a lie, because I was- but it's not the only reason.

"Well..." I avoid direct eye contact. "I have multiple brothers, five of whom I share a room with, and not one of them had the basic human decency to wake me up before they left."

"Don't you try to turn this around on one of them." He raises a finger. "You overslept. You missed first period."

"Yes sir...can I go now?"

"One more thing-" He finally releases his grip on my shoulders. I rub the spot where his hands were, just now realizing how tight it was. "Your mother needs you to watch the younger ones this Friday. We're trying for another."

"Ew, gross dad-"

"Reproduction is natural and godly between a married couple. Anyways- you need to be home by nine pm Friday."

"Why can't somebody else do it?" I complain. They make me watch them every time. "You do realize I'm not the only person over thirteen living in this house, correct?"

"Yeah yeah kid, I know." He sighs. "But as much grief as I give you...you're the only one with a brain. Alright- get to school."

He pats me on the shoulder and continues walking down the hallway. I stand there, perplexed by his compliment for a second. He may be right. Most of my siblings lack basic common sense, book smarts- or both. I don't have the best grades in the world, but I'm not failing either.

I shake my head and jog down the few steps to our living room, which leads outside. Because I missed the bus, I'll have to walk today. Yay.

I get to be an extra ten minutes late, get yelled at even more for it. So I do my best to go fast, running most of the way, and only walk a normal pace near the end- once I'm close to the school.

Once it's within viewing distance, I relax a bit and allow myself to breathe. Those who have first period as a free one usually don't show up this early. In fact if I had one, I wouldn't have had to rush.

  But there are a few people sitting outside, and the closer I get- the louder  "Don't stop me now" by queen gets. It becomes clear that whoever it's coming from is unaware of how loud it is, and that the others are too nice to say anything.

  Living with a family as large as mine, I learned a long time ago how to politely ask people to shut up. I look towards the direction the sound's coming from, and my eyes fall over a girl that can't be but a year or two younger than I am, but with the way she's sitting and how intently focused she is on studying, she looks twenty.

I clear my throat and nervously walk up to her, tapping on her shoulder. Annoyed, she sets her highlighter down and goes to pull out a headphone- then her eyes widen, mortified.

  She quickly reaches over onto the table for her MP3 player and flips it off. "Thank you-" She sighs. "How long was it like that?"

  "Oh I don't know." I shrug. "I just got here."

  Nosily, I look over her paper. Her handwriting's so small that you wouldn't be able to understand it if it weren't as neat as it is, and so much of it is highlighted I wonder what the point is, but one little mistake catches my eye.

  "You mixed up variables and derivatives." I tell her.

"Really? I never- oh shit." Her eyes dart straight to the definitions in disbelief, then she scribbled both of them out, frustrated. "Thanks again, I guess. What's your name?"

  I take a seat beside her, the bell for second period drawing closer and closer- but it suddenly feels less urgent. "Joe Norris."

  "Are you related to-"

  "No." I quickly answer, shaking my head. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten that question since the day I was born, and no matter who it comes from, it's still annoying. "I wish. And your name is?"

  She smiles, one so bright that I don't ever want to stop looking at it.

  "Sonia Lucia."