More Than A Degenerate (Riff X Character)

Chapter 1

A knock at the door makes you jump, pulling your attention from Daniel, your baby brother. You hand him the toy you were using to distract him and watch him rapidly shake it with a grin. He coos as you step away, now leaving him only in the presence of your younger sister Margaret.

Life since moving to West Side has been chaotic, to say the least. After your mother remarried, you and your brother Thomas were forced to move in with her new husband and start a fresh life almost four years ago. Things weren't necessarily easy at first, and they only became harder once your mother started to have more children.

Inside your family's small apartment, you weave through the cramped items to reach the door before the second attempt at a knock. There's hardly enough space for the six of you, let alone the belongings you need in order to survive.

You leave the deadbolt on as you open the door.

Familiar eyes peek at you through the small crack. "Delivery."

"Hi, Tony." You smile. You close the door again to remove the deadbolt quickly. You reopen it, now able to see his face fully. "Sorry. You caught me at a bad time." You say as you brush your hair out of your eyes.

"Siblings already givin' you hell this early in the morning?" He teases, stepping inside the apartment.

"Danny woke up on the wrong side of the bed. That was enough to sour Margaret's mood." You sigh, taking the package from his hands. "How are things at Doc's?" You ask, wanting to start a conversation. "Anything interesting since I last saw you?"

He shrugs, leaning against the doorframe. "Nothing interesting at Doc's." He says. A playful smile crosses his face. "However, there is a dance happening this Saturday."

You groan and roll your eyes. "I don't go to dances." You grumble as you turn away from him.

"You don't leave your apartment." He argues, following after you into the kitchen. You swat at him from over your shoulder, not wanting to listen to him any longer. "The only time I see you out is when you're running errands for your ma. And even then, you're not alone. You're taking care of your siblings."

"Because my mom and George are busy working at the market." You say, quickly becoming defensive. It's not that you want to be taking care of Margaret and Danny 24/7. It's that you have no choice in the matter.

"Thomas can't help out once in a while?"

"Thomas has been recruited to be George's personal delivery boy." You say, narrowing your eyes at Tony. You jab a finger against his chest. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who suggested the idea to him."

Tony becomes flustered, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. George, your step-father, takes advice from very few people, especially boys who have just been released from prison. But at Tony's request and the growing presence of gangs in West Side, George allowed Thomas to begin working in the market and making trips around the neighborhood to get himself familiar with their new home.

"That doesn't matter." Tony counters, stepping towards you. "The dance is at night. The market will be closed, meaning you're free to come dancing."

You laugh. Your mother being home doesn't mean your job as babysitter and housekeeper suddenly comes to a close. You are supposed to do the cleaning and cooking and put Margaret and Danny to bed while your mother and George figure out the profits from the day and plan how they want to improve the market to bring in more customers.

Tony, however, doesn't need to know how extremely boring and depressing your life truly is. So instead, you search for another excuse as to why you can't join him.