When You're In Love with a girl

Chapter 33, The Gemney Family

THE GEMNEY FAMILY

There's good news. Sam's gotten running prosthetics now, and even though he can't play football, he tells me he is happier and more aware than ever. "My eyes are open now," he says. Sam and I have become closer; I trust him more than before. Sometimes I still catch a glimpse of his former self, but it's fine. He's a funny person, and I never realized that before. We spend more time together now. 

Dad isn't as bad as he was before. He accepts me, even though he's not really pleased with my love with Arya.

Mom and I have reached some sort of understanding: we don't speak much anymore. Mom no longer makes me do special video shootings, even though she still records me as part of the family videos. I'm glad enough for that; I don't want to see Byron anymore. Recently, some of the viewers on the Gemney Days videos have been commenting that our family dynamic has kind of changed. Hah! If only they knew.

A few days ago, Mom received a call, and looking extremely shocked, she handed the phone to me. "Byron wants to talk to you."

I took the phone and sat down in my room. "Hi," I said.

"Where've you been!" exclaimed Byron. "I miss you so much."

"Oh," I say. I want to hang up, but I don't. "Yeah, my mother has stopped making us do the appointments, so...."

"But we could still speak to each other a bit, right?" His voice was terribly sad, but his mouth was way too close to his phone. I put the phone down.

"Mm," I said.

Byron's voice took on a sincere tone, not daft like he used to always be when he was around me, but truly sincere. "Actually—I, um, actually liked you."

His words echoed in my head. It's crazy. No way. He had always seemed a tad awkward, didn't he? But I have never thought of him in that way. "What!" I exclaimed.

"I thought you liked me, so you asked your mom to record videos with me."

He's delusional, I thought. What the heck. Of course social media is not reality; you would think he would know the difference, growing up in a YouTube family! But I spoke to him kindly. "No, I don't like you. I'm sorry."

I turned down the volume so I couldn't hear what he said in reply. I gave the phone back to my mom and went back to my room. Thankfully it's all over, and dang, Byron is truly out of his mind.

*****

Tom is enamored with a girl named Sorianne now. I'm glad. We're good friends now, better than we were when we first met, even. He deserves love. He's always talking about her: "I just love her blue hair, you know," he says. "It just screams 'rebel spirit' like the rebellious girl she is." And when he says it, his eyes get all dreamy, and he seems a far distance from me, like he's wrapped in a blanket of love.

Sorianne is half-White, half-Filipino, so I think Tom identifies with Sorianne. And it's like her rebel spirit makes him more lively. I like that. Sorianne has middle-brown hair, maybe a slight shade darker than mine, and yes, she has bright, electric-blue bangs. She wears cat-eyes every day, and it just makes her look more cute.

"She definitely has that feeling around her," I agree.

"Alie, can I ask something of you?" He struggles up from leaning against the rail of the school stairs.

I twist my mouth. "Sure," I say and hope it won't be bad.

Tom laughs nervously. "Ask Sorianne, er, if she likes me."

I have to laugh. "What! Just ask her out yourself! You're such a chicken." I shake my head, half-teasingly.

I watch as Arya throws out her lunch trash. She sees me and walks over to join us. We're all on lunch break right now, but after a rumor that Brandon Windlesby likes Sorianne has been going around, Tom wanted to talk to me very privately—away from the cafeteria.