modern family | vanessa delgado

Hit and Run

After my mother is finished talking to Jay, she notices my brother's strange behavior. He rips a piece of paper out of his notebook, crumpled it, and tosses it aside.

I'm just sitting next to him and texting my friends away. Trying to act normal because I am in deep trouble right now along with Haley. We owe our friends nine hundred dollars for buying stupid fake IDs. 

How come whenever I'm having fun with Haley I'm almost always in trouble? 

"Are you okay? What is wrong?"

"I want to be homeschooled." Manny declares miserably.

"Really, Manny? Do you want me to learn you English?"

"Or me?" I add, slightly glancing up at him then stare back down to my phone. Barely listening to their conversation.

"What is going on?"

"I have a big report due, and the teachers don't seem to care about the substance. All they care about is the flash." Manny answers.

"Manny, sometimes you can be a little bit old-fashioned."

"A little bit?" I doubt at the understatement. 

Mom gives me a look.

"Remember the first time you saw the kids with the backpacks with wheels and you thought they were too flashy? You're going to school, not boarding a flight to Denver."

"It's getting absurd. Reuben freestyle-rapped his report on lrish immigrants. That doesn't even make sense. Maybe you do a Riverdance. Maybe."

"What is your report on?"

"The mafia."

"Perfect. We do a papier-mache Tommy gun-"

"Oh, no. We shouldn't have to jazz it up." Manny instantly rejects the idea.

"Okay, then we go upstairs and we get your old rocking horse and we chop the head off-" I give her a weird look for suggesting that idea.

"Mom, that's morbid." I tell her, being disturbed.

"No, that's a terrible idea. I love Brownie!" Manny gets up to leave with his things. 

"Do you want to send a message or not?" Mom asks.

"Nice try," I comfort her and put my phone back into my pocket. "Hey, when is Jay coming home?"

"Not for a while. Why?"

I can't tell her the truth or else I'll be in trouble. She keep pestering me by asking more questions.

"Oh, it's nothing," I try to casually wave it off. "Not a big deal, really. I can just wait for Jay."

"Why wait for Jay when you have me?" She asks hopefully.

"Because it's something that I really need his help with." 

"I want to help you, too." She insists.

"Seriously, Mom, it's fine." I smile at her to be convincing.

That gets her disappointed, but at least she stops asking. I go upstairs to Manny's bedroom and softly knock on his door.

"Hey, what's up, lil bro?" I ask happily, entering his bedroom. He's at his desk working on his mafia report.

"You're acting strange," Manny observes skeptically. "You never called me 'lil bro' before."