The Attpempt to Belong

Chapter Two

I was at my locker on my way to lunch when my friend Ashley came running towards me. Ashley works in the guidance office so her job is to deliver things to students.

"Reagan I'm so glad I caught you before you headed off to lunch. These packets came for you today." she says smiling handing me a large envelope

"Thanks Ashley, I can't wait to start filling these out." I say smiling at her widely tucking the envelope under my arm.

"You're welcome, now I have to go to Mr. Wood and you know how he doesn't like being bothered during his free time." she states letting out a sigh.

"Have fun with that." I say smiling as she turns in the opposite direction, a moment later I'm shocked when my envelope is taken from underneath my arm. Turning around I'm shocked to see Hunter opening the envelope and pulling out the papers inside.

"Give those back to me Hunter, and mind your own business." I snap attempting to yank the envelope away from him.

"You're applying for college all the way in Texas for nursing. What's wrong with the colleges near here?" he questions slowly. Looking around I let out a sigh and grab his arm pulling him along.

We sit in a small booth at a deli across the school. I preferred coming here for lunch then eating the school's lunch.

"Next year when I'm supposed to be a senior, I'll be going off to college. I haven't told anyone besides you, but I've been taking extra classes so by the end of this year I can graduate early. I've already sent in a couple applications to a college in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and when I finish with these applications I'll have two going to universities in Texas." I explain watching as his face trying to see any sign of emotion, it's extremely rare to show any type of emotion and it's kind of unnerving.

"I won't let you; I won't let you move across the country just to go to school. There are plenty of schools around here where you don't have to move thousands of miles away." he states shaking his head snatching the packet from me and shoving it into his bag.

"I can easily request more copies of those applications; I'm going to go to college where I want to go to college." I state slowly.

"Fine, I'll just tell Mom, Dad, and Papa tonight at dinner. Let's see how wiling they'll be letting you move thousands of mile away from home just to go to college, and how do you think they'll feel when they learn that you've secretly been taking extra classes so you can graduate at the end of this year and that next fall you'll be leaving us." he snaps glaring at me.

"Dammit Hunter, why are you doing this? Why are you putting up such a struggle because I want to leave? I don't see you blackmailing Angela, I know you know she's dropped quite a few classes automatically putting her behind and dropping her credits. I don't understand why you don't care so much about her than you do me; she is your biological sister." I state letting out a sigh.

"The only thing we share is a mother, not a father." he grumbles rolling his eyes.

"That doesn't explain why you're so desperate to keep me from leaving, and why you don't care about Angela and her slackingness." I say slowly. He stares at me for a couple seconds and pulls out the college applications and stares at them,

"Because you care," he whispers extremely low holding his head down.

"What do you mean?" I ask slowly.

"You're the only one in the house who doesn't just see me as Hunter the overly mature eldest son. You look at me as Hunter you're little brother, yeah you talk about how I'm smart but you say it out of care and because you're proud of me. I can talk to you about things and you listen to me, you care about me and the only person Angela cares about is herself she only cares about what benefits her. Mom, Papa, and Dad are going to find out about her dropping classes eventually so I really don't care how much trouble she'll get in, Angela doesn't care about important things like her education so I don't know where her life is going to go. But you, you have potential you're going to make something of your life. Our parents don't bring up your grades and accomplishments because they don't want to put pressure on you, but we're all proud of you. Especially the younger girls, they look up to you as their idol, I hear them when they talk with Mom how they want to be like you when they're older. I know you feel like an outsider, but you aren't this is your home and your family. I understand that you want to go to college early, but I don't want you to move thousands of miles away, I want it so you can visit on the weekends not where I can see you when you have an extended break," he takes a deep breath and looks up at me with watery eyes "I don't want my big sister to leave and move so far away, I still want you close by." Hunter didn't show emotion and hear he was expressing the way he feels to me. At first I believed there was nothing anyone could do or say that would make me change my mind about leaving and moving far away for college but hearing Hunter's words truly affected me. Could I really move thousands of miles away, knowing by doing so I'll be hurting my younger brother?