“Hey, I am going to get us something to eat? Do you have anything specific in mind?”
“No, but thank you.” Was she staying here alone as a test that she can handle herself alone? Was he really pushing that button more?
“Am I not coming with you?”
“No, Sam is keeping an eye on the house so I am not worried.” Ahh, the mysterious Sam saved the day. Luna could feel her eyes rolling.
“Oh, okay.” She could tell that her shortness was getting more sassy about it.
“Okay, I will be back in a few.” The minute her dad left, she waited until the car lights drove away. She got on the computer and logged onto Facebook. She messaged her mom real quick, ‘dad is going to talk with u about me staying home alone. he thinks i am 2 young to be home alone.’
She knew her mom wouldn’t look at the message until later when she got on her laptop but she wanted to make sure that she wasn’t caught off guard. She decided to clear the history of this transaction to make sure her dad didn’t know that she was using the computer, but right before she did she got a message from her mom saying ‘Thanks for letting me know. Try to have fun. Love you’ She wasn’t a fan of lying to her mom especially since that woman could take away her phone and more. She was tired of getting punished for her dad so she just beat her dad to the punch.
She decided to go watch MTV because she knew that should sing songs and more. She couldn’t find the channel. She gave up trying so started practicing the songs she already memorized. She knew she had to practice the songs for chorus, but she needed Oliver for his off pitch note (by a step down) to know her correct note.
Drew talks to me/I laugh 'cause it's just so funny/That I can't even see/Anyone when he's with me/He says he's so in love/He's finally got it right/I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night
She could feel this song in her core. She wanted to scream out the lyrics but Luna knew that wasn’t the smartest decision because she didn’t want mysterious Sam to come over because she heard screaming. Plus it would be a bad technique for her voice and since she is a hidden soprano for chorus, she would need her voice.
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar/The only thing that keeps me wishing/on a wishing star/ He's the song in the car I keep singing/ Don't know why I do/ Drew walks by me/Can he tell that I can't breathe?/And there he goes, so perfectly/The kind of flawless I wish I could be
After singing that line, she was thinking about what everyone was talking about during lunch. Who does Lune see herself kissing on Valentine’s Day? Of course, she wants to kiss Oliver. She just missed him but she had every right to be annoyed with him especially after the stunt he pulled with Joaquin. Was she not allowed to be friendly with another guy? Is it because she didn’t attack Joaquin like she did with Oliver, or was it because Oliver saw a different side of Luna which is the kinder side that he hardly got? All the questions were rushing to her head. She had to stop that real quick before her dad got back.
It was perfect timing because she saw the headlights pulling up. She was glad that she was able to quiet the questions but also that she was able to practice even if it was just one song. She needs to keep practicing to be able to prove to her mom that she is a great singer. She needed to prove her wrong.
“So I see the house is still in good shape. No issues?”
“I told you, I stay home alone all the time. I wouldn’t burn the house down or anything worse. Everything is fine, I just channeled surf. That’s it.” Sadly, if she told her dad that she messaged her mom about that whole Luna staying home alone thing, he would be “heartbroken,” because she tattled on him. She just wanted a normal non-fighting break with him. She couldn’t get that from him.
“I know what you told me but I had to make sure myself.” Something Luna just realized…her dad left her alone ALL THE TIME with Lucas and that crazy house but her being all alone was a big red flag. Her dad was the most confusing person to understand.
“Okay, so what did you get us for food?”
“I got us McDonalds for lunch and for dinner we are going out.” Fun times, fast food. At least at Laurissa’s house, she knew she would have at least 3 home cooked meals. Luna missed Laurissa. She wanted to tell Laurissa everything so badly.
“Sounds like fun! So, chicken nuggets with fries and a sprite?” Her normal order.
“You got it correct!” She ate her chicken nuggets quietly as he was channel surfing and found a movie to watch. He was focused on Armageddon as he ate his Big Mac. She didn’t want to watch this movie, but she was trying to find the happiness of being with her dad.
“So, dad, what do we have planned for Christmas? Are we putting the tree up together?” As she looked around the small home and questioned where they were putting a tree at but also why there were no decorations anywhere?
“We can go out and buy all the decorations but I am on a budget, is that fine?”
“Sure, that’s fine. We can do it tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? I can’t tomorrow, I have to work. We will do it in 2 days.”
“You work on Sundays? Since when?”
“Since I started this job, why do you think I don’t call you on Sundays anymore?”
“I assumed you were at church with Laurissa and all of them, and it’s not like I knew you were working again. So on Sundays, I won’t see you. Am I just staying here? Are you dropping me off at Sam’s house? I know I can’t go to Laurissa’s house because she goes to church on Sundays.”
“You will stay here, Sam come check in on you every other hour. No, you won’t be seeing Laurissa this year because her family went up to New York to do Christmas with all of them.” Luna missed that side, Laurissa’s family made her feel like she was a part of their family. So seeing Laurissa and Sammy was completely off the table if they were in New York.
“Oh, okay.” Luna looked disappointed as she watched her dad go to the mini kitchen to get a glass of water.
“Don’t sound too sad, we can have fun together too.”
“I’m not, I just wanted to fill her in on what’s going on in my life.”
“Why can’t you tell me?”
“Fine, well I officially am a woman because I got my period last month.” Grossing him out was the best way to get out of this conversation. She knew that this would be a good way to keep his nose out of things he knows nothing about.
“Oh, that kind of fills in. I thought you meant it in a different category.”
“No, just me and my womanhood starting.” What a lie, Luna hasn’t started her period but to change topics would be lovely.
“Well, yeah you won’t see her until spring break if you are going to be with me at that time as well.”
“Why wouldn’t I be with you for spring break?”
“I don’t know, you could have plans with your friends. Your mom might have something planned for you guys. I don’t know.”
“Mom usually lets us know if she has something planned especially because during the spring timing, I have my chorus assessment so she knows that if I miss that then I automatically fail the class.”
“You have an assessment for chorus class?”
“Yeah, it’s called MPA, it’s the music performance assessment. My teacher has been working with us to get a good grade for it.” She was struggling on topics, she didn’t have to explain what MPA was to her mom, but also her mom met with the teachers and the chorus teacher talked about MPA and how it impacts our grades. Does he know something about spring break for her because her mom hasn’t hinted to anything about spring break?
“Oh wow, if you need to practice, let me know and I will give you some notes.”
“I’m good, thank you. Plus, I need my singing partner since they have the other note.” Don’t let him know that your singing partner is Oliver! Even though he has met Oliver, she doesn’t trust it at all.
“Oh, you have a singing partner? Is she as good as you?” Rude! Don’t assume that they are a she. Especially when that person is Oliver.
“He is an okay singer, but he is good at keeping me on key since he constantly is flat or sharp on some notes.”
“Oh, he. I wasn’t expecting a guy to be your singing partner.” He said that and went over to the computer and Luna felt like she was going to get caught in an act. Luckily, she remembered her dad’s password to the social media which was so predictable.
The rest of the day was quiet and distant. Luna felt like she could say something and nothing would get to her dad’s world because she knew that he was talking to another woman which meant another girlfriend was going to show up. She wished that her dad would just stop for a month, a month being single wouldn’t hurt him. She knew she couldn’t because her dad would probably bring up how Luna is a child. A child…every time she heard that line, it angered her because she had learned how to do so many things because of her parents. She wished that her dad would give her some trust, like her mom is.
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