Out...
"OUT! MATTHEW...GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE. RIGHT NOW!"
Standing in the threshold of the front door I looked at my mother. The shocked and surprised look on my face had to be clear enough for her to see. It didn't faze her. She looked toward the door and pointed her finger to the street behind me.
"I swear to God, Matthew. If you don't get out of the house, this very minute, you'll will be next in line." My mother's words screamed out to me a second time as I tried to walk into the open concept house. The home where our family lived.
My mother, father, and my sister all stood at the huge butcher block that doubled as a gathering place on most occasions. Good and bad. They all appeared to be very upset. And both my mother and my sister looked as though they been crying. Everyone was involved in this family meeting. Everyone but me.
'In line', for what? I wondered to myself. It was very obvious it wasn't for something good. Had my older sister done something bad? Either way I retraced my steps and backed my ass out the front door. Slamming it for affect, I grabbed my mountain bike, and hightailed it down our street.
Whatever it was, I wasn't about to let it ruin my day. No way. Not today. Today was the last day of school. I had graduated high school and was heading to the college I chose in the fall. Until seconds ago, life was good.
I got home expecting a celebration of pizza and wings. Balloons and noise makers. Not really. But the food, yes. We always celebrated big events. And to me, finishing high school ranked among the top 10 in my life. Instead of a party, I got the bum's rush.
"GET OUT!" The words rattled around in my brain as peddled down the street.
*****
When the bell rang earlier in the day, I didn't hurry out. Not like others who were graduating. No. I took a victory lap. Taking my time to drop around and say goodbye and thanks to all the teachers I liked. Even some of the ones I didn't care for.
I hung out with friends I most likely wouldn't see again until a 10- or 20-year reunion. Then I went to coaches' office and had a seat. I thanked him and his assistant for everything they did for me. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be as happy as I were today. Scholarships are getting harder to come by, and I was very excited to get one.
Coach had sent lots of tape to lots of schools. Finally, some of the schools sent scouts. That night, I had a better than good game and the rest, as they say, is history.
But what was supposed to be a big day for the family had somehow changed.
For some reason my father was already home. And seeing him home this early made me curious, because he never left the office before five and looking at my phone, it was only 3:24pm. Him being home this early could only mean one thing. My sister fucked up the possibility of getting herself into college.
****
Tiff and I are I little over a year apart in age. She is older, but we still go to school together. Tiff didn't buckle down the last couple years and missed a few credits. Hence, she had to do an extra year of high school. Today was also supposed to be her last day. We will graduate together. But Tiff has or had a spare for her last class of the day, so she always left school an hour or so before me.
Today wasn't the first time she has messed up. But as far back as I can recall, it was the first time a meeting of this magnitude had been called.
*****
At the park, I threw soon hoops with guys I knew. They played a very tight game of 3 on 3. They let me play because of my height, but they rarely let me shoot.
During one of the breaks, my phone pinged. It was a text from my mother. A simple, '
pizza is on the way
'
, was all it said. Ten minutes later, I was home.
The table was set. No balloons or streamers. Also, no pizza. So, I took a few minutes to shower and headed back downstairs.
Everyone sat in their usual spots. Tiff was across from me, and her head was hanging low. My foot tapped her under the table, but she didn't acknowledge it. When the wings and pizza finally showed, she lifted her head for the first time. With the red eyes, she had clearly been crying hard.
My mother had a large pour of red wine and my father had about the same amount of bourbon. Tiff and I had nothing.
"You want a Dr. Pepper?" I offered my sister.
Her head nodded.
Getting our drinks, I couldn't just sit there without saying anything.
"They posted all the final grades today. Tiff and I both did great in American History. She beat my grade by ten percent."
"How nice," said our mother, stoically. The rest of the room was silent.
"Okay. What's going on? Aren't we talking. Is no one going to say a word? Okay. Let's just let Tiff and Matthew celebrate the big day of graduating high school in silence."
"Matt," said my father.
"What?"
"Matt. Your mother and I are...well...we're not really in the mood to talk or discuss...todays...events."
After that, the pizza and wings seemed to taste like shit. Again, my foot tapped my sister's leg. She didn't even flinch.
"Matthew, do you work tomorrow?" My mom asked.
"Yes...finally, some conversation." It was my chance to try and lighten the mood at the table. "I sure do mother. I work from noon until six pm. I will be busy piling cans of soup and boxes of macaroni, along with other various consumable items for your dining pleasure. Remember, family members of store employees always get a five percent discount on top of our already low, low, discounted prices."
"Matt...enough. I told you. Mom, and I have had a shitty afternoon." He took a gulp of his drink. "The reason we ask if you'll be here, is because we have an electrician coming in the morning. He should be here by eight. Says it's only a couple hours of work."
"An electrician, Tiff did you put the metal dog bowl in the microwave again?"
Her big toe caught me in the shin.
"No. He's putting up surveillance cameras outside. Ones that will cover all entrances and exits. He..." my father started.
"I'm nineteen-years old for Pete's sake. I don't need your permission to leave the house. I'm an adult. I can do what I want. Do you plan on monitoring me when I leave for school?"
"Leave for school? Tiffany, you should have already been in college. Nineteen? If you're nineteen, then stop acting like you're twelve. Your mom and I have grown pretty tired of your little shitshow years ago. Grow the hell up. Yeah, you can do what you want. But not under our roof. When you go out on your own, and you're paying for it, you can do whatever you damn well please."
"Can I have my phone back?" Tiff sounded as if she was begging.
"Yes. When we drop you off at your new school."
"Un-fucking believable." My sister cried.
"Like your other behavior, swearing is also not permitted in this house."
"It's my phone."
"Our phone. Because we pay for it."
Something wasn't good. I took another crack at lightened the mood.
"Oh my God. Did you guys catch Tiffany wearing yoga pants without underwear again. Are those damn panty lines causing our family grief once again? The shame of it all."
My sister is hot. She has a great body and has never been afraid to show it off. My parents had scolded her time after time about wearing panties under her tight leggings, but whenever Tiff tried to sneak out without, she always got caught.
My father's eyes burned holes through my chest and in his mind, I could tell he was trying to rip out my heart.
"Not funny mister. Your mother and I put up with way too much shit from the pair of you. Once. Just once. It would be nice if you saw things our way."
It was a dead issue. It hadn't happened in over a year. Tiffany had been punished and grounded for her choice and lack of undergarments. It was long past, but it was still worth giving it a kick. Yeah, it had been over a year, but it came back to me. Our last family brawl was over Tiff's lack of panties.
