Luna Aria

VI. High Five to Me

Aria's POV:

I wake up with an uneasy feeling in my chest.

It’s probably nothing.

I turned to the side and stared at the alarm clock. The second it beeps, I push the off button. “Ha! I woke up before you did again!” The most exciting part of my day would be to win against my alarm clock. And I wouldn’t change that excitement for something else.

The bathroom door is locked. “Whoever is in there! I need to take a piss!” I pounded against the door.

“Language!” Dad screamed from downstairs.

“Sorry, daddy! I meant pee!”

“I’m powdering my nose!”

“You’re pooping, aren’t you? Why do you do this every morning, Joe?!”

The door swung open, and I gagged.

“Learn how to wake up earlier then,” he said.

“You wake up at freaking 4:30 am with John to do your morning runs. I’d rather die in the toxic fume than wake up that early.”

He nodded, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me inside. I yelp, and before I can react any further, he slams the door shut. Joe didn’t crack the window, lit a candle, or spray any bottle of air freshener. To make matters worse, he took a hot morning shower before taking a dump, which is very kooky. “Oh! Ew! It stinks in here! Let me out!”

He laughs, “Smell it, baby sister! Inhale the stinky air!”

“You’re disgusting!” I rushed towards the window and attempted to open it. The cabinets didn’t have any candles or air fresheners.

“Don’t bother! I cleared it all out this morning!”

“Why are you doing this!?” I yelled.

“Teach you to steal my money!”

“I found it!”

“Thief!”

“Am not!” I stomped my foot.

“Yes, you’re a-”

“What’s going on here?”

I pounded the door, “Mom! Mom! Joe just took a dump in here and locked me inside!”

“What?! Let your sister out!” mom screamed.

The door flung open, and I fell on the carpet.

“Fresh air!” I screamed.

“Joseph Dante Rossi! How many times must I tell you to stop locking either of your sisters inside the bathroom after you take a dump whenever you are upset with either of them.”

I hid behind her, “You tell him, mommy!”

“She stole my money!” he whined.

My older twin brothers are tall, roughly six feet with a muscular build, but they are still mommy little whiney babies. They complain and pout whenever something doesn’t go their way.

Mom arches a brow, “Is that true, Aria?”

I pucker my lips and look at my feet. “I found the twenty.”

She rolled her eyes, “Give your brother back his money, and you -” she turned back towards Joe, “go air out the bathroom! It smells like a dump in there.”

I burst out laughing, “I get it because he just took a dump.” Am I kissing my mom’s ass? Maybe.

She laughed along while Joe stared at us, scoffing in disbelief that he is somehow related to us. Mom wiped the tears from her eyes. “Don’t bother doing a DNA test. I pop both you and your brother out,” she said.

When Joe finished unlocking the window and lit the candle, I came back with a box. “Here,” I muttered, shoving it in his face.

He furrowed his brow and opened the box, a smile cracking on his face. “You do care,” he said, pulling out a brand new soccer shirt. Joe pulled me in for a tight hug.

“There’s something else in there that you don’t deserve,” I said.

He released me and looked inside to see a new pair of black with white stripe soccer shoes.

“I know you wanted these, but you can’t buy them since it’s so expensive. So, I got it for you as a thank you gift for taking me home from school and to other places,” I mumbled.

He tilted his head to the side and started fake crying.

“Don’t think you’re all that special. I got John a pair too. Considering you locked me in the bathroom earlier with a stink bomb, I should take the shoes back,” I hissed.

He threw out his gorilla arm. “Thank you, I love you, baby sister.”

“I know I love me too.”

“I’m still going to take a dump every morning right before you wake up,” he declared.

“I know you take joy in depriving me of fresh air,” I replied.

He patted my head and sent his signature smirk before jogging back into his room.

When I finished freshening up, I went back to my room and grabbed a pair of black sweats along with a sweater. Throwing them on, I hopped downstairs towards the kitchen. “Morning, mommy and daddy,” I kissed both of their cheeks.

Many people think it’s weird that I still call my mom and dad, mommy and daddy, but I don’t care. When I was in middle school, a group of guys made fun of me for still calling my parents by those names. I may have lost my temper and slammed one guy’s arm inside a locker. After that, no one bullied me anymore, but I did earn a good two weeks of grounding.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” mom chirped.

Dad ruffled my hair lightly, “Good morning, princess.”

“Sups siblings I never wanted.” I gave them a mocking salute.

“Glad we agree on something.” John ate a waffle.

“I miss those good ole days when you can’t talk,” Joe said in a baby voice, then proceeded with a pout.

“I miss those good ole days when you guys were shipped off to ballet camp. Tell me, how did those tights feel again?” Sam smirked at them as they sent her a glare.

“I thought we agreed never to speak about that again!”

“You break it, you buy it,” mom sang.

John and Joe both work part-time at the local market to pay for their stuff. Plus, our parents got sick of both of them breaking things around the house whenever they lose their temper. So, whenever they break something, my parents make them pay half the price value of the time. Our family isn’t wealthy, but we are doing well for ourselves, but our parents don’t want us to grow up spoiled, where we don’t appreciate what they provide for us.

Sam worked part-time at the school library because every facility member loved her so much they were willing to hire her despite being a student. I work part-time at a cafe in the corner of the town that barely has customers, so I sleep and get paid.

The best job in the world.

“It’s your fault,” John mumbled.

“Well, I’m sorry! They shouldn’t have put the ballet and soccer checkbox so close together!” Joe shouted.

“Who told you to fill out the form?!”

“I gave it to dad to check, and he gave me the okay!”

They twisted their heads towards dad, who silently sipped his coffee. He arched a brow and placed his cup down. “I won’t protest against what my sons decide to do in their free time. Even if it meant jumping around in tights.”

They glanced at each other and shrugged. “Ballet camp wasn’t that bad,” Joe mumbled.

John played with his eggs, “You weren’t the one who ended up in the hospital.”

“Nobody told you to do a split, son,” dad said.

“If that guy can do it, I can do it too!”

“Yes, but you didn’t,” Sam stated.

Indeed, he did not.

Breakfast is over, and it’s time to recycle the average teenage life of schooling. We all climbed into the car, and Joe drove us to school. I always feel weird about going to school with them. Usually, Cynthia would pick me up, and we would go to school together, but sometimes she had some stuff to do in the morning.

I don’t dislike going to school with my siblings, but John and Joe always attract too much attention. Sam would disappear into thin air.

Students would often surround our car to ask them random questions, like if they would join the basketball team or what they were doing Friday night. I squeeze my way through the crowd and head towards Cynthia.

“Morning Cyn,” I said.

She gave me an insane smile.

“Okay, weirdo. Why are you so happy?” I chuckled.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure you know why I’m happy,” she paused after each word, poking my ribs.

I stared at her with my usual blank expression and slapped her hand away.

“Come on! You’re seriously telling me you haven’t heard the news?!” She exaggeratedly threw her arms up in the air.

I head for the lockers, “Nope.”

She followed me, “Were-High School is accepting five humans and hunters!”

I rolled my eyes, “Interesting. You’re going to sign up?”

“Nope,” she replied.

I stared at her in surprise.

Maybe she grew up. She is finally over this werewolf obsession phase. Perhaps we can eventually go shopping, like regular friends. I got excited just thinking about it.

"We are going to sign up.”

Or not.

“Oh, no, no, no. My dad will kill me.”

“Come on, Aria! You’re telling me you aren’t curious about what they do at that school? Don’t you want a werewolf boyfriend? How can you not want one! They are so delicious! Okay, forget about the werewolf boyfriend. I heard if you graduate from that school, you will have a lot of connections with the higher ups! Get good jobs and such!” She continues rambling on and on about it, trying to convince me to sign up with her.

When the last bell rang, I ran towards my brothers and asked them for a ride home. I rather go back with them than listen to Cynthia’s complaint. Most likely, she will take the longer route to my house to convince me to sign up with her.

The next day, I went to school with my siblings due to a headache developed from Cynthia’s non-stop talk about Were-High. I avoided her for three days.

Exhaling some air, I gave my brothers thanks before they drove back to school for soccer practice. I thought I was safe at home until I saw her on the front porch.

She gave me a massive frown as her swollen green eyes looked at me. I opened the door, and she followed me. We sat down on the couch quietly as I turned on the tv.

“We have received some news from the council. Eight werewolves and their mates from the Red Moon Pack were found dead near their territorial borderline. They were all hanged by the neck with limbs torn from their bodies. We found a note inside one of the werewolves that passed hands, but the council refused to release the content within the note. Currently, Alpha Yun is furious. He vows to-”

“Aria?”

I lowered the television volume. “Yeah, Cyn?”

“Do you not want to sign up with me?”

I release a deep breath. “Cyn. Look. I love you, but I don’t want to go there.”

The tears emerge, “B-But, if I sign up and get chosen, then we wouldn’t be going to the same school anymore. Heck, we wouldn’t be in the same state! I would be living over there while you’re here.”

I patted her back and handed her a tissue.

“Do you know that over 10,000 humans have already signed up? 10,000 Aria! 10,000! Why can’t you sign up with me?! The chances of us getting picked are extremely slim! Heck! If I get chosen, and you don’t, then I’ll turn it down! I-I want us to be t-t-together!” She cries harder.

I know that if I sign up, then Tom will make sure I get chosen. I sat there and listened to Cynthia’s cries for nearly two hours.

She exaggeratedly quivers her lips. “D-Do you remember that time w-when I-”

I threw my head in my hands. Oh crap, she is pulling out that time again.

“That time, when I lie to everyone for you? When I told them that it was me on my peri-”

“Stop right there! I’ll sign up!”

When we were in middle school, I had my first period, and it stained my chair. It was one of the most embarrassing moments of my lives. Cynthia notices it, gives me her jacket, switches seats with me, and tells everyone she had her period for me.

She got teased for nearly two weeks until she punched a guy in the nose in front of everyone. Ever since then, she would use that story to guilt-trip me.

This is the third time she has used that story.

The first time was when she wanted the last slice of pizza.

The second time was when she wanted us to go to this stupid fungus convention together, although I did learn alot about poisonous mushrooms.

Cynthia ran to her backpack and pulled out the sign-up sheets. “Sign it!”

“Shouldn’t I fill it out first?”

She smiles, “Oh no. I already filled it out for you!”

My eyes widened, “You what?!?”

How does she even know my security number?

“Sign it!”

“Wait!”

She threw herself onto the couch and groan, "whaaaaaat?”

“If I sign it and I get in, but you don’t. I will reject it. Promise me that we will go together.” She jumped up and gave me a thumbs up.

“And you cannot use that time anymore.”

She nods.

I snatched the pen from her hand and signed the stupid piece of paper. She pulled me into a tight hug and ran out the front door, most likely to ensure I couldn’t back out.

Chances are, I will get chosen, but Tom doesn’t know about Cynthia. We promised each other that we would go together. Cynthia will get a rejection. Therefore, I don’t have to go.

High five to me.

I give myself a high five.