Chapter 14Once we were inside his bedroom, popping open our Mountain Dews, Rocco slammed the door shut behind him.
He jumped onto his bed, soda spraying in the air, pebbling our faces. He laughed, but it was brief, the very few times I had seen Rocco happy, liberated, having fun. Then we delved headlong into studying, determined to nip the final exam in the bud and walk out the main doors of Milton High. Forever.
“Do you believe me now?” he said, slouched over the side of the bed, sipping his soda.
I sat cross-legged on the scatter rug in the middle of the room with my soda can wedged between my legs. I looked up at Rocco, the joy and amusement wiped clean from his face. I didn’t want to get into a personal debate with him about his parents, but he was right. His mother was a control fr
