Glamour and Grit: Junior year

I sat on the veranda of my beach house looking down at the street. So far, the street was deserted like it always was in the afternoons. I wasn’t surprised because, in a luxury beach Estate, most people who lived here would go on vacation during summer. On social media, everyone was posting about their vacation. But here I was dying of boredom. Throughout this vacation, my daily routine has been the same. I wake up, eat, run errands, go to the beach(my favorite place by the way), work on my new program, and go to bed. By the way, let me introduce myself. I’m Kenzie Maxwell. I’m sixteen and about to start my junior year. My family and I have lived in LA for as long as I can remember. My dad owns a tech company and my mom is a lawyer. I have an elder brother, Kyle, who is a senior at NYU. Unlike me, Kyle was so popular that, even after four years, everyone in school knew the legendary Kyle Maxwell. I have a best friend and neighbor named Amari. She is so social that I often wonder how we became best friends. My family is very, very, very wealthy. So I have the latest car, phone, laptop and all a girl could ask for. But fashion has never been my forte. I can be classified as a nerd because, like my Dad and brother, I am very good at computers. I can hack any system and write any program efficiently. You may be wondering why I am alone this summer when I have a best friend. Well, Amari always travels with her family during summer. This year she went to Paris. My family never travels because Mom and Dad are always busy. We barely hang out anymore. So here I was looking out into the street when a black Highlander pulled up in front of Amari’s house (which was beside mine). Amari stepped out of the car wearing dark shades, distressed jeans, and a crop top. She had long wavy blonde hair which she was very proud of. Her brother Ethan also stepped out of the car wearing a Gucci top and shorts. Amari looked up at my house and saw me sitting there looking at her. “Kenzie!!” She screamed, “I’m coming over.” Typical Amari. So I rushed down the stairs and opened the door for Amari. “I missed you so much,” She said, hugging me tightly. “Missed you too, Amari. “ “I can’t wait to tell you about Paris,” She said, releasing me. When she looked at me, she sighed “What happened to you? You look like you were rolling down a hill” “Me? Nothing, I’m okay” I said, wondering what was wrong with my appearance. “Well, your hair is a mess and your eyes have shadows under them?” “Like why would you look like you haven’t been sleeping on a holiday.” Amari sat on the living room sofa. “ Well, I haven’t been sleeping well because I am working on the program I told you about”. I went to the kitchen to get us orange juice. “Seriously, What is this program even about?” Amari poured herself a glass of juice from the jug and sipped it. “Well, this program can detect the source of any post or message on social media. So if anyone posts anything bad with a private account, we can find out where it was posted from, the time and date within seconds.” “Wow, are you done with it ?” Amari asked me. “No, I’m only halfway through with it” “To detect the source we have to hack into the person’s device using only the message. So I have to find a way to repeat the same code multiple times”, I sipped from my glass, looking at Amari’s confused face. “Okay, I don’t understand what you just said, but can you imagine Ethan,” she said. “Okay, what did he do this time?” “He tried to push me off the Eiffel Tower.” Ethan was a senior. But he and Amari were like cats and rats, always fighting each other over little things. “Well, he didn’t try hard enough” I smirked. “You…….” Amari fumed. The doorbell rang at that moment and saved me from Amari. I opened the door to see Ethan standing there. “Oh hi Ethan ''I said to him. He ran his hand through his blonde hair and replied “Oh hi Kenz” He had always called me Kenz since we were little. “Who’s there?” Amari walked to the door and frowned at the sight of her brother. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want?” Amari asked him. “What happened to your phone? Amari, I’ve been trying to reach you for the past 10 minutes”, Ethan told her, ignoring her rudeness. “Oh it’s still in flight mode,” Amari said after checking her phone. “Anyway, Mom said that you should come home, unpack, and stop bothering Kenz,” Ethan said. “Alright bye Kenzie”, Amari waved at me and walked out the door. As I closed the door, I could hear Amari and Ethan arguing outside. I wonder when they will ever get along. My brother and I are very close. We would go surfing together. Did I mention that he was a surfing champion? Or we would compete on who would hack my dad’s laptop first. He was so fun to be around. This reminds me I need to call him today, but first of all, I need to call Mom and Dad and ask them if they’ll be late again today. So I grabbed my phone and a bowl of popcorn, another bowl of chocolate and gummy bears, and a can of soda and headed upstairs to my room singing ‘Cake by the ocean’ by DNCE. My room was purple-themed because I love the color purple. It has a four-poster bed, a walk-in closet, an ensuite bathroom, a dressing table, a study table, a 24-inch smart TV, and two sofas for relaxing. So I can stay up here for weeks without coming downstairs well except for food, of course. So I sat on a Sofa and dropped the snacks on the center table. I dialed my mom’s number first. She picked up on the first ring. “Hey Mom” “Hey sweetie, I’m really busy now, so can you call me later?” she said. “Well, I just wanted to know if you’re coming home late today.” “Yes, Sweetie, I have a lot of work to do, okay, so don’t wait up for me. Bye,” she said and dropped the phone. Most times I act as if I don’t care if mom and dad don’t have time for me, but I do. When I see Amari having fun with her parents, I envy her. I sighed and dialed my dad’s number. “Hey Dad,” I said. “Sorry Kenzie, I’m at a meeting. I’ll call you later,” he said hurriedly. “But…..” The line went dead before I could complete the sentence. What kind of parents do I have? Don’t they even miss me? I went to my bed, grabbed my laptop, and searched for a movie. I then decided to watch Black Panther Wakanda Forever. I have watched the movie countless times, but I never get tired of watching it. But at this moment, I am so angry at my parents that I am doing the only thing I can do. Call Kyle. I decided to make a video call. When Kyle picked I saw he was in his dorm. He looks like the boy version of me. Same black hair and brown eyes, just cooler and more mature. “Hey little sis what's up,” he said with a big smile. “Hey, Kyle. I’m kinda okay” I replied. “Kinda Okay? What’s wrong?” he said, looking concerned. “It’s mom and dad.” I sighed. “Well, they haven’t been spending time with me lately. They are always at work. Like they leave home early and come back late”, I continued. “And worse of all, when I call them they always tell me that they’ll call me back ……” I said sadly. “But they never do”. Kyle helped me to complete the sentence. “Exactly. Like, I wonder if they miss me at all”, I shoved a handful of popcorn in my mouth. “Let me guess what you’re eating hmmm” Kyle squeezed his face. “Aha Popcorn, Gummy bears, and chocolate with a can of soda, most likely grapes.” “You guessed right. I miss you so much, Kyle.” “Kenzie, Mom, and Dad love you so much just that they are going through a lot of stress right now, but I’m sure they’ll come around, okay.” Even though I was still furious at them, I knew that I couldn't disagree with Kyle. “Fine. When are you graduating?” “Next two months, so clear your schedule,” Kyle smirked. “Sure, boss,” I laughed. “I have to go now, I’m having an exam tomorrow. So wish me luck and, good luck in school, bye.” Kyle said. “Bye,” I replied and continued my movie. Once it was 11 pm, I gave up on waiting for my parents and went to bed.