The baby was crying. His mother was fussing over it.
"Ma, guess what?"
"Hand me the bottle on the stove?"
His mother had not looked up from his baby sister's face. He sighed and headed to the stove. The bottle was bobbing up and down in a saucepan full of water. His mind was still on his big news and he failed to notice the bottle was much too hot until he seized it.
With a cry of surprise he dropped it. The cap came off as it hit the floor and milk splashed everywhere. The baby cried harder.
"Oh, no."
"I didn't mean to."
"Mary!"
His oldest sister came bustling into the room with severe efficiency. She was practically his second mother when it came down to it.
"Out of the kitchen, Eugene!" She snapped, already bending to pick up the bottle and beginning to wipe up the mess he had inadvertently made.
He was disappointed but left the kitchen without argument. He was fairly surprised he had gotten away without a scolding. He tried his oldest brother next.
"Hey guess what, Mark!"
He bounded into the room and punched his brother on the shoulder. His brother did not even look up from his book.
"Ain't ya gonna guess?"
"I gotta read this by Monday. Get outta here, will ya?"
"Come on, Mark."
"Hey, leave your brother to his work." His father's head swung around the doorway. "Can't have the genius interrupted."
His father smiled down at Mark in a way he never smiled at any of his other children.
"Did ya hear he's won a scholarship? Our boy is going to college!"
Eugene tried to smile and be happy for his brother, but he was impatient. He had news of his own and he was just going to burst if he didn't tell someone. He left Mark's room in a huff and collided with one of his younger twin sisters.
"Guess what, Julie."
"I gotta find Jen. I'm 'it'."
"Guess and I'll help ya find her."
"Help me find her, then I'll guess."
"Alright, fine." He said resignedly.
"Good! I'll go this way, you go that way."
Without another word, she sped off and he realized he was once again alone. They often did that to him. He was beginning to think it was their idea of a joke. He sighed heavily and made his way down the hall. His mother and sister did not look up at he passed them in the kitchen. For a moment, Jen peeked her head out from the hall closet, caught sight of him and disappeared again. He stumped towards the door and let himself out. With another sigh he slumped down onto the front steps. Everyone was always ignoring him.
He had no one, no one to share his big news with, no one that cared.
"What's tha long face for, kid?"
He glanced up from his preoccupation to stare at a boy around Mark's age with dirty clothes, curly brown hair and a stack of newspapers.
"It's stupid."
"What is?"
"It's just, I learned ta do a cartwheel taday and no one cares."
The boy grinned a little. His eyes seemed to laugh.
"Oh yea? Show me."
He couldn't help the happy grin that spread across his face as he jumped to his feet and sized up an area on the sidewalk to preform on. He stuck his hands straight in the air, took a deep breath and threw himself forward- and fell. His cheek scraped the pavement painfully and he felt the knee of one of his pant legs rip.
The boy with the papers, somewhere above him, chuckled a little.
"Quite the tumbler youse are."
He pushed himself into a sitting position and put his head down between his knees. He tried to blink back the tears of frustration welling in his eyes.
"Go ahead and laugh. I'm used ta it. My twin sister's do it to me all the time. They make fun of me, my Ma and Pops ignore me, my sister's too busy with the baby to play with me anymore and my brother's too smart to talk ta me. No one cares about me, so why should I care about them? And as for you, I don't even know you, so ya think laughin' at me is really gonna hurt my feelin's?"
Above him, he heard the boy curse under his breath. He chanced a look up. The boy's face was serious. He had set his papers down on the sidewalk and knelt to be on eye level with the kid.
"Hey, I'm sorry, kid. I didn't mean ta laugh at'cha."
"S'alrigh'." He muttered under his breath, trying to wipe the tears from his eyes without letting the boy see. There was something of an awkward silence between them for a few moments then the boy stood up.
"Ya hungry? Dere's dis place where me and my friends go ta eat. I think they'd like youse. Ya little but youse got some attitude." He smirked and offered his hand to help the kid to his feet.
The kid grinned a little as he accepted the outstretched hand.
"They call me Skittery. What do they call youse?"
"Eugene."
Skittery made a face.
"Kind a name is dat? I can't call youse dat."
"It's my name."
"Forget it. I know what I'm gonna call youse."