Alex
I sat on the couch with the familiar scowl on my face. Arms crossed. My mother's asshole boyfriend was drinking beer in the kitchen. Beer. It was nine in the morning. He smelled like alcohol, it flowed from his pores. I stared out the window, the dirty streaked all to hell window.
Craig
Joey ordered pizza and Angie was laughing and telling him about something and I was sitting at the table. Just sitting at the table under the swinging light, and I felt sort of included but sort of not. My dad was probably working, or maybe he was at home thinking about how I had screwed him over. I was sure he wasn't taking responsibility. Why should he do that? So I had to take responsibility. And I wished that I could be a part of this family, a real part of things with Joey and Angela. But I couldn't.
Jay
Cameron came at me, his new long hair sort of looking ridiculous in that ponytail. The rock star look was not for him. So he came at me in that garage, swinging, the pissed off look on his face. So I screwed around with Emma. He'd get over it.
Liberty
Derek asked me about giving up the baby. I wanted to send him through the wall. So here it was. He was adopted, and I'll bet he had all these abandonment issues and attachment issues and he was probably scarred for life. I didn't want to hear it.
J.T.
My mother was going out again. Dad had taken off years ago. She dumped me off with grandma.
"Come on, James Tiberious, we'll do something fun!" grandma said, all that enthusiasm. But there was something desperate beneath it.
Sean
Emma's mom offered me leftovers, and maybe it was that innocent. They had extra. But I didn't get home cooked meals at my house, just canned chef Boyardee and macaroni and cheese. Tracker wasn't my mom. Oodles of noodles and shit like that. So maybe she wasn't pointing out my poverty and my lack of things I needed, but it felt like it. It really did.
Emma
It was great that my mom was with Snake. Great. Just great. And he was being a really great dad, he was really trying, I could see that. But I already had a dad. One who had abandoned me and everything, but still. Shane. I had to find my real dad.
Manny
Finally, the strange grip Craig had on my heart was letting go. I wanted to be with Jay. It felt right. It didn't feel obsessional psychotic delusional, like I so often felt with Craig. It felt real.
Ashley
I wanted to be class president so bad I could taste it. Damn that little toad Toby. Why did he want to take everything away from me?
