2

Sonic

"Where is it!" my brother yelled as he ripped the covers clean off my body.

The chill from the winter air sent a shiver up my spine. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" I mumbled almost inaudibly. My eyelids were still heavy from last night's high. I struggled to open them and look at my brother's livid eyes.

"Where the hell is it, Sonic?"

I groaned. "Where's what? What time is it?" I grabbed my phone off my nightstand and glanced at the time. This motherfucker was really in here yelling at 6 o' clock in the morning over some bullshit.

"The weed, you little shit! Where is it?"

"I don't have any weed, Manic," I lied.

Manic narrowed his eyes. "I'll give you one last chance to tell me where it is before I punch you in your throat. Where did you hide the weed?" I glared at my older brother. "For the last time, I don't have any fucking weed!"

"Then what the hell is that smell and why is it coming from your window?" He leaned down to sniff my hair.

"Get the fuck away from me!" I exclaimed, swatting him away.

He grimaced. "The stench is all over you, Sonic. Just tell me the truth and give me whatever you have left of it."

"Why? What are you gonna do? Ground me?"

"Sonic," Manic said sternly.

"Stop fucking calling me that," I snapped. "And get the fuck out of my room. I have to start getting ready for school."

"You really think you're going to school smelling like that?"

"I have time to take a shower." I rubbed my eyes as I threw my legs over the side of the bed.

"Give me the weed, Sonic."

"I, honestly, don't have anymore. I smoked the rest last night. Now seriously, get out. I need to grab the bathroom before Sonia locks herself in there."

In an instant, I was pinned down on my bed. My brother's forearm pressed against the neck, and his knees held down my arms. I glared up at Manic, my blood boiling at a dangerous temperature. He's lucky I couldn't move my arms. I should've punched him the minute he woke me up.

"How many more times are we going to go through this, Sonic? I'm really getting tired of this little game with you. Grow the fuck up and get your shit together."

"Get off me," I growled.

Manic sighed, but complied with my request. "Hurry up and get ready. Mama is making breakfast for you and Sonia to take with you." With that, he walked out of the room.

I glared after him. If I didn't have to get ready for school, I would've punched him in the face. Leave it up to him to ruin my lingering high and taint my mood.

I quickly gathered my uniform and bolted for the bathroom. I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth before heading back to my room. I blasted Kendrick Lamar's music as I got dressed, silently daring Manic to tell me to turn it down. After running a brush through my dark curls, I grabbed his jacket and backpack. Then I descended the stairs to the kitchen.

My mother was hovering over the stove frying some eggs and bacon and pans. Her long curls were pulled up into a ponytail, and her tired eyes were fixed on her tasks. She was still dressed in her nursing scrubs from her night shift. She offered me a tight smile. "Buenos Dias, Sonic," she greeted. "I heard you and Manic arguing upstairs. Anything you wanna tell me?"

"No." I kissed her cheek. "Manic was just being annoying, as usual."

"Hm, as much as the two of you have been arguing, I fail to believe that."

I sighed as I sat down at the table. "It's nothing, mama. Brothers just fight sometimes."

"Sometimes, mijo, not every single moment the two of you are occupying the same room."

I shrugged. I was relieved of a response when my sister twirled into the room. Her black curls bounced from the sheen she'd sprayed, and her face was caked with a shit ton of makeup. "Good morning," she sang. She pecked a kiss on our mother's cheek. "Is today a special occasion? You hardly ever cook breakfast anymore, mama."

"I know, but I just wanted to do something nice for you kids this morning. I barely got to see any of you over your winter break because I was working so much. The least I could do is make you breakfast on your first day back in the New Year."

"Thanks, mama," Sonia said as she gave our mother a soft hug. She joined me at the table. She shot me a mischievous smile. "I heard you were smoking weed last night," she whispered. "Did you save me some?"

I rolled my eyes. "No. Buy your own. Your little boyfriend sells it. Why don't you ask him for some?"

Sonia crossed her arms and looked away. "You know why."

"Because he's too busy smoking it with the rest of his Crip buddies?"

"Shut the hell up, Sonic."

"Make me."

"You're an asshole."

I smiled. "Don't forget it, hermanita."

"Alright, niños, here you go," Aleena said as she set wrapped homemade breakfast sandwiches down in front of us. "Don't forget to grab some water bottles before you go. You've gotta stay hydrated." She pecked a kiss on each of their heads as we thanked her.

Sonia and I gathered our breakfast before heading outside.

Sonia smiled at the sight of her best friend leaning against the railing at the bottom of our stoop. Amy's di-colored curls were pulled up into a neat bun with a few tendrils hanging around her face, and her face was left bare of any makeup. Sonia bounced down the steps and enveloped her into a tight hug. "Good morning," she greeted her.

She returned the hug. "Morning, Cat," Amy said. "Hi Sonic," she said as I walked by.

I ignored her. I didn't feel like talking to her right now. Not after the shit she pulled last night. My dick was still cold from the dirty ass water.

As the girls babbled on behind me, I was joined by my own best friend. The brown skinned boy ran to my side and lightly punched at my arm. "Hey Sonic," he greeted.

"What's up, Silver ," I said as we did our signature handshake.

"Nothing much. How are you doing on this cold morning?"

"I'm okay. You?"

"I am exhausted. I stayed up all last night trying to finish the layout for the tournament matches. Knuckles was going to kill me if I didn't have it finished by today. I'm probably going to spend my whole shift later filling in the names and finishing the flyers."

"Did he actually give me some competition this time?"

Silver waved his hand. "Kind of. You're not fighting anyone you've faced before. Since you moved up a division, Knuckles gave you some decent challengers. I researched a few of them, and they're actually pretty good. I can send you some videos of their past fights if you want."

"Nah, I like surprises. Besides, my first match is on Friday. I should probably spend my free time preparing for it. What shifts are you working again this week?"

"Practically this whole damn week. Want me to help you prep again?"

"Of course." I threw my arm over the boy's shoulders. "You're my right hand man, Silver . I can't prepare for my fight without you."

Silver smiled. "Damn right! When are you off? Tomorrow and Thursday?

"Yeah. I'll see if I can run to the gym right after school on Friday and maybe we can squeeze some time in there too. I need as much prep time as possible. I can't have some punk stripping me of my undefeated title."

We reached our large stone high school. The front yard was littered with students. Some were standing around in large groups, socializing. Others were throwing footballs or baseballs around. A few couples made out on the front steps. We walked past the chattering students and into the building.

From the corner of my eye, I watched Amy and Sonia stroll down the opposite hallway. I resisted shaking my head as I noticed Cat's no-good boyfriend join them. His arm snaked around my sister's waist, and a sly smile curled around his lips as he greeted her. My eyes fell to the blue bandana tied to his waistband, and the wad of money peeking out his pocket. Fucking asshole.

The school day went by uneventfully - surprisingly. My classes kept my busy, and my enemies seemed to have taken the day off from pressing my buttons. I waltzed through the day without a single outburst or fight. A small part of me relished in the peace. The larger part of me was bored out of his mind. My anger was still bubbling from his fight with Manic in the morning, and I wanted some type of adrenaline rush to let it out.

Since my school day wasn't going to offer any excitement, I guess I'd have to settle for getting on Amy's last nerve at work. I did have to repay her for the water incident the night before. Maybe I could spill a tray of drinks on her or spray her with one of the nozzles in the kitchen. A smile slowly painted itself on my face as I imagined the various tactics I could use to drive my next-door neighbor insane.

My devious thoughts were interrupted by the sound of my name being called. I refocused into reality to notice my English teacher setting down an attendance request form on my desk. I glanced over the words on the sheet and almost groaned.

As slowly as humanly possible, I walked down to the counseling office. Without knocking, I opened the door to my counselor's office. "I didn't do anything," I said as I strolled inside. I plopped down in the cushioned chair in front of Mr. Connors' desk. "I've been an angel all day."

Mr. Connors shook his head. "Can I ever just call you in here without you actually being in trouble?"

"No. The same goes for Principal Miller. The only time I'm ever in either of your offices is when I'm in trouble."

"A sad fact, but it's not too late to change that." He smiled. "I called you in here today to just talk to you. How was your winter break? What did you do for the holidays?"

I shrugged. "Winter break was fine. I worked for the most part."

"Still working down at Benny's?"

I nodded. "I also spent some time at Tony's gym; the rest of my free time was spent training. I'm participating in the tournament he's having this year."

"Good, good. You've been staying out of trouble, then?"

"For the most part."

"Well, you better stay out of trouble. College decision time is slowly approaching us. You've got to start thinking about your options." Mr. Connors dug through his drawer to pull out a couple of large envelopes. "I took it upon myself to send out the prep college essay you wrote along with applications and your transcripts to some schools I think you'd be interested in." He slid the envelopes across the desk. "Most of them accepted you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't sending out personal information without one's knowledge or permission against the law?"

"No, because I'm your counselor and my job is set you on the right track. Do you really think I was going to let you graduate without submitting some college applications?" He motioned to the envelopes. "Take them home. Look over them. Think about what you wanna do." He paused. "I talked to your brother the other day, and he said you've been participating in some activities I wouldn't particularly be proud of."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not Manic's place to be telling my business."

"He's your big brother, and he cares about you, Sonic."

"Don't call me that," I snapped. "And Manic is a pain in my ass. He acts like he knows everything, and he doesn't."

Mr. Connors sighed. "He's just worried about you, Sonic. This anger simmering in you is very unhealthy, and we all just want to help you cope with it."

"I don't need help." I swiped the envelopes from off the desk and stuffed them in my backpack. "Can I go now?"

"Just one more thing: I'm here if you ever want to talk. My office door is always open if you ever want to come in and chat about what's bothering you."

"Thanks, Mr. C, but I'd rather punch my problems rather than talk about them." I stood. "See you around."

"Sonic," Mr. Connors called as I walked to the door.

I clenched my teeth at the sound. Reluctantly, I turned to face him. "What?"

He smiled. "Good luck in your match on Friday."

I feigned a smile in return. "Thanks."

"Have a good day, Sonic."

"Yeah, you too." I walked out of the office and, unintentionally, slammed the door shut.