I Don't Care As Much

"A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship." ~Markus Zusak

Alvin Seville

I open my eyes halfway as the phone rings. My cell phone is yelling at me to pick up… why did I pick that ringtone to begin with? Had I anticipated that people would call me at four in the morning I wouldn't have. I cover my head with my pillow. Another pillow slams into my gut from Simon's side of the room.

"Turn that thing off!" he yells, half asleep.

"No," I say into my pillow. "Just wait for it to go to message… then they'll stop calling."

"You better be right," Simon warns. I roll my eyes into the winter darkness as the room goes silent. My eyes are so heavy that I collapse back into my sheets and pillows. "PICK UP! PICK UP! ALVIN SEVILLE PICK UP! IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING IMPORTANT! ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE! "My own voice yells from my cell phone. I reach under my bed, my head feeling heavy. I look at the screen and groan. May.

I turn off my phone and fall back asleep.

I wake up later that Saturday morning to find Theodore standing by the window while Simon's still sleeping with his mouth hanging wide open and his glasses hanging on the tip of his nose, ready to fall to the ground. Theodore must have tried to wake him up and failed.

"What are you doing?" I ask Theodore, rubbing my eyes.

"You're not going to believe this," Theodore whispers. I get up and press my nose against the glass to stare at the block. Pure white snow is covering our entire neighborhood and beyond. "You know what this means?"

"War," I smile evilly.

"No!" Theodore punches my shoulder. "You promised me the last time it snowed that we wouldn't have a snowball fight. That we'd make snowmen and snow angels and stuff like that. Sledding down the north hill would be fun…"

"Theodore," I put a hand on his shoulder. "That was before Brittany shoved snow down my shirt."

"She was just kidding," Theodore tries. I roll my eyes in response and turn to lug Simon out of bed and down the stairs. Dave is waiting with breakfast cooking and a cup of coffee in his hands. He turns from his cooking as we enter, letting Theodore take over. He sits down, picking up the newspaper. "What are we having for dinner Dave?" Theodore asks from the stove.

"Lasagna," he replies without a second thought.

"Why is it that we're always having lasagna?" I ask, sitting at the table next to him.

"It's all I know how to make," Dave says sheepishly. Simon and I laugh as Theodore dishes up breakfast. The only reason that Theodore took over the cooking at all if because Dave usually ruins it. He is an unmarried man of forty after all… it's to be expected. "Are you going to be outside with the girls today?"

"Of course!" I reply immediately.

"Are you inviting May over?" he asks, not looking up from his paper. May and I had gone on a couple dates over the past two weeks… but it wasn't really going anywhere. It's like, when I wasn't with her I could care less… but then when I was, my whole heart exploded and my knees turned to jelly. I shrug at my dad and he nods.

After breakfast my brothers and I break off from Dave to go get our snow clothes on. I watch as Dave lumbers to his study with coffee in hand. I wonder if he'll write another Christmas song. That would be nice… add some girl parts to give it some zing. I smile, thinking about how Dave has been adding the Chipettes to our songs more and more. It felt nice to sing with them… I run upstairs to join my brothers.

We open the door to the winter wonderland, full of excitement. I plunge my hands into the powdery snow and form a snowball, discretely putting it behind my back. Theodore gives me a questioning look but I tell him with my eyes to shut it. Simon shoves me, catching me off guard and making me drop the snowball. "Hey!" I yell. Simon shrugs, putting his hands in his pockets and continuing to the Millers' house. I felt like tackling him and showing whose boss, but then revenge wouldn't be near as sweet.

We knock on the door and wait with our hands behind our backs. I grip my new snowball tightly, ready to see the look on her face when it gets shoved right in her face. Miss Miller opens the door with her hands on her hips. "Boys?" she asks.

"Yes, Miss Miller?" we respond politely in unison. Sometimes it annoying that we just happen to say certain phrases all together… I would know it was coming and yet I end up saying it as if I were on autopilot or something. "Are the girls here?" Theodore asks.

"Oh, why they've already gone out," she says, squinting behind us into the wintery world. There wasn't even a footprint… how could they be out? We all knew Miss Miller was off her rocker, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were still sleeping. "Come back it a bit… or go find them. I'll have cocoa waiting for when you come back!"

"With marshmallows?" Theodore asks, his eyes getting all big.

Miss Miller smiles sweetly at him and nods. Theodore seems satisfied with this answer and leads us off the porch. As we step onto the walkway everything goes completely white. Theodore screams and I can hear Simon slipping and falling. But worst off all, ice goes right down the back of my jacket and slips my back… even a little in my pants. I yelp, dancing around like an idiot until it's all melted and I'm warm again.

Things clear up and I turn with slits for eyes as I glare up at the roof. Brittany was laughing her head off along with her sisters as they sit on the bare roof. "I got you so good Seville!" Brittany points at me, laughing hysterically.

"This isn't the end Miller!" I point back at her. Secretly, my cheeks are flushing and I love the battle. She's just… wow. I try to get my brothers into a huddle to plot revenge but a scream slices through the freezing air. I watch with wide eyes as Jeanette starts to stumble on the icy roof, flailing her arms in order to regain her balance. Brittany latches onto one of her arms, but her boots start to slip. Jeanette is now parallel with the concrete below her while beads of sweat are forming on Brittany's red face. Eleanor grabs Brittany's torso for leverage but it's no use. The girls aren't strong enough.

"Don't let go!" Jeanette pleads, looking down at the ground.

"Alvin!" Brittany screams, her feet slipping. I don't know what to do… oh God! I shove my brothers out of shock and we form a circle around the general location where it looks like she's going to fall.

"Okay boys," I say softly. "This is probably going to hurt." They nod solemnly, looking up at the teetering girls on the roof. Eleanor and Jeanette are bawling while Brittany is screaming with effort. I glance at the window where Miss Miller is knitting with her hearing aid turned off. With on last scream, Jeannette comes plummeting towards us followed closely by Brittany and Eleanor. Simon, having the longest arms, takes hold of Jeannette's torso, snatching her out of the air and falling into the snow bank with her on top of him.

Brittany had let go of Jeanette somewhere during the fall and comes tumbling towards us head over heels. I hold out my arms, closing one eye and preparing for impact. My knees buckle as she falls into my arms. I try not to fall but my legs feel like they're made out of cardboard… soggy, cold cardboard. I fall backwards just as I hear Theodore grunt with effort. Good thing he caught Eleanor…

"Did I miss something?" I hear a voice. Brittany is crying into my chest as we lay on the walkway. I glance over at both of my brothers who are also trying to comfort hysterical Chipettes. I turn my head over to look at the Millers' front gate to find May stand there. I wrap an arm around Brittany and get into sitting position, but she has a death grip on my jacket… and I don't blame her. She could have cracked her head open on the concrete and ice and that would have been it. "I said," May said, stamping her foot. "Did I miss something?"

"Yeah," I tell her, taking one of my gloved hands and stroking Brittany's hair as a way to comfort her while the other gently rubs her back. I know that Brittany is watching May as she glares at both of us. "There was an accident May… the girls are pretty shaken up."

"Is this why you didn't answer my calls?" she puts her hands on her hips. "I called you five times this morning and you never answered. Is it because you were with her?" tears are forming in the corners of her eyes, breaking my heart.

"No!" I argue. "I didn't answer because you called at four in the morning!" May clamps her mouth shut and opens the gate to walk towards us. May puts a hand on Brittany's shoulder, making Britt wince. I stare into May's eyes but she doesn't falter.

"I think I'm fine now," Brittany quickly detaches herself from me and runs into the house without saying anything more. I can see her fall into Miss Miller's arms. The woman is alarmed, but smiles into her daughter's hair and copies the same movements I had been making.

"What did you do that for?" I yell, pointing at their front door.

"Walk with me," she offers her hand. I take it hesitantly and I let her lead me around the block. We walk in silence for a long time, both of our eyes looking down at our feet. "I'm just going to cut to the chase Alvin," she says coldly. "If you want to keep seeing me, you'll have to say goodbye to those girls."

"What?" I look at her, alarmed. I stop walking and look at her. "May, I can't just say goodbye to Brittany and her sisters. They're family."

"Family that's in love with you," she touches my shoulder, planting a quick kiss on my lips. I don't respond to the kiss. "Alvin," she sighs. "I'm only doing to this because I care about you. Is it so bad that I want you all to myself?"

"I just can't," I tell her. "They're family… and besides, even if they don't admit it, my brothers care for them too. I mean, they're going to be in my life no matter if I'm friends with them or not… whether I'm in love with any one of them, it wouldn't matter."

"They'll always be there… because of your brothers?"

"Don't even ask me not to talk to my brothers," I say sternly. "They're even more than just family. They're more than my other half even… I'd only be a third of the person I am without them."

"Okay!" she says, annoyed. "I would never make you leave your family. It's just… I'm scared that she's going to break us up… I mean, I care a lot about you Alvin and I wouldn't want her to mess things up."

"I care about you too," I reassure her, squeezing her hand. "Brittany doesn't matter right now… I'll stop talking to her if you really want me too."

"Yes," she nods as if a huge burden has been lifted off her shoulders. "Thank you Alvin… I knew you'd understand." But while she said it, I couldn't believe that I would actually stop… stop hanging out with Brittany. Stop hearing her talk about shopping and laughing about silly things like girls who go tanning too often and the pranks we've played over the years. I'd never get a good prank pulled on me, or experience any of those warm moments that Brittany can only seem to produce. Brittany brought out the best in me… and now I was saying goodbye to it all.

Goodbye.

~I even frustrate myself sometimes…

You gunna take that Britt? ! ?