Brandy
"You're joking," I say lowly. "That was him on the phone, huh?"
"No, actually it was Bianca, their new maid. My parents hate me so much that they sent a messenger to tell me this." He runs his hands through his hair and sits down on the bed.
I sit beside him. "What exactly did she tell you?"
"He's removing my name from the apartment. We have to be out by the end of the week — after that, there will be an open house."
"He can't do that." I shake my head.
"He can do anything he wants, he owns the building." He sighs. "There's nothing we can do. I'll just have to find some other place to live."
"What do you mean you'll have to find another place to live? Don't you mean us? We're doing this together, Benji."
"No, B, we aren't. You already have somewhere to live — right here." He looks around. "This is my problem, I'll deal with it."
"Your problem?" I say. "This is our problem. And I'm not going to let your dad do this. He can't just kick us out of our home because he's mad at you, that's ridiculous."
"We don't even pay rent, B. We've been living there for free for months now. Evicting us isn't exactly a crime," he says.
"Why aren't you more angry about this?" I raise my voice slightly.
"Because I saw it coming," he says. "And so did you. We knew this would happen, why should we pretend to be surprised? There's nothing else we can do. We'll figure something out."
"Benji-"
"Promise me you'll leave it alone. Promise."
I sigh. "I promise."
When we get back to the apartment, there is a tension in the air between us. We're both sad about losing the place that brought us together and we know there is nothing else to say or do about it.
I remember the first time I walked into this apartment — how little I knew about the things that would happen here. I started school here, had my first kiss here, had some memorable meltdowns here... I just can't believe I have to say goodbye to it all.
I go into Benji's room and he's hovered over a laptop looking for apartments on the internet. I sit next to him and lean my head on his broad shoulder.
"How the hell am I going to pay for this?" He sighs. "Why is a single bedroom apartment so expensive? What the hell is wrong with these people?"
"I'm going to call Hellen and ask her if there are any openings at her camera store. If we both get jobs we might be able to make enough money to rent a decent place nearby. And maybe I can ask my dad for a loan."
"No," he says sternly. "I'm not taking any money from anyone, especially not your dad. And you don't have to work, I don't want you to be stressed out from school and work."
"What about you? You're also a student." I remind him. "Plus, there's no way a part time minimum wage worker can afford a place for us. I need to chip in too."
"Then I'll work full time."
"What about school?"
He inhales deeply. "I'll drop out."
I shut his computer closed. "You won't drop out," I say. "I won't let you."
"It's not up to you. Don't worry about me, B, I can manage myself."
"You're not quitting school!" I sigh. "You've come too far to just quit."
"I've only been going to school because it's what my dad wants me to do. I've never liked school to begin with. And now that I'm no longer a slave to my parents, I might as well do whatever I want. For starters, I'm dropping out of NYU." He stands up and walks out of the room.
I follow behind him. "Don't do this," I beg. "What about your photography class? You love that class. Think about all of the other classes you'll come to love and learn so much from."
"Look, I don't even know if my dad is going to continue paying my tuition," he says. "And if he stops, that's fine, I really don't care. I'll finally have a reason to stop going to school."
"That's not a reason, that's an excuse," I say. "Do you really want to work as a cashier for the rest of your life? Is that what you want for yourself?"
"God, you sound like my parents. What is this, a lecture? I don't need that from you. What I need is support. All of this is hard enough on it's own without you telling me what's best for me. I know what's best for me — not you, not my mom and not my dad. And who are you to criticize minimum wage workers? Let me ask you something: Do you really like what you're studying or do you just want to make a lot of money someday?"
"That's not fair," I mumble.
"You're going to be working a nine to five job that you hate just because it provides you with unnecessary luxuries." He chuckles. "And let me tell you this: My dad has been doing that his whole life and I promise you it did not buy him happiness or a good life. The man is a crook! So excuse me if I don't want to live that same life. I want something more, even if I have don't have a fancy house, maids, or a chauffeur."
I scoff and sit down at the table. We don't say anything to each other for a few minutes and I take that time to breathe deeply and cool down.
"I'm sorry," I apologize. "I'm not your mom, I shouldn't be lecturing you about your life. If you don't want to go to school, you shouldn't. You should do what you want and what makes you happy. I... I'll leave it alone."
"Thank you," he says quietly. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm just really, really stressed out right now. For the first time in my life I'm finally free from my parents. I don't have to follow their rules and I'm on my own — which is liberating but also scary."
"I know," I tell him. "But you have me. And I'm going to help you, okay? We're going to find an apartment and even if it's small, it's going to be our own. And we are going to love it because we worked for it together. And I'll get a job and contribute because guess what? This isn't 1950, Benji. The woman is allowed to put in the work. I want to put in the work."
He sighs. "Okay," he agrees. "But if working and going to school is too much just let me know."
**
The next day, I meet Hellen and the rest of the crew at the Ramp City. We skate a bit together before we get tired and sit on our favourite bench, where so many of our famous conversations have happened.
I ask her about finding a job for Benji and her face starts to look sour — like she's been sucking on lemons for hours.
"You don't want Benji working with you," I say.
"Does he even have any qualifications or experience? He hasn't worked a day in his life."
"How hard can it be, selling cameras?" I chuckle. "He wants to be a photographer someday and this would be great experience for him. There isn't anyone more qualified for this job. Please just ask your manager and put in a good word, okay? For me?"
She sighs and looks straight up at me. "Damn it, your puppy dog eyes are adorable." She rolls her eyes after I start smiling again.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I hug her tightly.
"Yeah, yeah." She hugs me back. "But I can't promise you anything. If he blows the interview there is nothing I can do for him."
Asking Hellen about the job was step one for the day. Next, I go over to my old job — Joey's Italian Pizza — and beg my old manager for my job back. Sam never really liked me but the restaurant is always looking for servers because nobody wants to work there — hence Sam. I'm not surprised when Sam is unhappy to see me but he gives me the job anyway and calls it my ' lucky day' because somebody just quit.
I'm going apartment hunting today with Benji, which is the next thing on my list. We check out a few places near NYU but they are all way out of our price range. Let's be real, we are two — well, one recently employed part time waitress, and one nineteen year old waiting for an interview call. We could hardly afford to live in a Nike shoebox.
The last place we find is a small, one bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchen closely attached to the living room. We walk around the place to get a better idea of it and for some reason, it has a homey feeling to it. Sure, it's small but it's cozy and familiar. On the bright side, guests will never have to ask where the bathroom is because there are only two doors to choose from.
"I almost kind of like it," I say to Benji.
"Yeah?" He smiles. "Me too."
"Really? What do you like about it?"
He grabs my hand firmly. "It's ours — no strings attached. No parents, no rules. It's just us."
We go through all the paperwork and pay the deposit, which we barely manage to do when we combine the bill. I just have to remember that when we both start working and saving money — and actually have money — it will all be less stressful. The landlord tells us we can move into the apartment in three days, which is actually perfect timing.
"I should be upset about being booted from our apartment but for some reason, I'm not," I say. "It's like, for the first time in our lives, we are responsible for ourselves. It's refreshing, isn't it? To be independent. Don't get me wrong, I'm this close to peeing my pants... but it's nice."
He laughs. "You're right, it's terrifying but it's also nice. I mean, I don't have to worry about my dad calling me up and threatening me about anything anymore. I don't have anything of his so he can't threaten to take it away. I feel like I can breathe for the first time in nineteen years." M
"That's a lot of years." I chuckle. "Speaking of your dad, he hasn't posted any new shifts for my internship. I haven't been to work in so long."
"I'm not surprised. After you scolded him about parenting at that party, it makes sense he wouldn't want to see you anymore. Right?"
I have to think for a second before I nod in agreement. "Yeah. Right..."
There is enough going on without me talking more about Steven and my silly internship. I'm not going to say it now, but I think it's outrageous that Steven is keeping me from an internship that I earned because of his own vendettas. This internship wasn't simply handed to me on a silver platter, I worked hard in school and that hard work was acknowledged and rewarded. But the last thing Benji is thinking about is any of that. He has his own issues to worry about, and I get it.
Hellen gives me a call and tells me that she asked her manager about giving Benji a chance and he wants to interview him. I start squealing on the phone, my voice filled with thrill and Benji looks at me like I'm insane. I hang up and give him a hug.
"You got an interview!" I squeal. "At Rainbow Lens!"
"An interview? Then why are you so excited? I don't have the job yet."
I sigh. "You need to learn to celebrate the little things, Benji. Sure, you don't have the job but someone saw potential in you and there is a great opportunity presented in front of you. You should be excited, maybe even more excited than me."
He smiles. "Nobody is more excited than you. Look, I'm thankful for the opportunity but I don't want to get my hopes up — or yours for that matter. What if I don't get it? I don't know where else I can a job, I have no experience."
"Don't be like that, babe, of course you'll get it. You're smart, kind, hardworking, there is no reason why they wouldn't hire you. Plus, Hellen referred you so you have a solid connection."
"Except... I'm none of those things you described me as and Hellen hates my guts."
"Okay, hardworking is a skill you have yet to achieve but you are smart and kind." I laugh. "And Hellen doesn't hate you. I think she just..." I pause when I remember I haven't told him that Hellen likes me. "I guess you can ask her where you two stand when you start working together."
"Don't jinx it."
"Don't have so little faith in yourself." I smirk. "You'll do amazing, babe. I'll help you prep for you interview tomorrow." I pull out a piece of paper and pen and start writing down potential interview questions.
We stay up until two o'clock in the morning prepping for his interview and by the end of it, he has each question and answer memorized perfectly. I watch him read over the question like he's the interviewer and then go back to being himself and answer the question and I smile to myself. There's something so beautiful and admirable about him when he's working hard for something that he wants.
Benji hasn't always been like this, not at all. In high school, he hardly spent half an hour on his homework each week. And in college he has been doing great too, which actually makes me sad. He's been doing so well and I don't want him to throw it away.
I know he says it's what he wants but I'm afraid that one day, he'll wake up and regret not going to school. It's hard to be supportive of decisions you don't even understand — but the best thing I can do is be supportive.
We actually fall asleep with our faces down on the dining table until I'm woken up by the sound of Benji's ringtone. I mumble words before I fully wake up. Benji sleeps right through it so I decide to check his cellphone to see who is calling him at... five o'clock in the morning?
Oh, God, it's Emily. I debate whether or not to pick up or just let it ring. Benji doesn't have a problem with me answering his cellphone but because of the circumstance with his parents, I'm scared to talk to her.
Fuck it.
"Mrs. Cruz?" I say into the phone as I walk into my bedroom. "Hi, it's Brandy."
"Brandy? Where is Benji?"
"Mrs. Cruz, you do realize what time it is? And you do know Benji, don't you? He's sleeping."
"Did Benji talk to Bianca? Did he get her message?" She sounds concerned.
"We did," I say. "It's not exactly your business but we already found a new apartment, so you won't have to worry about us again. Goodbye."
"Brandy, wait!" She sighs and I don't hang up quite yet. "You need to know something. I... I didn't have anything to do with my husband's decision. I told him to reconsider his choice but his mind was made up. I'm so sorry for what you two are enduring. Are you two going to be okay there out on your own?"
"Of course we are," I say confidently. "Mrs. Cruz, I know it's not my place to say this but you are aware you have a choice too, right? You are Benji's mother for crying out loud. I think you have more of a say than you act like you do. If you really wanted to protect Benji you would have — but you didn't and you never have. So I'm sorry if I don't really want an apology from you. That's something you need to fix with Benji. Like I said, goodbye."
I hang up and my eyes widen when I realize that I now have officially scolded both of Benji's parents about their parenting style. I'm not usually this forward and confident but can I say? I get really passionate when someone I love is being mistreated, and no, I'm not sorry about it.
—
Hi friends, hope you're all doing well. Do you have any Halloween plans this weekend? I was supposed to do something with my friends but I have to work :/ Oh well there will be other Halloweens
Make sure to vote if you liked this chapter and comment if you'd like to. See you tomorrow! Xo