𝐖𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇.
penelope was sitting at the table.
"dang, son! i'm killing this budget spreadsheet." penelope grinned.
"being an adult is sad." alex blinked.
"yeah, i wanna spend money, not budget it." i complained.
alex and i walked away, and ran back when we heard lydia enter.
"abuelita, you got the shoes!" alex grinned. "you're my hero, thank you!"
"you're welcome. i really had to fight for them." lydia grinned.
"mami, we talked about this. you cannot keep spoiling alex." penelope begged.
"but i can." i smiled.
"i just went to pick them up for him because he is still grounded! no, no. he paid with his own 300 dollars." lydia reassured.
"300 dollars for one pair of shoes? they better come with 280 dollars stuffed in them!" penelope complained.
nobody said anything.
"mom, i did exactly what you told me to do."
alex complained. "you said that if i wanted to buy expensive shoes, i had to earn my own money."
"i did say that. lesson number two, don't buy stupid stuff. come here." penelope motioned him over to her computer.
"look at my credit card statement. every dollar is budgeted. 400 dollars a month for groceries, 60 dollars to keep the lights on, 7 dollars at the fountain hotel- what?" penelope stared at her computer in shock. "someone must've stolen my credit card number."
"for 7 dollars? not how i would've played it." lydia shrugged.
"for real. i would've bought a mansion, a car-" i began.
"you already have all those things." alex pointed out.
"we have all those things."
"i love dating a rich girl."
i wrapped my arm around him, pulling him closer.
he looks so good.
someone sedate me.
i need him to give me cpr.
i've been dating him for so long, and i don't think i'm ever gonna be used to it.
like, i'n still desperately obsessed with him.
but he's desperately obsessed back, so it doesn't matter!
"they start by racking up little charges to make sure the card works. macy's, nike, harley-davidson. then you realize they're living your best life." leslie retold.
"did you cancel the card?" penelope asked.
"no, i wanted to see what i would have done next." leslie shrugged.
alex and i returned to his room.
penelope made a call, questioning why they'd charged her the money if she'd never been there.
it was actually elena, on her emergency credit card.
elena thought she was ready for her first time, but she wasn't.
elena had accidentally knocked over something in the minibar, and had to pay for it.
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
alex rested on my shoulder.
"so, your mom has asked me to give you a little chat about irresponsible spending." schneider cleared his throat.
"yeah, she said to show me all of the stupid stuff you wasted money on so that i don't end up like you." alex remembered. "it's a program she calls scared smart."
"i already ended up like him, though, so who cares?" i shrugged.
"yeah, she's really starting to lean on me as a co-parent." schneider leaned against the couch. "take a gander!"
"a gander?" i laughed.
"really old comic books, unopened star wars toys, shirley temples tap shoes! why did i think they'd fit?" schneider questioned. "who would want all this crap?"
alex and i looked through the box.
"schneider, all this stuff is really cool." alex said.
"it feels like i'm thrifting." i held up some weird items.
"is it just a symbol of a young man who tried to use money to fill the hole in his soul?" schneider asked.
"money fixed the whole in my soul." i shrugged. "actually, that was alex."
"glad to be of service." alex grinned. "all of this stuff is worth tons of money!"
"is it? wait, is it?" schneider asked.
alex pulled out a photo.
"you own the ghostbusters car?" alex gasped.
"holy shit! how is that even possible?" i stared at the picture.
"everything is possible. here's a lesson; i heard they car was suddenly going up for auction, so i had to ditch dinner plans with my favorite uncle gary. he'd just had a triple bypass. he died while i was at that auction. turns out, he needed a quadruple bypass." schneider remembered.
"oh my god." my eyes widened.
"i will always regret that day." schneider nodded.
"cause you were so selfish, you forgot family is more important that anything?" alex guessed.
"no, cause i should've waited and bid on the back to the future car." schneider said, as if it was obvious. "that thing travels back in time! i could've gone back and not bid on the ghostbusters car. or told gary to have that 4th bypass, but whatever, your thing works too."
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
alex and i entered the kitchen.
"oh, papito, how are the shoes?" lydia asked.
"great. i sold them!" alex grinned.
lydia dropped her plate.
"i know, i know, but.. they were already worth twice as much as what i paid for them." alex said.
"you should've scammed them for more." i suggested.
"how could you do such a thing! i stood in line for hours!" lydia frowned.
"i know, and dr. berkowitz got a busted nose." alex agreed.
"how'd that even happen?" i questioned.
"it doesn't matter, it's just a scratch!" lydia said.
"abuelita, i really appreciate what you did. so i'm gonna use that money to take you out to dinner." alex offered.
"aw, papito." lydia smiled, and set her things down.
"you do a lot for me, and it's time i paid you back a little. and unlike mami, i'm gonna let you get an appetizer and a beverage. i know that's how they get you, but they're gonna get us."
"you are such a good son. grandson."
lydia hugged alex.
"next, i'll take you out to dinner." i looked over at alex.
"you already do, like, every other day." alex reminded.
"and i'll keep doing it."
"i can't believe i'm a sugar baby."
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
alex laid on the bed beside me.
he was silent, too deep into a book to notice what i was doing.
i didn't even know he liked to read.
but he didn't get to use his phone, because he was still grounded.
"please let me see your phone. i just need to scroll for a second." alex begged.
i tossed my phone to him, and he started stalking his own instagram.
better than him stalking other girls, i guess!
«───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────»
penelope was sitting on the couch, studying her nursing books.
alex and i were doing homework.
penelope turned to look at us.
"i'm literally about to do my homework. you don't have to remind me." alex said.
penelope said nothing, and began hyperventilating.
"you good?" i questioned, setting my red mechanical pencil down.
"are you okay?" alex asked. "why are you breathing so heavy?"
"the ghost of your abuelito just passed through me!" penelope said.
"that makes sense. abuelita comes out of her curtain all sweaty and says that, too." alex looked down.
we didn't think much of it.
alex and i just kept hanging out, and later, helped elena with her practice test.
suddenly, the timer went off.
elena looked zoned out.
she began to hyperventilate, breathing heavily and getting sweaty.
"elena, are you okay?" alex asked.
"elena? are you good?" i looked up.
"what's going on?" penelope asked, taking a seat beside elena. "look at me. okay, stop. breathe. you're home, look at me. just breathe."
elena calmed down.
alex nervously placed a hand over mine.
"you okay?" penelope asked.
"yeah, that was weird." elena reassured. "i'm sorry. i just get really stressed out sometimes."
"has that happened before?"
"a couple of times, yeah. i don't know what's wrong with me."
"nothing. nothing is wrong with you, okay? that was an anxiety attack, and i know, because i get them too."
"really?" alex asked.
i quickly left to the kitchen, so they could talk.
it turns out, anxiety and depression ran in their family, and penelope had both.