This is what went down on Day 1:
Friday: Sofi and my parents leave at 6 in the morning to the airport. I wake up realizing last night's sore throat is now a cold. I tell my mom, but she is already out the door. A couple of my brothers decide they might as well get up and start their day. I decide to fall asleep again.
7:15 I wake up to tell Juanito to take a shower because he's being picked up at 8 for art class.
7:25 I realize my brothers are being picked up at 8 for their art class. I rush through a shower hoping I can make it out in time to look like a responsible sister.
7:27 Juanito pounds furiously on my door to ask how to turn the alarm off. I furiously scream the code back.
7:35 I wonder why the house is so quiet. I go downstairs and realize my brothers are gone. I hope it's because they were picked up. That would explain why they wanted to turn the alarm off. I take almost every kind of homeopathic remedies my mom has for colds.
7:40 I look at the kitchen. I look away.
8:00 I start to do my school work. I go to my virtual math class and my teacher virtually finds out how much I suck.
10:45 My brothers come back. I tell them to clean up the kitchen before they eat a pizza I put into the oven. They manage to clean a little before starting a wrestling match. I'm too sleepy to argue with them, so I let them eat before making them clean the rest of the house.
11:15 I send them off to the classroom to do schoolwork. I pick up the mess they made when they cleaned.
11:45 I finally join them in the classroom. They are already fighting. I prohibit them from speaking or looking at anything except their schoolbooks. Then I negotiate how many of those schoolbooks they actually have to read.
12:00 I remember I haven't eaten. I am able to ignore the rumbling in my stomach but not my little brother's whining. My brother's friend and his mom arrive, but only Juanito has actually finished his work. This means only Juanito can play. You can bet there was more whining.
4:00 I get a phone call from a guy I don't know. I think he asks me to open the gate. I say ok and hang up, then it occurs to me that I don't know who he is. He calls back to tell me I hung up on him. I ask him where he's calling from and realize he's in a different city. He tells me what phone number he's calling and he has the first two digits reversed. He must find this embarrassing because he hangs up.
4:25 My god-mother who's staying the night is lost and needs directions. I don't know any of the street names so I have Sofi call her. I don't have a lot of time to feel stupid and inept before I run upstairs to clean my room.
4:30 My godmother asks if we want to go to Neiman Marcus for a fashion show. She says they'll have hors d'oeuvres. The boys accept the invitation.
6:30-8:30 Apparently Fashion Night Out is a big deal. Lacosste has a Wii Tennis competition (Alfonso wins twice), Neiman Marcus has that big deal fashion show, Betsy Johnson has a bunch of tall skinny models in short poofy dresses lined up in front of the store. I read the pamphlet. Mostly, I'm looking to see where they have appetizers. We walk into Juicy where a "Juicy Boy" (could they come up with anything catchier?) hands out little cakes. I walk right past him, but my brothers and godmother don't feel as dignified and accept the pink morsel. Alfonso doesn't like his, so he gives it to me. It's really good. So good, that I'm not sure if being dignified is worth resisting the urge to ask for another. I turn around and see Mr. Juicy flex his biceps and wink at a patron. I almost throw up.
The fashion show is loud and crowded. Models with poofy hair and gallons of make-up walk around a make-shift runway while the audience claps and sips on champagne. These people could be models themselves. Granted, there are a few people, like us, who looked like they just happened on the event and decided to stay for the free food (Although, I must say, the servers do turn up their noses at us simple folk), but I'm glad that I changed out of my over-sized sweatpants.
By the time it's over, I want to die. My throat feels like I swallowed sandpaper, I'm so congested I can hardly breathe, and every part of my body hurts. We walk out of the store and Mr. Juicy, perhaps experiencing a drop in mini-cake demand, has taken off his shirt. It does not make me feel better.
9:00 I want to go to bed, but, alas, I forget that as substitute mother, I must feed the children. I do my best not to sneeze on their packaged ravioli, when Sofi sends me a text:
I just saw Train!!!!
I curse natural remedies.
The fashion show is loud and crowded. Models with poofy hair and gallons of make-up walk around a make-shift runway while the audience claps and sips on champagne. These people could be models themselves. Granted, there are a few people, like us, who looked like they just happened on the event and decided to stay for the free food (Although, I must say, the servers do turn up their noses at us simple folk), but I'm glad that I changed out of my over-sized sweatpants.
By the time it's over, I want to die. My throat feels like I swallowed sandpaper, I'm so congested I can hardly breathe, and every part of my body hurts. We walk out of the store and Mr. Juicy, perhaps experiencing a drop in mini-cake demand, has taken off his shirt. It does not make me feel better.
9:00 I want to go to bed, but, alas, I forget that as substitute mother, I must feed the children. I do my best not to sneeze on their packaged ravioli, when Sofi sends me a text:
I just saw Train!!!!
I curse natural remedies.
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