After Ever After (9780545292788) by Jordan Sonnenblick Read Free Book Online Page A

easy for me to work my legs? You think I’m hanging out in this wheelchair because it’s some great fashion statement? Go ahead, keep your wussy spaghetti arms. See if I care.” Then he zoomed out of the room.
    I didn’t understand what I had done wrong, but I felt guilty anyway. I did a set each of push-ups and sit-ups, and staggered to the locker room. I hoped Lindsey hadn’t been able to read the numbers on my weights.
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    In English class, Miss Palma told us we would be starting a unit on reading and writing biographies. She told the class that “in order to get us in the biographical frame of mind,” we had two journal assignments for the week:
Write down, as closely as you can remember, a conversation that you have heard.
Write a letter to a person you admire.
    I knew exactly what to do for the first one, and I got started before Miss Palma even finished speaking.
    The one conversation that has been rolling over and over in my head all summer is the argument my brother, Steven, had with my parents when he told them about his plan to take a break from college and travel around Africa playing hand drums. I’m not proud to admit this, but I heard every single word by eavesdropping. There’s a big, square ventilation pipe that goes from the kitchen right through the corner of my closet, and I discovered a long time ago that if you put your ear against the cold gray metal of the pipe, you can hear whatever anyone is saying down there.
    The secret pipe has always served me well — I haven’t been surprised by a Christmas present since I was seven years old — but on this night I shouldn’t have listened. At the peak of the argument, my mom said, “Steven, you’re being ridiculous. Don’t you know that there are people counting on you?” And Steven went off :
    â€œDon’t you get it, Mom? That’s why I have to leave. I want to find out what it’s like to worry about myself for a change. I want to do what I want.”
    â€œYou get to do what you want. You chose your own college. You chose your major. In another year, you’ll be choosing a career. So what in the world are you talking about?”
    â€œMom, I chose NYU because Annette was going to Juilliard, and she told me we should be in the same city for college. Plus, I wanted to be close to Jeffrey, just in case he … just in case. And I thought about going to the Berklee College of Music in Boston anyway, but Dad wanted me to minor in accounting so I’d have something to fall back on . Right, Dad?”
    â€œYes, but —”
    â€œSo I kind of chose a college. I kind of chose my major. I guess I’ll kind of choose a career. But I’m sick of kind of having a life. Plus, no matter where I go, it’s not like anybody ever leaves me alone anyway.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about, Steven?” Dad asked. “We’ve only visited when you’ve asked us to, and we —”
    Steven cut Dad off with a sigh. “It’s not you, Dad. And it’s not you, either, Mom. It’s just … look, I want to know what it’s like to go through one day of my life without getting three text messages from Annette. How am I supposed to figure out my future if I can’t even think on my own for one single day? And then there’s Jeffrey.”
    â€œSteven …” my father said in his scary-dad warning voice.
    â€œNo, listen, Dad. I’ve always done everything for that kid. Right? When he was in the hospital, I always — well, you knowall that stuff. But he’s been past the five-year point since the beginning of my sophomore year, and I’m still, like, his human crutch. He e-mails me every day, Dad. Every day. ‘Steven, what’s the answer to this math problem?’ ‘Steven, do you think the Beatles are cool?’ ‘Steven, what should I wear to a middle school dance?’ And he expects me to