(KAI POV)
I was sitting in my room, playing Monster Super League, my favorite playlist filling the quiet in her earbuds, when my phone suddenly started ringing (startled me a bit)
I take out my earbuds and pause the game. The caller ID is Sam, one of my best friends since third grade.
Sam Diaz-Alavrez, Charlie Johnson and I met in a two-week summer camp, and by some miracle (or just non-white fidelity) we've kept in touch and meet up a lot. Between you and me, this is the source of most my out-of-school social interaction.
I pick up the phone, and turn my phone's volume down. Sam is kinda loud!
"Hey Kai!"
"Hi."
"So~ uh~ I need a favor from you."
"Okay."
"You know my brother, Hugo?"
I feel my eyebrows furrow, but then I remember:
Hanna socially-transitioned into Hugo last year.
Since he's only 13, Sam's brother is currently on a blocker pill to delay puberty until he's 15, and if Hugo still wants to be Hugo by then, they'll talk about testosterone pills.
I nod, but then remember I have to verbalize. "Yes."
"Well, me, Charlie and a few girls are having a sleepover tomorrow, and I need someone to watch my brother until Papá gets home at six PM."
"Would your family be okay with that?" I try to recall the last time I actually saw Sam's parents. Do they even know I exist?
"Of course! I tell them everything, and they know all about you and Charlie and how much I love you and they love you for loving me."
"Ok..." I find that a bit weird but whatever. "And I'll be at your house?"
"Yep! Your highschool gets off earlier than his school, so it'll be easy. Will your parents be okay with that?"
"Probably... I'll ask anyway though."
I hear Sam clap her hands, which tells me she's got her phone on speaker and it's sitting on a table and she's doing something else. "Fabulosa~ Double check and I'll let my family know you'll watch over Hugo."
As I exit the phone app and send a text asking my mom if it's okay, I ask Sam, "I'm curious... why ask me? Don't your grandparents take care of you two?"
"Mae" Mariam and Benjamin "Ben" Diaz-Alvarez have late-night jobs, so Sam and Hugo were basically raised by their grandparents until Hugo was 11. Sam being 15 by then, they would trust him to her. Now Sam and I are 17.
"My Grandparents moved two hours away two years ago, remember? That's not a short-notice trip, especially for two 70-something year olds. You, however, are easy to access." Sam adds, "And I just felt like it was a good idea."
"I guess that makes sense."
This isn't exactly my ideal situation. I haven't seen Hugo since he was a baby.
I haven't babysat much before... I don't know if I'll be good at it. I mean I watch over Bella if our parents aren't home but she's barely a year younger than me so it's not the same...
but I think I can do this. For Sam.
Something occurs to me. "Wait, how old is Hugo?"
"He's thirteen."
"Isn't that around the age you can leave kids alone? That's when I was first left alone."
"Hugo isn't like most kids, remember? He's got major ADHD, like I-need-to-help-you-stay-alive ADHD."
I didn't know he had ADHD... I know Sam thinks she might be autistic... also, I have no clue why, but I'm having trouble believing Sam's words (I don't doubt he has ADHD but I highly doubt that means he's helpless).
"Plus- and he won't admit it- he gets scared easily and I doubt he'd handle being left alone in our big house well."
Now THAT I believe.
Sam adds, "Meeting other neurodivergent people will be good for him anyway."
"That makes sense."
"Plus... you're kinda tomboyish... I think you two will get along splendidly."
I laugh a bit. "Tomboyish?"
"Totally~ What were you doing before I called you?"
"Playing a video game... listening to anime music."
Sam laughs. "Oh you two will love each other."
Ooh! Does he have similar interests? (easiest babysitting job ever~~~)
I counter, "What are you doing?"
"Organizing my nail polishes. I'm gonna bring some to the sleepover. I'm trying to go for a theme so we can be matchy-matchy. Then I'm gonna practice some hairstyles for when we do each other's hair."
I tease, "What a girlygirl."
"I take that as a compliment~" Sam hums, "I am feminine and I have no shame."
"Yeah yeah... by the way, my mom messaged me and said it's ok. She'll even drive me to your house."
Sam sing-songs, "Wonderful~"
(THE NEXT DAY)
When I'm dropped off by my mom, I'm reminded that the Diaz-Alvarez home is a true phenomenon.
Charlie and Sam's families are richer than mine, so obviously you'd expect bigger houses than the medium-sized one-floor home my family lives in (frankly I find mine more cozy and it's definitely less upkeep) but like ...
Okay- bear with me. ~ Charlie's house looks like what you'd expect (I think); a fairly architecturally impressive two-story wide brick house with a patio and a large yard, all very aesthetic, in a very aesthetic neighborhood.
But the Diaz-Alvarez home defies the laws of physics I think.
I mean it looks like a normal two-story house and the neighborhood looks pretty ordinary for the suburbs, BUT it's very long. If you look at the house from the front, it looks one room wide, but if you look at it from the side, you realize it's pretty long.
I've only been inside three times, but every time I am, I just have to say "This place is bigger than it looks!"
Then again, not every family invests money into making the basement into a second living room. There's apparently a small attic above the house that holds the storage and creepy stuff that you'd associate with basements.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
As if on cue, Sam comes out of the house, carrying what I can only describe as the most DIY Hello-Kitty-esque duffel bag ever.
Sam starts talking at the speed of light. "Hi Kai, I left the door open. Hugo's bus will drop him off in like, half an hour. He has no allergies as far as we know but the Mexican Lactose intolerance Gene has to sit in at some point but he'll be fine, I think."
A slip of paper is shoved at me. "Here's the phone number of my Papá in case anything goes wrong. And you have mine."
She proceeds to start walking down the sidewalk in her ankle-boot heels, and I feel confused. "You aren't walking to Charlie's house, are you?"
Sam doesn't stop. "Of course not. It's just that Grace- one of the girls going to the sleepover- lives four blocks away, and it's easier to carpool with her."
"Oh."
Sam drops her duffel bag and runs back to give me a hug. "Te lo agradezco con mi amor ~ Thankyou for doing this"
Sam then rushes back to her bag and continues walking, humming to herself.
Okay- I love Sam like a sister or maybe a cousin, but
I feel just a tad bit used...
Nah- I'm paranoid.
I go into the Diaz-Alvarez house, and sit cross-legged on the floor near the unlocked front door, feeling rude to do much else until someone else comes here.
I'm just looking at dumb memes on Pintrest when the door swings open.
I instinctively brush my hair away from my face. Bella told me it's a bit off-putting if you can't see all of a person's face, and this is someone four years younger than me...
I'm a bit surprised when I see Sam's brother, mostly because I haven't seen Hugo since he was a toddler crying everytime he fell...
He's in a school uniform, and his hair in what I'd call the stereotypical Asian -male fluffy bangs, parted above his right eye.
(incase you don't know what I'm talking about, here's the closest to how it looks in my brain)
Because of the blocker pill, puberty hasn't hit him yet, so he's still pretty androgynous.
Despite him being younger, I feel a bit shy anyway. "Hey Hugo. Uh... Remember me?"
He puts his bookbag on the ground near the door. "I know who you are, Kai."
"Cool... Umm, you're gonna be stuck with me until your dad gets home from work."
"I know." He says, taking off his shoes, before heading upstairs to change out of his uniform, promising to be back down soon.
Already I'm under the impression this won't be hard at all.
When he comes back down, Hugo offers to show me around the house so I know where everything is. He seems rather excited about this (I'm under the impression usually Sam does most the talking)
Being lead around the house by Sam's younger brother is actually kinda fun, mostly because most people aren't this exuberant about it.
What I like is that it's not just "and here's the kitchen", he also tells stories and things that have happened in the rooms, and even mentions the stories behind some of the house decor and various knick-knacks.
Hearing all this, I can see how Hugo and Sam are related, but Hugo's energy is very different than Sam's.
Listening to Sam talk is like the feeling of binge-eating Halloween candy.
Hugo's energy is more like watching someone find the last few pieces of a puzzle~
. . . that probably makes no sense but whatever.
When we go upstairs and head down the narrow yet still ornately personalized hallway, Hugo says we shouldn't go into his parents' bedroom or his dad's workroom. Got it.
When Hugo opens the door to his room, the first thing I notice is the size:
Approximately, it's 1.5 times the size of my room, meaning my room and half of Bella's room could fit in here...
There's a LOT of anime posters on the wall (so freaking jealous!) I see Dragon Ball, Hunter × Hunter, Innuyasha, and there's a few Pokémon plushies in this room, among many other stuffed animals of various sizes. There's even a big narwhal in here!
The room is messy but more like a "child at play" messy than a "neurodivergent trash racoon messy" like mine.
Hugo is talking about a toy katana sword he recently got and how cool he thinks it is, when out of boredom and impulse, I throw the pillow from the bed at the thirteen year old.
Hugo is shocked for a moment, but then a smile spreads across his face when he picks up the pillow and throws it back at me with a yell.
~Note to self, the best icebreaker is a pillowfight~
Hugo starts throwing some plushies he has at me (mostly colorful animals) and while one half my brain is just appreciating any male with plushies, the other half of me is shocked at how fast Hugo is throwing these at me. Where is this energy coming from? He's crazier than Sam! I guess it runs in the family! (I wonder which parent this comes from?)
I start throwing some animals back.
Soon enough we are on opposite sides of Hugo's bed like a battle trench.
I notice a rhino sitting against the wall by the bed and I pick it up, ready to shock Hugo with a quick throw.
Hugo stops. "Wait don't throw that one!"
Surprised by the change in energy, I immediately put the rhino on the bed and put my hands behind my head.
Hugo runs over and takes the plushie into his arms and hugs it close.
Oh. Favorite toy. Don't miss with it. Got it. (figuring out people isn't too hard, I think)
Hugo happily explains, "This is Riley and they have zero clue what gender they are, so until this mentally disturbed rhino figures that out, Riley is a they."
I repress a laugh, then I nod and address the toy properly. "Well Hi Riley, I'm sorry I almost threw you."
Hugo crosses his arms over the plushie. "Riley doesn't forgive you."
I pretend to be hurt. "Oh no!"
Hugo laughs. "Riley is too epic to forgive you."
"Riley is an epic Rhino?"
"Well, that's what Riley says, but they're actually kinda clumsy."
(I feel I'm noticing a pattern in Hugo's imagination...)
"How long have you had Riley?"
"Hmmm... Uh... years. Many years. I dunno. But my dad won Riley for me at a fair.
(Ah, I see why this is the favorite now)
"So Riley is your favorite toy?"
"No... yes? Well maybe- uh," Hugo sets Riley on the bed and grabs a one-eared spotted puppy plushie. I can tell immediately this toy has been here since Hugo's toddler years.
"This is Randal and I've had him longer than Riley."
"I can tell... uh, what happened to his ear?'
Hugo looks a bit ashamed. "I uh... accidentally broke it off... Randal is fragile. Only I get to touch him."
I promise, "I won't touch Randal. Uh, so how long have you had Randal?"
"Oh god- um- ...Before I was eight... um... maybe my sixth birthday is when I got him from Mom..."
(Ah, I see. Favorite toy #1 is from Dad and favorite toy #2 is from Mom.)
Feeling relaxed, I wonder what time it is. I pull out my phone and it's 3:30 PM.
"Hey, Hugo, are you hungry?"
"Uh, Kinda."
"I can make you food. What do you wanna eat?"
Hugo looks unsure but suddenly lights up. "Mac and cheese!"
(I briefly remember Sam's qualm about Mexican lactose intolerance...) "Ah- Sure, let's do that."
We head downstairs and Hugo sits at the pristine wooden table, and through the impressive food pantry, I manage to find a box of uncooked elbow macaroni. I look in the fridge and find a block of orange cheddar cheese.
I tell Hugo that I'm going to cook the whole box, and he can add cheese and melt it in the microwave on his own, since I don't want cheese on my macaroni. Hugo nods and calmly stims in his chair.
I pull all the ingredients together and fortunately, there's some margarine in here, so I can use it instead of butter.
Hugo talks with me as I cook... or, rather, he info-dumps at me, but I love when other neurodivergent people feel okay doing that. Besides, it's often very interesting.
When I finish cooking and Hugo takes a bite of macaroni, he says, "This is the best macaroni ever."
(How is getting praised by a kid making me shy?) "It's not a big deal."
"It's a huge deal. You're way better with food than Sam. She either undercooks or overcooks everything. Once I'm 15, I'm taking over the kitchen."
I try not to laugh. "Alrighty-then."
Hugo takes another grateful mouthful out of his bowl. "This is avenging my stomach after the school gave me the worst mac & cheese ever."
"Oh, was it bad?"
"I don't even wanna think about it- that was like soup!"
I murmur, "Well school lunch food is just not that good. Probably the province doesn't invest enough in it or something."
Hugo takes a bite of his meal before looking at me in the eyes and saying:
"Well here's the thing- the lunch budget in the school is a separate thing. Like they don't even get two dollars for every meal they put out but what they make has to cover the money for getting the food and the money to store it in their freezers and to re-warm the food- and that's apart from the milk and the salad bar stuff."
Then he goes back to eating the orange mac & cheese in his green bowl.
I'm amazed...
Where is this kid hearing this?
I ask, "How do you know this?"
"I asked a staff member."
"Wow..." I try to put this in math terms. "So basically, there's low input for a high output and the result is a lot of low-quality food?"
Hugo looks at me slowly. (I'm guessing he's not a math guy) "...Well yeah... and the thing is- it's already low quality when they get the food delivered- but then there's the storage and the reheating and it just gets worse- so it's actually below what food should be."
"Yeah... My sister once, uh... lost her lunch after eating a burger from the school. She's never eaten a school lunch again."
"See, if they made better food, more people would want it and they'd make better money and it'd all get better."
"I think it's more nuanced than that."
"What is nuance?"
"Hmm... nuance is like... the smaller details behind things... it makes it more complicated."
After finishing dinner, we go outside to play and Hugo has us play-fight in a pool noodle war. At some point, he picks up a stick and has insisted he's Harry Potter now and I've been magicked multiple times.
Then we wrestled a bit. Why? I have zero clue, it just sorta started happening and next thing I know, I'm wrestling back ... but Hugo seemed fine (first, he's 13, second, Sam never does anything like this with him)
At sun starts going down so I tell him it's time we head back inside.
Benjamin Diaz-Alavarez gets home a little after six.
Hugo instantly runs up to hug his dad which makes me happy since he's still in that more innocent relationship with his parents...
unlike me... when was the last time I hugged my dad?
I announce, "It's time for me to get going soon."
I almost don't wanna leave because being around Hugo was so much fun!
We're actually kinda similar!
My mom arrives shortly after, and Hugo hugs me goodbye.
Hugo's voice is quiet. "Please come back soon... we can play again and- and I can give you macaroons."
Instead of asking where in this town is this family getting macaroons, I just say, "We can hang out again soon. No cookie-bribe needed."
"What if I give you macaroons anyway?"
He's so sweet~
please remain a sweet child in heart~
"I guess I can't say no, haha."