Free The Unraveling of Melody by Erika van Eck Page A

sibling rivalry, but there really
isn’t. I think the age gap helps.
    As I round the corner, I see my dad in his
work attire standing over Lucas, tickling him until he surrenders.
Luke is a very stubborn kid, so I don’t see that happening anytime
soon.
    “ Dad, you know he’ll pee his pants
before he gives up. I don’t know why you still try to get him to
submit.” I laugh.
    My dad looks over at me with a grin on his face. “I
just like to hear his belly laugh; I have no intention of
winning.”
    “ Good because otherwise I might have to
help him out.” I wink at Luke as he’s nodding in agreement through
his giggles.
    My dad takes a break from tickling Luke and
plops down onto the couch. “How was school, Melody?”
    I sit down on the loveseat across from where
my dad and Luke sit. Luke has recovered from his laughing and is
now engrossed in his DS.
    “ School was the same as always. Other
than my college prep classes, I don’t feel like much of a senior,”
I say as I pick at my nails. “Oh, before I forget, Sara is coming
over for dinner.” Right on cue, the front door swings open and Sara
comes strutting in. She’s gone through a bit of a rebellious stage
recently, and her hair has a few pink streaks mixed in with her
dark blond hair.
    “ Hey, Mr. H, how’s it goin’?” she says as she plops down onto my
lap.
    “ Holy shi-” I mutter but catch myself
before I let the profanity fall from my lips. “I m-mean, crap,” I
stutter. I poke Sara
in the ribs as a small payback for catching me off
guard.
    My dad rolls his eyes and then looks at Sara.
“Hey, Sar. All is well in the Hershel household.” He nods with a
fatherly smile.
    We chat a little longer with my dad
then make our way back to my room. Sara’s façade for everyone but
Emma and me drops, and she practically crumbles in front of me. She
vents about her ex, but that’s only a blip on her radar right now. Her parents
have decided that if she doesn’t straighten up and choose one of
the colleges that they have approved then they won’t support her anymore,
financially or otherwise. As far as I’m concerned, that would be
their loss, not Sara’s.
    She’s devastated with some anger mixed in,
too. I quickly begin telling her about my hopes to go north to UC
Davis and suggest that she apply and we can be roomies. That lifts
her spirits and we begin planning our adventures.

 
    Halloween Party
     
     
     
     
    S enior year,
so far, has been a semi-success. Sara finally got out of her funk
from the beginning of the year, and she has been sassier than ever.
She’s set on UC Davis, as am I. We just finished our applications, but we
won’t know if we got in until the end of March. It feels like it’s
so far away, but I have confidence that we’ll be admitted. Even
Emma got on the UC Davis bandwagon and submitted an
application.
    Scott finally asked me out. We’ve gone on a
few dates, and I guess you can say things are going well. He’s
extremely attractive, but I’m starting to think something is wrong
with me when I’m near him. I get nervous, but I don’t have that
feeling in the pit of my stomach that’s so often described when
others talk about their significant others. I guess I just have to
give it time and maybe it will transform into something. It’s still
new so maybe I’m worrying about nothing at all.
    Emma’s birthday is coming up, and she
decided to have a Halloween party, which is surprising. Her
birthday falls on the day after Halloween, but she’s always refused
a Halloween themed party. I’m not sure what got into her
this year, but she’s
over-the-moon excited to plan it. Who am I to burst her
bubble?
    She’s been talking nonstop about her
new love interest, Nick. I have a feeling this party has something
to do with him but
decide against asking her about it.
    According to Emma, Nick is a college
sophomore at UCLA. They met while she toured the campus at the
beginning of the school year, and they have been