The rest of the week went by like a breeze. We just swept through it so easily, and really, it was a lot easier than I expected. Which is odd, because being a senior is anything but that. I always have a test, student council meeting, or a club meeting at some point. 

 The week went by fast, and the weekend finally came. I was done with finals, I had aced everything, and I didn't have any big tests coming up. Finals had drained whatever energy I had left, so I took full advantage of the weekend. I got the rest that I needed, and the relaxation came to me. 

On Saturday, I'm just sorting through my laundry. I cleaned my room, did my homework, and I did my chores. Granted, it kicked me in the back, but I wanted to get it over with so that I wouldn't have a list of chores building up. 

When I'm done with the last shirt in the basket, my phone rings. The caller ID identifies as Sophia. I perk up and pick it up immediately. 

"Hey, belle. What's up?" I ask. 

"Hey, Ray. Hate for this to be last minute, but I wanted to ask. Are you free?" she asks. 

She's planning something. I can sense it. I walk over to the dining room. "Yeah, I'm free. You lucked out actually. I just finished folding the laundry," I say. 

Sophia laughs. "I'm one lucky girl. I always call at the right time. So, since you are free, I would like to make an offer. My mom's out at a meeting today. My dad has a potluck at the police station, and Anthony is hungry. I'm making dinner tonight, and I thought of you. Want to come over for some dinner and chilling?" Sophia asks. 

My mouth waters at the thought of Sophia's cooking. I swear that I'm drooling a little bit at the thought of her food. Nothing beats her cooking at all. 

"What are you making?" I ask, curious to see what she has to offer. 

"Pastitsio, souvlaki with tzatziki, spanakopita, and galaktoboureko for dessert. All from my grandma's cookbook that she gave me. Sound good enough?" she asks. 

Oh gosh, stop the torture. Sophia's Greek food is the absolute best, and it's even better when it's her grandparent's recipe. 

"Wow. That sounds heavenly. Let me ask my mom," I say, pressing my phone against my chest. I walk into the kitchen, where my mom is wiping the countertop. 

"Mom?" I ask. My mom's eyes shift over to where I'm standing. 

"Yes, Ray?" she asks. 

"Sophia's making dinner tonight, and she invited me over. It's Greek food, and she made quite a bit. Can I go?" I ask. 

I can see a little bit of envy reflecting in her eyes. Even she wants to have some of Sophia's food. 

"Did you do your chores, Ray?" my mom asks. I nod. 

"Yep. I did my homework, made the bed, folded the laundry, and swept," I say. My mom smiles at me out of satisfaction. 

"Since you've done everything, you can go," my mom says. I smile. 

"Thanks, Mom," I say, and I press the phone back to my ear. 

"She said yes," I say into the phone as I'm walking to my bedroom. 

"Yes!! Hell yeah!" Sophia cheers, and I laugh. 

"I'll be there in 20 minutes. Sounds good?" I ask to confirm. 

"That's perfect. I'll see you soon, Ray," she says over the phone. 

"See you soon, belle," I say, and hang up. 

I grab my wallet and my keys, and walk back out to the dining room. 

"Mom, can I go over to Daniel's house?" I hear Randy ask my mom. 

"Randy, have you finished your work?" my mom asks. 

"Um, not really. I still have to sort the laundry," Randy says, with a bit of guilt dripping from his voice. 

"Well, you're not going to Daniel's house unless you do the laundry. Besides, I can't give you a ride," my mom says. Randy groans. 

"Can't Ray give me a ride?" he asks. 

"No, Ray can't give you a ride. He's going to Sophia's house. You can't depend on your brother all the time, Randy. It's time you start doing things on your own," my mom says. 

Randy looks like he is about to explode. "You can't be serious right now! Ray literally has everything spoon fed to him! He has perfect grades, a perfect reputation, and the perfect girlfriend! He literally has all the good things, and what am I left with? I'm left with comparison, shame, and pressure. 'Try to be like Ray.' 'Stop it! Look at your brother!' 'Your brother is so awesome!' I'm sick of it! I'm sick of being compared to and being stomped on! When will you pay attention to me, Mom?" Randy screams suddenly. 

Woah, what just exploded? I've never seen Randy lose his temper like this before. My mom frowns. 

"Randy, you can't be serious. I've worked so hard on you. I've tried to help you, but you just won't listen! You won't take anything seriously, no matter how much I work with you! Ray did everything by himself. I've helped you so much, yet you don't appreciate anything that I've done. Stop acting like I'm the bad guy here," my mom says. 

He crosses his arms, with an eye slowly twitching. "You don't understand Mom! You don't understand that I try! I try to meet your expectations and be like Ray! I have tried so hard to be that other son that is pretty much perfect! You don't even consider the amount of work and dedication I put in! You always say that I'm not doing enough! I'm doing everything I can!" Randy shouts. 

My mom frowns. "Come on Randy! You can't be any more serious! You think that what you're doing is enough? You had to have Ray do your Spanish work for you for so long, and you didn't even try! You asked him to help you, and then you left him so that he could do all the work! And I know you can do it! You just don't put your mind to it at all! I'm sick of having to remind you constantly to work harder and to not slack off!" my mom yells back. 

I raise an eyebrow at Randy, and then a bad feeling starts to bloom in my stomach. I've never seen an argument this heated between my mom and Randy. Randy turns to me, and the angriest look I have ever seen forms on his face. This isn't a good thing at all. He's about to go all out on me and say everything on his mind. 

"You. You little coward. You haven't said anything at all during this. You are such a crybaby when everything has been handed to you on a silver platter. You have the perfect grades, the perfect reputation, the perfect friends, and the perfect girlfriend! It's just not fair! Especially with Sophia! Why can't I get a girl like that? Why do you have to get everything, Ray? Why do you have to be so... just so... perfect? Because of you, everyone expects me to be just like you. All my teachers that you've had are like 'Oh, you're Ray's brother! He was such a bright and wonderful young man! I expect nothing less from you, Randy.' Do you know how hurtful that is to me? Everyone expects me to be so perfect, and I just can't be, and I'm making everyone sad! You're just so perfect, and it's so irritating! I've tried so hard to annoy you and pick out your flaws to make me feel better about not being perfect. I'm just so done with everyone expecting perfection from me, all because of you! I'm done with everything! Including you, Ray!" Randy screams. 

He runs to his room and slams the door. My mom runs after him, and I can tell that she's shocked. I can't blame her. Even I'm shocked. I never knew Randy felt this way. To be honest, I actually feel kind of bad for Randy. I lowered his self esteem and made him feel horrible about himself. That's what kind of gets me. 

Whenever I feel like I am the cause of someone's unhappiness, then I get a little upset myself. Because I never want to feel that. You never want to feel like you're causing the unhappiness in someone's life. That's the worst feeling ever. And that's exactly what I feel right now. 

I sit back on the couch and process everything that has been said to me. It feels like a smack with concrete. All this information has hit me like nothing else before. I was never aware of how Randy felt. 

He had been so hell bent on being perfect like me that he had annoyed me to find flaws, so that it would show that I wasn't a perfect person. It somehow made him feel better that way. It didn't make me feel any better about myself. 

As I'm processing everything that has been said to me, I suddenly remember Sophia. I haven't gone over to her house for dinner yet. However, I feel like I should stay home. I feel like my mom needs me a lot and without me, this could be a huge mess. 

With hesitation, I pick up my phone and I call Sophia. "Hey, Ray. Are you on your way?" she asks. I sigh. 

"No, belle. I'm sorry, but I can't come today," I say. 

Without even a minute's pause, I hear her speak again. "Oh. That's ok, Ray. Why? Is everything ok?" she asks. I sigh. 

"No, everything is not ok. Randy, my mom, and I all had a huge fight. Long story short, Randy is locked in his room, my mom is trying to get him to come out, and I'm over here feeling like trash," I say. 

After about 10 seconds of silence, Sophia speaks again. "Do you want me to come talk to him?" she asks.  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cliffhanger! I hate being evil, but that's how my writer-self rolls! Do you think Randy's outburst was justified? Let me know in the comments. 

Hey everyone! How are you all? Yes, I know it says Part 2. You guys know the drill. The second part is coming on Wednesday. 

Also, Valentine's Day is coming up! Tell me, what's your favorite part about Valentine's Day? Mine is the half priced chocolate the day after *insert the Forever Alone meme* But in all seriousness, for a writer as sappy as I am, I love the cuteness surrounding it. 

Another side note, I rewrote the first chapter completely. I feel like it's a lot better than the previous one. Let me know what you all think. 

That's pretty much it. Hope you all liked this chapter! 

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all on Wednesday with the second part of the chapter! Have a great week!

Love you guys,

S.V.T.S.