Page 24 of No Summer Hotter than You

My mom flashed me an offended look, as if I had insulted both her and my brother. “Who ever said anything about manual labor? I’m talking about office work.”

I was quiet for a moment as I began to sweat from the heat of the stove. I didn’t know why my parents never bothered to turn on the air conditioning on triple digit days like this. Even with the sun dipping into the horizon, the heat still lingered in the air and the stove being turned up to full blast only made the kitchen more unbearably hot and stuffy. My head began to spin as I made my way to the fridge to grab a glass of ice-cold water.

“No one in the office is going to let him work there ever again after how he just quit without saying anything,” I said as a matter of fact.

Sai had never held down a job in his life. Last year’s part-time job would’ve been his first. My older brother, Lee, and I had part-time jobs all throughout high school and college, while Sai never did anything aside from studying and playing his video games.

“He could do computer work, couldn’t he? Maybe answer phone calls and such,” my mom suggested, trying to act clueless. “He’s always on the computer, so he should be good with them, right?”

I let out a sigh. I know my parents understood what was happening with Sai. I think this was their way of trying to push him to do something with his life aside from eat, sleep, or play games all day. They meant well. But I didn’t think this was the way to do it. Not with my younger brother at least.

“He’s only on the computer all day because he’s playing video games the entire day, Mom. They won’t hire him back into the office. He’ll have to do manual work. That’s the only thing they’d probably hire him for. But that’s if he’s willing to work hard.”

My mom’s eyes narrowed at me. “No, I want him to work in the office. Not doing all that demanding work. I want him to only work a respectable job.”

I bit my tongue to keep from saying what was on my mind. Instead, I said, “There’s nothing wrong with manual labor.”

I knew Sai would never want to work for Anthony or do plain office work. After my parents pressured him into going to college for a biochemistry degree the way Jonathan did, he just shut down and quit. They are the same age, and, because of that, my parents often compared him to our cousin.

Whatever Jonathan did, why couldn’t Sai do the same or better? If Jonathan could get into one of the top colleges on the West Coast, why couldn’t Sai do the same? If Jonathan could be a pharmacist, why shouldn’t Sai be a doctor? That was just how my parents were. They’d always look at other people and their successes and then turn to my brothers and me and ask, “Why aren’t you successful like them? Where did you go wrong?”

My mom let out a sigh so angry I could hear her ribs rattle. “Are you trying to say that your brother isn’t good enough for some measly office job?”

“No, what I’m trying to say is that Sai is lazy.” I gave her a pointed look. If he couldn’t even take a part-time job where he only went in three times a week for four hours seriously, then how could she expect him to hold down a full-time job with more demands?

She narrowed her dark eyes at me as she raised her voice. “Your brother had amazing grades and graduated at the top of his class! He’s an amazing worker. That job they gave him made him stand for four hours straight! That’s why he didn’t want to do it anymore!”

I let out a loud, frustrated breath as Sai waltzed into the kitchen with two empty cans of energy drinks. He acted like he didn’t hear us just talking about him as he casually threw his used cans into the bin my parents had for recyclables. His hair was shaggy and oily, and I doubt he had even properly showered in days.

“Do you want to work for Anthony?” I asked him pointedly.

His only answer was a snort. He never voiced what he wanted ever to our parents. He just let them tell him what he should or shouldn’t do and it always irritated me to no end.

“If you don’t, then tell Mom right now,” I demanded.

Sai took one look at her and then glanced back at me. “No, you say it.”

My jaw tightened as my throat dried up. “I’m not your middleman. You’re twenty-six, Sai. Speak for your own self.”

I pursed my lips into a thin line as I took off the apron I was wearing. I threw it on the moment I walked into the house because I knew my mom expected me to help make dinner. Whether I stayed for dinner or not, that was never any of her concern. I stalked over to the kitchen counter where my tote bag sat and grabbed it.

“Do you want to work for Anthony or not?” I asked again.

He blinked slowly at me, unaffected by the frustration I was emitting. “No.”

I turned to my mom. “If this is all you need me for, then I’m leaving,” I said. Her face turned bright red as I slung my bag over my shoulder.

“You ungrateful bitch!” my mom instantly yelled out. I turned to her with tears burning the corners of my eyes. Her face pulled into a menacing scowl. “Oh, are you going to cry now, Shoua? Are you going to act like you’re the victim and manipulate me with your tears? Isn’t that what you always do to make me the bad person?”

I almost couldn’t breathe as I turned away from the woman who I call my mother. She was the reason why I couldn’t cry in front of others. It was because of these things she would always say about my tears—about how I used them to make her the horrible person—that I couldn’t bring myself to cry unless if I’m alone. Because of my mom, I couldn’t allow myself to be vulnerable in front of others. In case they used my tears against me like my mom did.

Without saying another word back to her, I stormed out of that house. If I didn’t, then I was going suffocate in there.

“Do you know how hard I had to work to feed you three kids and you can’t even look out for your own brother?” my mom screamed after me as she followed me from the kitchen to the living room. “I don’t know whose daughter you are, but you’re not mine! I didn’t give birth to you, you fat and conniving wench! You?—”

That was the last thing I heard before slamming the door shut so hard I could hear it echo through the quaint, quiet neighborhood. I clamored into my car with heavy breaths as I held back my budding tears and drove away.

My parents loved me, but I always knew they loved my brothers more. I’m the middle child and grew up with both of my brothers clearly being my parents’ favorites. My perfect older brother, Lee, was my dad’s and Sai, the smartest, was my mom’s.

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