Page 97 of The Genius
CHAPTER 21
Promises
Shelly
“Mom, if people knew how you live they wouldn’t take you so seriously,” I said and took a look around her kitchen, where colorful furniture were mounted on the wall in ways that the people who built them had never intended. A dresser hung on its side, the drawers converted to narrow pull-out shelves and its legs horizontal with pans and pots dangling from them. Next to it a beautiful glass cabinet hung upside down with plates stacked on what had been intended as the underside of the shelves.
My mom smiled at me, her dark hair flat against her forehead and just long enough that she could tuck it behind her ear. “Shelly, life is supposed to be fun – you never understood that, did you?”
“I’m fun.”
“You’re quirky, that’s not the same thing.”
Stabbing my fork around my salad I wrinkled my forehead. “How could I not be quirky? I grew up in a house with shoes and chairs glued to the ceiling.”
My mom looked up. “It’s an art installation.”
“Hmm.”
“People are too limited in their thinking. That’s why I’m so proud of you, my dear.” My mom leaned forward and cupped my cheek. “You’ve never been afraid to think outside the box.”
I gave her a small smile. “True, but what if I’m so occupied by everything that’s outside the box that I miss the good stuff inside the box?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve never been normal.”
My mom pulled back and scoffed a little. “Normal. What is that anyway? Certainly not something to strive for.”
I sighed. “You always say that, but with being normal comes invisibility and for someone like me it sounds like a superpower.”
“You lost me.”
“I’m Shelly Summers,the genius.”
“So, I’m Sheana Rene Summers, the councilwoman. We all have an identity.”
“But don’t you ever wish you could walk around and have no one expect anything of you?”
My mom dusted crumbs from the table into her hand and put them on an empty plate. “No. I’m proud of who I am and the role I serve.”
“Yeah, but that’s because you’re awesome. I’ve only got this explosion of thoughts in my head and half of it sounds idiotic even to me.”
“Who cares? No genius ever came up with only brilliant ideas.” Sheana gave me a soft smile and squeezed my hand. “I’m beginning to worry about you, honey – where is this new self-doubt coming from and since when do you care what other people think?”
“I don’t.” Turning my head, I searched for a way to tell her that the only approval I cared about was Marco’s.
“Are you sure? Something is different about you. It’s not those letters that Charlie told me about, is it? I was so shocked to hear you’ve been getting hate mail. You know, I told him not to worry about you because you never cared about such things, but seeing you like this, I wonder.”
“It’s fine, Mom, those letters are irrelevant.”
She was watching me with her interest, as if I was a riddle to solve. “Maybe you’re developing a social interest? Heaven knows you’ve always been liked by people. I would welcome it if you let some of them in.”
“I have friends,” I said a bit defensive.
“Sure, but do you ever see them?”
“I saw Tristan not so long ago.”
