“Is anybody home?” Mercedes called into the darkness of her house. She guessed her dad was still at work, while Wednesday night her Mom attended church. “Lincoln, let’s eat!”
Mercedes dropped her bags by the front door and headed into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled out leftover chicken stir-fry and the makings of a salad. Judging by the amount left, Lincoln probably hadn’t eaten yet. She hoped he was absorbed in video games with his goofy friends like in junior high, but those goofs never came over anymore. He had new friends that she didn’t like.
“Lincoln, let’s eat!” Mercedes pounded hard on his door. Nothing. “Lincoln, let’s go!”
The door opened. Lincoln glared at his sister. She’d noticed he’d been doing more of that recently, and he was participating in family time less and less. “What do you want?” he snapped.
“Less attitude,” Mercedes snapped back, earning another glare. “You hungry?”
“I’m good.” Mercedes glanced over her brother’s shoulder. She saw an open pizza box. She smelled the garlic, but something else too. Even with the window open, the odor lingered. She heard a cough and saw Joel, one of Lincoln’s new friends, on the floor. He wore expensive shoes.
“Don’t let Mom or Dad catch you,” Mercedes said. “I won’t snitch you out, but—”
“You’re right about that.” Lincoln’s once-cute smile curled into an in-your-face smirk.
Mercedes took a step back as if to size up her younger and much smaller brother. She sighed hard. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you see Callie—”
Lincoln started rapping about money, but Mercedes couldn’t place the song. She wished he studied more and wasted less time with Joel. Lincoln used to be a good student, but high school had come down hard. He’d dropped out of football and refused to go out for basketball.
“What are you up to?” Mercedes inspected him head to toe: new shoes on his feet and that smirk on his face. Their family had left their bad neighborhood, but Lincoln had brought it with him.