cul–de–sac Jax was two years older than Rosalia and me, and had always been the undisgrated king of our Minnetonka cul de sac
My sister Rosalia was a total firecracker from day one–charm talking her way into everyone’s good graces
All our relatives were obsessed with her, always scooping her up and fawning over her. And Rosalia? She ate it up like candy
She’d flash that million–dollar smile, eyes crinkling at the corners.
Meanwhile, I’d just stand there awkwardly staring at the floor.
After gushing over Rosalia, they’d eventually glance my way and struggle to come up with something like, “Liana is quiet.*
When the neighborhood squad hung out, Rosalia was all in–playing tag, building epic forts, and dominating kickball games.
I never clicked with the group, so I’d just sit in the sandbox with my plastic bucket, doing my own thing.
This one time–I don’t remember exactly when–Jax got bored with the others and flopped down next to me, sucking on a Jolly Rancher while watching me dig.
Under his stare, I suddenly went into overdrive–frantically shoveling sand into my bucket until it spilled everywhere.
Jax squinted at me, totally confused “What are you doing?”
I slammed the bucket down in front of him, my eyelashes fluttering Like crazy. “For you. Take it all.”
Jax literally froze
He looked so shocked his candy fell straight out of his mouth.
After what felt like forever, he finally said, “Whoa, Lia. You’re kinda hardcore.”
Jax was always a complete wild card–in elementary school, he was the kid teachers dreaded having in class.
Sweet Aunt Jessica, despite being the chillest middle school teacher in Minneapolis, would completely lose it with him–threatening to take away his video games and chasing him around the house, her teacher persona completely forgotten.
But something clicked when he hit middle school. His hidden genius suddenly appeared out of nowhere
He claimed the valedictorian spot and never let go, and after destroying the SAT, be applied to UCLA as his first choice and got accepted with a full scholarship
