~Chori’s POV~

Summer was finally here! School was finally out! Every teenage girl would be out sunbathing in their bikinis, splashing in the sparkling cool ocean, playing volleyball on sandy beaches, shopping at the air-conditioned malls with their bffs, and sitting on green park benches with their boyfriends while eating ice cream cones. Well, every teenage girl, EXCEPT ME. Do you want to know why? First of all, I’ve never dated before in all my 15 years, so cross out the eating ice cream part. Secondly, my umma was kicking me out of the house to go five hours away to go stay at my Dad’s for the rest of the goddarn summer!

            I begged, pleaded, groveled, bribed, and threatened my mom but to no prevail.

            “You haven’t seen you appa in years! And don’t you want to meet your step-mom and new baby brother?” Umma said with a tone of finality.

            Ugh. My parents divorced two years ago, which left my mother struggling to support herself and me. She never did find the time to remarry. My appa, on the other hand, remarried in an instant and, BAM, I got a little brother. I’ve never met their side of the family though, and I’m not exactly looking forward to. Nobody in the right mind would like their step-family, right?

            Umma made me pack my bags to accommodate for two whole months of boredom and hell. I called all my friends and sobbed my heart out to them. They were sympathetic but they had much more interesting things already planned out (like scouting out cute guys) instead of listening to me and my problems. Before I knew it, my appa drove over to pick me up, I was thrown into the front seat with my luggage, and shipped over to where my appa lived.

            The five hour long drive was silent and quite awkward, considering how I haven’t seen my father for two years.

            “Don’t worry, Chori,” my dad said, breaking the silence. “You’ll love it over at my place. It’s quite a small town, so I expect you’ll make friends super fast. Plus, I own Choi’s Ice Cream Shop, and I already scheduled the weekly hours that you’ll be working!”

            I gaped. Say what? I would be spending my entire summer working?

            My appa ignored my silence, and spoke cheerfully, “Oh, stop your frowning, Chori, honey, it’ll be fun! Choi’s is a really popular social location! And you’re getting paid!”

            I could tell he was trying to cheer me up so I gave him a quick sideways hug and mumbled, “Thanks Appa…”

            Appa shot me a smile. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he said excitedly, “Oh yeah. I forgot to mention your other good news! During your free time, you get to baby-sit your little half-brother Kiwoo!”

            I groaned inwardly. Oh brother………. Literally….