Chapter Two
Primadonna

DANIEL AND AMANDA basically took Sydney in as their own daughter. Since she was little girl, she was already apart of the family, and they had watched her and Sam grow up into beautiful young girls. Sydney spent so many sleeping at their house, joining them for dinner, and her and Sam always had countless sleepovers. She learned to appreciate family more because of Daniel and Amanda. She sat at the table with them and watched Daniel cut up sushi in front of them. "The yunagi, yanagiba, depending on the region, is a knife used exclusively for cutting sashimi. I picked up this bad boy on my first trip to Okinawa." Daniel educated, flashing his fancy knife.

Sydney smiled at his excitement.

"Voila," he announced and put a piece of sashimi on a small platter. "The famous Larusso ponzu toro."

He placed the plate in front of Kyler but he shook his head, "uh, no thanks. I don't like sushi."

Sydney turned to Sam. "You didn't tell him we were having sushi?" She whispered.

"It didn't come up." She whispered back and cringed.

Daniel looked disappointed.

"Are you sure you don't want to try a little piece?" Amanda insisted.

"It melts in your mouth," her husband boasted, trying to convince him.

"No, fish kind of grossed me out." Kyler denied again while laughing.

Sydney felt second hand embarrassment creep inside of her.

"No, you like fish! What about fish sticks at school?" Sam tried.

He laughed again. "Oh yeah, fish sticks are dope." He looked at the parents. "You have fish sticks?"

Daniel shook his head. "Uh no, just this fresh fish I picked up from the Japanese market this morning."

"This is going exactly as I hoped it." Sydney said out loud, low key enjoying it.

Sam leaned on her hand, feeling embarrassed.

"Why don't we go see if we can find Kyler something he can eat?" Amanda suggested, trying to lighten the situation. "Sam, you want to come with me to the kitchen?"

The mother and daughter got up and went into the kitchen. Kyler scratched the back of his neck and Sydney talked her nails on the table, the awkward silence killing her. "Well, you know how much I love your food, Mr. L." She insisted.

It made him smile. "Yes I do, Syd." He responded and stood up. He leaned over and put some of the sushi on her plate. "Thank you." He whispered.

Sydney winked and used her chopsticks to pick up the sushi. She bit into it and hummed at the delicious taste. "Gets better every time."

"Thank you for inviting me over, Mr. Larusso," Kyler finally spoke, his voice monotoned, "um, you have a really great house. And I think Sam is really cool too."

"Really cool?" Sydney repeated, her eyebrows raised.

Daniel gave her a look that read I got this. "Well,  thanks. She takes after her mother," he replied to Kyler, "and listen, I never liked sushi when I was your age either. It wasn't until I met s good friend of mine to at it began to grow on me."

Kyler only hummed.

"He was from Okinawa. Where are your parents from?"

"Irvine, I think."

Sydney refrained from bursting out laughing. "As much as I'm loving this, I gotta get away." She said and scooted her chair back. She left them to continue talking, much to Daniel's dismay, and she went into the kitchen. "Sammy, he is a complete airhead. Get rid of him!" She yelled in hushed voice.

"Syd, honey, that's not nice." Amanda scolded.

She threw her hands up. "Sorry Mandy but I have great judgement on people and my judgment is telling me that he is completely wanker."

Sam quietly groaned. "Please, Sydie, I know you can't stand him but he's actually a really good guy. Just please be nice?" She begged.

Sydney, a blank look on her face, crossed her arms.

"Pleaseeee. For me?" Sam said again and gave her puppy eyes.

"Oh, don't give me that look." She rolled her eyes. Sydney looked to Amanda, the woman giving her the same eyes. She groaned. "Okay, okay, fine. You two are lucky I love you."

Amanda smiled. "That's my girl." She kissed the side of her head.

After the excruciating dinner and Kyler finally went home, Sydney and Sam went upstairs to her room. "That was very painful." She sighed and went to grab some pajamas from Sam's dresser.

"I can't believe that just happened," Sam complained and fell on her bed, "I mean, why do I have the worst luck?"

"Because you have shitty taste in men."

"Like you don't?"

"I never said I didn't." Sydney replied and started to change into the pajamas. "Why do you think I don't date?"

"But I really like him." Sam groaned and leaned on her side.

"Then perhaps teach him some manners," her friend insisted and climbed on the bed. She sat criss crossed beside her.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, moving on. Have you decide your costume for the halloween dance?" Sam changed the subject.

"Definitely something hot." Sydney answered with a smirk, "like maybe Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears. Pop Star vibe, you know?"

"That would be cute. Yasmine wants us to go as Laker Girls."

"You mean she wants you to wear short ass skirts and tops that show your breasts?"

Sam was silent. "Yeah. . ."

Sydney chuckled.

Sydney stood in front of the mirror in Sam's room putting the backs on her diamond earrings. She hands grazed the diamond necklace around her neck, a reminder that her parents would be home in a few days. "Sam, do you want a ride to school?" She asked.

Sam clasped her sandals and stood up, smoothing the skirt of her sundress. "Kyler's picking me up." She answered.

She pulled a face. "Ew, you have to put up with him enough at school. You want to be trapped in a car with him, too?"

"Why are you so mean?"

"My childhood." Sydney emphasized grabbed her bag. The two of them headed downstairs, Amanda in the kitchen and Daniel standing by the window, stalking Kyler in his Jeep. "Good morning, beautiful people!"

"We're off to school." Sam announced.

"Have a good day girls!" Her mother told them.

"Au revior!" Sydney said and followed Sam out of the house.

Kyler kicked off the wheel of his Jeep and greeted Sam with a kiss. "Hey, beautiful."

She gagged and got in her car, watching with discouragement when he didn't even open the door for Sam. "Dumbass." She muttered and started her car.

Counselor Blatt was in the lunchroom that morning to make an announcement. Sydney paid for her lunch and went to sit with her friends. Miguel, sitting with Eli and a kid she somewhat recognized but couldn't remember his name, watched her walk him. When she sat down, their eyes met for a second, and she looked away.

"Cyber bullying is not laughing matter.  Sending a cruel message to someone online can be just as harmful as saying it to their face." Blatt started.

Sydney listened boredly while twirling her hair, the other girls texting away on their phones.

"I'm not going to name names, but the other day a mother called me up because her son was crying after some kids online made fun of his facial deformity."

Immediately, everyone's eyes directed to Eli. He covered his lip sadly as everyone laughed. Sydney sucked in a breath through her nose, watching everyone laugh, including Yasmine.

"But today, our goal here is to make this school a safe space for all students."

"Tell that to the kid I saw with a broken nose the other day in the nurses office." Sydney scoffed, making Moon chuckle.

"Oh,  and one last thing!" The counselor added. "While we're all looking forward to the halloween dance, let's make sure costumes are culturally sensitive!"

She groaned and tossed her head back. "Here we go again."

"For example, instead of  sexy nurse, maybe try gender-neutral hospital employee."

"That would please my parents."

Aisha was sitting at the table beside theirs. She scooted back in her chair. "Hey!  I got a great idea for our costumes this year." She whispered to them.

"Um. . ." Sam hesitated.

"I was thinking I go as sodium, you go as chloride, and Syd goes as potassium and when people ask what we are,  we say we're electrolytes."

The three of them shared a laugh.

Yasmine leaned in. "Is that some kind of dumb inside joke you guys have?" She butted into the conversation.

Sydney looked back at her blankly. "It's basic chemistry,  Yasmine."

Her expression changed into discouragement. "Yeah,nI was kidding."

Sam looked back at Aisha with guilt. "We actually decided to go as Laker girls. And Syd's doing her own thing this year."

"O," Aisha responded sadly.

"But maybe we can order another?"

"They're one size fits all," Yasmine interrupted again, looking Aisha up and down. "Which suddenly feels like false advertising."

Sydney sent her a glare. "Careful." She warned.

With a frown, Aisha scooted her chair away from them. Sam stared at the back of her head somberly. Sydney hid how she was feeling by continuing to mess with her hair.

When Miguel walked into Spanish, Sydney was there at the same table, the seat next to hers empty. He had half the mind to find a seat somewhere else after their first interaction. There were plenty of open seats. But his feet fought against him and he took the empty chair by hers. She glanced at him but didn't speak. Neither did he.

Señora Perez entered the classroom. "Hola everyone!" She greeted. She motioned to the chalkboard that she had written a sentence in Spanish. "Can anyone tell me what the board says?"

Sydney had no clue and she felt embarrassed because of it.

"Come on! Talk to the person next to you. Help each other out." The teacher encouraged.

Miguel, very clearly knowing what the board said, looked her way. "D-Do you know what, uh, it says?" He stuttered.

She tried keeping her lips shut so that he'd get the message. But the longer she stared at the board, the more clueless she felt. "No." She answered simply but it was obvious she felt uncomfortable.

He blinked a few times, twirling his thumbs on the desk. Looking to the front of the classroom, Miguel raised his hand, their teacher pointing at him. "Yes, Miguel?"

"Uhh, S-Sydney and I think it says, uh, intellectual growth should be commenced at birth and cease only at death."

Sydney almost gave herself whiplash from how fast she looked at him. Her eyes went wide and she felt shocked. "Albert Einstein." She blurted out, knowing the quote.

Miguel met her eyes.

Señora Perez smiled at them. "Very good you two." She praised.

It seemed like time passed by quickly after that. When class was almost over, Sydney glanced at him again. "Thanks for that. You saved me from almost having a heart attack." She said, half joking.

Miguel fought back the smile he felt coming. "Oh, no, it's fine. Perfectly fine." He spoke nervously. "But, um, if you ever need help, I-I can always help you." He offered.

She eyed his braces longer than she should have. He also had a baby face. When the bell rang, Sydney blinked and grabbed her bag. "I'll pass." She missed his fallen expression. "See you later, Michael."

His jaw dropped and Miguel watched her walk out of the room. "Uh, i-it's Miguel, actually."

Sydney joined Sam and her family that again that night for dinner. Anthony was with them that time, having came back from his sleepover. "I mean, I feel bad for Aisha, but at the same time I don't want to dress up as a molecule compound." Sam voiced her concerns about the dance.

"I dunno, I think I could make it work," Sydney said casually.

From beside her, Amanda nudged her. "I totally get it,  but just because you guys aren't wearing the same costume doesn't mean you can't hang out at the dance together." She encouraged.

"Speaking of the dance, I got an email from the school," said Daniel, "they're looking for chaperones.  They seem desperate."

"Yeah, no kidding. Who wants to spend their Friday night in a sweaty gym?" His wife grimaced. 

"You're off the hook. I said I'd do it."

Sam dropped her fork and gave him a look. 

"What? Come on, Counselor Blatt and I go way back. I couldn't leave her hanging."

Sydney was smiling. "I think it's great."

Sam shushed her. "Mom?" She said desperately.

"Uh. . ." Amanda said and huffed. "Come on Daniel,  would you want one of your parents at your high school dance?"

"My mom drove me on dates, okay?"

"Yeah, and how'd that go?"

Daniel gave her look.

"This is so not fair." Sam huffed and crossed her arms like a child.

"Oh, lighten up Sam, I bet we won't even notice he's there," Sydney objected.

"Yeah, I bet you'd feel the same way if it was your dad."

"Right. I guess I can't say anything seeing as he's not here." She said back bluntly and bit into her food, her tone causing everyone to go quiet.

Daniel and Amanda glanced at each other while Sam looked down at her lap, feeling guilty. "Don't worry,  Syd's right. I'll be a ghost." He got back on track.

"Ghosts are lame." Anthony spoke for the first time all night.

"Yeah, I'm not talking about a costume. It's just an expression."

"Just promise me you won't embarrass me?" Sam begged.

Sydney rolled her eyes at her ungratefulness.