Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond Page B

so I’d have a decent amount to work off. I’d be so good at it, but I couldn’t be too good, because I want the trainer to get in my face and yell at me and climb on my back and stuff.”
    I couldn’t see exactly why she wanted to be on the show so badly. There was a lot of crying, screaming, and falling over on my TV. “Losing weight is terrifying,” I said. This guy was ready to pass out on a treadmill, and this lady was ready to deck him in the face. “Why won’t she leave this dude alone? He’s going to die.”
    â€œHe just needs tough love,” Naomi said. “He probably doesn’t have anyone back home to yell at him like this. Watch, in three months, he’s going to look like a model. You know, if you gained the weight, I could be like Jillian. That might actually be easier for me.”
    â€œI may never eat again,” I said. In the next scene, this girl was ready to quit—finally, some common sense—and Jillian flipped her lid. Then the guy trainer overheard and pulled the girl outside, and he was flipping his lid, too. Then my phone buzzed. I pulled it from my ear and saw a text from my sister Mel that just said Check your email .
    I sat up in my bed, pulled my laptop in front of me, and signed in to check my e-mail. I had a message from Mel with the subject dinner .
    Mel lived in her dorm at college a state over about an hour or two up north, and every few weeks she’d come down to stay with Mom and my mom’s boyfriend, Seth, and she’d take me out to eat or we’d go to a movie or something. That’s the kind of invite I was expecting when I opened her e-mail. But it wasn’t quite that.
    Hey four eyes, you free Friday? I’m going to mom’s, I’ve been thinking about it and I want you to come with me. I know it’s weird for you but I’ll be there. I think it would be good for both of us. I’ll take you out for ice cream after. Let me know? ~Mel
    Seeing Mom became more difficult, it seemed, with each month that passed. At first, the idea was to spend time at Mom’s and live with Dad and we’d all still be together, but it didn’t work out that way, and the further we got from that time, the less I wanted to go. I’d seen her maybe twice since Dad and I moved, and not once since she moved in with her boyfriend. That made it worse. Sooner or later, I had to get it over with. I didn’t want to sever ties indefinitely, but she wasn’t on my immediate to-do list, either.
    I did want to see Mellie, though. And it would be nice to get out of the city for a night, and especially nice to eat something good. Dad and I cooked sometimes, but it was nothing I’d brag about.
    â€œ Auuugh! ” Naomi yelped.
    â€œWhat happened?” I asked. “Did Bob smack that lady yet?”
    â€œHuh?” Naomi asked. “No, they talked it out and hugged. But Tracy fell in the water, so Red Team only has, like, two people now! Are you watching still?”
    â€œI still have it on,” I said. “I got an e-mail from my sister. She wants me to go to dinner at my mom’s house. I don’t think I’m going to go, though. It’s a little weird, still.”
    â€œYou should go,” Naomi said. “Family’s important. Think about Disney World and the fireworks.”
    â€œThat was a long time ago,” I said. I thought of Naomi and the party, and how she went even though she didn’t like parties. She said it would be more fun if I was there. I wondered if she’d consider returning the favor.
    â€œI have a bad idea. This is, like, the worst invite you’ll ever get,” I said. “There’s basically no way you’ll want to do this. But here goes. Do you want to come with me to the world’s worst family reunion? I’m basically at war with half of my family, so it promises to be an unpleasant time.”
    â€œYeah? I’m always