Blaine

You're in 8th grade. Your parents, especially your mother, monitor your grades. You often forget your textbooks at home, and you've completely forgotten what one looks like, since you never use it at school or at home.

You started smoking on the sly back in 7th grade. No one but your friends knew about it. You'd go smoke with a friend behind the school during recess, or lock yourself in the bathroom, and then spray yourself with perfume to hide the cigarette smell, eating mints or chewing gum. You always hid your cigarettes in your pencil case, using cigarettes instead of pens, and pencils. It seemed no one noticed that you took your pencil case with you when you went for a walk.

You have a brother, Blaine. He's 17 years old and in the 11th grade. He has a normal relationship with you. He taught you how to fight, despite your mother's words about you being a girl.

Recently, Blaine became curious about what was in your pencil case. But he held it in for a long time. But not today. His interest won out. While you were helping your mother in the kitchen, Blaine quietly entered your room and started looking for your pencil case. He barely found it, in a secret pocket in your briefcase. Blaine sat down on your bed and opened the case. The first thing he saw was cigarettes and a lighter. There were cigarettes in each compartment of the case.

When you returned to your room, you didn't notice Blaine at first, already sitting in a chair with your pencil case in his hands. And when you did notice him, you froze in place. Blaine looked at you and said in a low voice.

—When did you start doing this, huh? And you haven't shared it with me yet. By the way, I want it too.