Misunderstood (A Neighbor from Hell YA #1) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,56

boy who was currently glaring at her was able to go to school next year. If that meant that she had to pretend to play along and fill out applications and stumble her way through writing essays so that he would apply, then that’s exactly what she would do.

She knew Sebastian well enough to know that if she tried to push him into doing this for himself, that he would drag his feet. This way, he would be able to keep his options open and had a real chance of going to school next year. When he found out that she had no plans of joining him, well…

She’d figure that out later, because she wasn’t about to hold him back.

Not for something like this.

“You’re not going to military school,” Mikey said when he wouldn’t stop glaring at her, knowing that it was a good excuse as any to get him to do this.

“They’re not going to send me to military school,” Sebastian said, sighing heavily as he returned his attention back to the stack of applications that they had to get through.

“How do you know that? Did you talk to your parents?” Mikey asked as she shoved the other stack that she’d printed earlier out of the way.

“No,” Sebastian said, shaking his head as he reached over and helped himself to the stack that she’d set aside.

“That seems like a wise decision,” Mikey said, nodding solemnly as he sent the stack of available scholarships an approving look.

“Shut up and write,” he said with a mock glare that had her biting back a smile as she grabbed a pen and began filling out the first application.

For the next few hours, they sat on her bedroom floor, filling out applications, one right after the other until Mikey could barely see straight. One glance at the clock had her biting back a sigh and deciding that they needed a break. Decision made, she tossed her pen on the floor, reached over and grabbed Sebastian’s hand, and stood up, dragging him toward the door with Happy following after them.

“What are we doing?” Sebastian asked, sounding amused as he watched her carefully open her bedroom door and peek out, making sure the coast was clear before she pushed the door open all the way and made her way toward the stairs.

She didn’t answer him until they were safely downstairs and out of earshot of her parents’ bedroom. “We need a break,” she whispered softly as she continued to drag him toward the kitchen and once they were there…

Mikey found herself glaring at Sebastian when he pointed toward the stools lining the kitchen island. When he said, “Go sit down,” she grumbled, but did as she was told for the simple fact that she didn’t feel like arguing with him at the moment, not when they both knew that he wouldn’t make as big of a mess as she would.

While her mother loved to cook, Mikey…didn’t. Love it, that is. Every now and then, she liked to try her hand at cooking just to see what she could do, which admittedly, wasn’t much. It was also a gesture that went unappreciated by her family since they normally ended up staring at whatever she cooked with terror in their eyes, something that should probably concern her.

“Did they post the roster yet?” Sebastian asked as he searched the refrigerator for something to eat.

“No, but I already know that I’m not pitching,” Mikey said, trying to shrug it off like it was no big deal, but it was killing her.

“How do you know that?” Sebastian asked, throwing her a questioning look as he pulled out the pot roast that her mother made earlier and placed it on the kitchen island before grabbing the roasted potatoes, carrots, and butter.

“Because I found out today that the coach’s son and nephews tried out for the team and they’re all going for the pitchers’ spots,” Mikey said, biting back a sigh as he grabbed a cutting board, careful not to disturb the video equipment and laptop that her mother had set up for KaseyCooks.com on the large kitchen island that Reese built for her.

Slowly exhaling, Sebastian said, “Well, that explains it then.”

“It really does,” Mikey said, still not sure if she should be relieved by the news or not.

On the one hand, there was a good chance that the coach said what he did because he wanted to make sure that his son and nephews got the pitchers’ spots, but on the other