"Alex! Alex! I swear, it's like talking to a wall. Can't you hear a word I'm saying?"

I quickly pull the headphones off my head and set my guitar aside. My mother's voice came unbidden into my thoughts when I had a brilliant line for a song's ending on the tip of my tongue! But the moment this line heard my mother Guinevere's shout, frightened, it flew out through the open window and got lost amidst the gray sky or the flock of seagulls. Or maybe it plunged off the rocky cliff, on which our house is located, straight into the foamy dark blue sea. And honestly, I couldn't blame it.

"Not a moment's peace," I grumble to myself. "How am I supposed to write a chart-topper to get out of here if I'm constantly being interrupted?"

"Alex, damn it!" My mom's voice rings out again from downstairs.

"Coming!" I holler back and rise from my spot, nearly knocking my head on the lamp hanging on a wooden beam. I've long outgrown this cramped attic room, but making a living with my talents for strumming the guitar at the local bar isn't easy. Still, I'm relentlessly working on my songs and music... And although I have only 200 subscribers on my YouTube channel for now, I know that once I write that hit, there'll be a million of them... Maybe even two million! And then, a contract with a label will be just a stone's throw away...

Lost in my dreams, I nearly trip over a stack of books cleverly serving as a makeshift leg for my bed. There, a volume titled "The State," along with textbooks on philosophy and political science share space with works by Aristotle and Hegel. Nietzsche resides under a small table near the window, diligently preventing it from wobbling. Although I dropped out of college, those textbooks still came in handy.

As I leave the room, my steps echo on the creaky floorboards as I make my way down the corridor and past my older brother Todd's room, where he's plucking the thick strings of the bass.

Why does mom never ask Todd anything, but only me?! She practically deems him enlightened, living in some state of nirvana, while I'm just... a lazy bum. I kick Todd's door and continue down the spiral staircase.

As I descend, I accidentally step on a sheet of paper generously smeared with paint. Before I can fully process it, I'm nearly deafened by the ear-piercing screams of Stacey, my younger sister. She's only seven, but her screams could compete with a steamboat siren! I can't fathom how any child is capable of shattering eardrums like that.

"Mama!!! Alex ruined my painting!" Stacey pounds my thighs as I try to peel her masterpiece off my sock.

"I didn't ruin anything! It just got better!"

"It now has a mark of your stupid foot!"

"There's more talent in my foot than in all of you!"

"Stop it!" Mom's voice drowns all of us out. Stacey and I fall silent, but she manages to hit my hip again before snatching her painting and rushing upstairs. "How many times do I have to call you, son?" Mom preaches. "You were in your headphones again?"

"Mom, if you need anything, why don't you ask Todd?"

"Todd is busy," mom retorts. "He can't be disturbed!"

"But I can?!"

"Oh, enough with the arguing! Go to the store and buy some food," she hands me a list but no money. Yet I know better and don't even dare to ask. Mom goes on, "Your sister is coming today, have you forgotten? My love, my pride and joy!"

"Well, since she's coming, can't she buy food on the way?"

"Alex!" She frowns at me. "We need to set the table and give her a proper welcome! And celebrate her engagement!"

"Is she coming with her fiance?"

"Of course, they are coming together!"

"And where to?"

"What do you mean, where? Here! Have you hit your head or something?"

"Mama!" I gesture around the room. "Take a look around! We're all packed like sardines! Where are we going to fit Melinda and her boyfriend?"

The room on the first floor is the largest in the house, and it serves as a living room, kitchen, and dining room altogether. And when everyone gathers for dinner, we have to maneuver carefully with our plates to avoid bumping into anyone or anything.

"Enough! Off to the store!" Mom cuts me off and points to the front door.

I roll my eyes and shake my head. It's pointless to argue. I open the door and see Melinda, my older sister. She's standing at the bottom of the broken stone staircase and smoking. Dressed in trendy jeans and a stylish jacket, oversized sunglasses hide half of her face, she looks stunning. It's like she stepped out of a shampoo ad or some high-end perfume commercial. It's like a wealthy woman visiting a poor man's home. Behind her, as if hiding, there are two plump suitcases.

"Hey," I say.

Mel takes off her glasses and places them on her head like a hairband. "Hi," she puts out her cigarette with the tip of her shoe and squints her eyes, scanning me from head to toe. "Is this a new fashion?"

At first, I don't understand what she means, but then I glance at myself. Little devil Stacey left paint-stained handprints all over my jeans and shirt. The jeans suffered the most as if I fell into a pool of gouache. But going home to change would only result in a new clash with my mother, and I have no other clothes to wear! These are my only pants!

"Decided to give mom a heart attack?" I retort when I notice a new bold tattoo on my sister's shoulder.

"Oh, give me a break," she snaps back. "Better help me with the suitcases."

"Could your fiance do that for you?"

Melinda's gaze changes strangely, but she doesn't reply. It's only then I realize she's standing here alone, with two huge suitcases. The puzzle in my head finally clicks together...

"Alex, are you still dawdling?!" Mom's voice pushes me down the stairs, and I hurry past Melinda, deciding that I'd rather run to the store than be forced to lug those suitcases up the narrow stairs. They can have fun without me!