Screaming reverberates through the air. I jump and my mascara wand swipes across my face leaving a black mark on my nose. I turn towards my sister, Lauren, and we roll our eyes. Here we go again. Almost every morning my little brother Alex throws a tantrum about something. Whether it be homework, not wanting to eat what we have for breakfast, or because he just feels like it, he yells loud enough to wake the dead. I walk downstairs, the sound of my feet a mere whisper compared to the racket my brother is making.

Suddenly he runs up the tile hall and stomps up the stairs. Pushing me out of the way he slams his door. All the while he screams his head off. I throw a questioning look at my mother and she responds by pointing at the ripped up pages of a math worksheet. I pull my pre-made lunch out of the fridge and place it next to my backpack. Then, I sit down and eat a bowl of Coco Puffs sans the milk.

By now, Alex has come downstairs and taken his place at the table. His eyes are red and tears have stained his grey shirt. I smile at him hoping that his bad mood has gone, but he growls in return. Throughout eating my breakfast, Alex screams in my ear, “You’re so stupid!”

He kicks the back of my chair with each enunciated word.
“Stupid!”
Kick.
“Idiot!”
Kick.
“Dumb!”
Kick.
I am used to this and I ignore him.

“Mom, you are taking me to school this morning right? I have to meet with Mr. Cassell.” I shout as I run to my room.

“Yes!” She shouts back. I hear a loud groan and I immediately know that it is Alex.

“We are taking her?” He shouts. Again, I ignore him. This is normal behavior for Alex. His ADHD causes his attitude to vary. Some days he is slightly annoying and shouts bathroom humor at everyone and other days he is screaming his head off. I am ready by now and I grab the keys to our white suburban. I don’t see Alex or my mother anywhere and I yell up the stairs for them to hurry. Opening the front door I notice that Alex is riding his bike. Frustrated I shout at him that he needs to get off his bike and get in the car. He ignores me and bikes away disappearing around the apartment building a few doors down. I shake my head, unlock the car, and sit inside. I am going to be late. Finally my mom gets in the car and Alex follows soon after. He kicks the back of my seat and says,

“Why are we taking her? We should have made her walk. She doesn’t need to meet with her teachers because she’s going to fail out of high school anyway.”

He laughs maniacally and then leans forward toward my ear.

“B****.”

I jolt up out of my seat and twist around to stare at him. He erupts into laughter again. I glare at my mother and say, “aren’t you going to say anything?” She just looks at me. What Alex said hadn’t reached her ears. I shake my head and slump back into my seat waiting to get to school.

Finally I get into the school parking lot. Before I jump out of the car my mom says, “have a good day!”
Jumping out of the car and slamming the door, I ignore her words. Right as I reach the double doors that enter into the art classrooms, I plaster on a fake smile and pretend everything is fine. 

Several hours later, school has ended and I am heading home. I think to myself, “I so hope that Alex has calmed down.” But, as I walk up the front path I hear more screams. Immediately I run up to my room, sit down at my desk, put in my earbuds and plug away at my work trying to drown out the sounds of anger.

Half an hour later I don’t hear any more screams and I decide to get myself a snack. Slowly, I walk down the stairs. Making sure that Alex isn’t going to jump out at me and start yelling again. Instead, I hear a soft weeping sound. At the bottom of the stairs is Alex. Hunched over and shoulders shaking, he turns toward me slightly. All thoughts of eating leave my mind, and I creep down the stairs, wrap my arms around him, and rock back and forth.