Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Dina: Speaking of family, is it true that you once said that you’re nobody’s favorite?
Arabella: I knew as soon as I said it that it would come back to haunt me. But I stand by it. I don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression. I’m loved. My family is supportive and caring. And I wasn’t treated any differently than my sisters when it came to gifts, chores, or attending school functions. But some things are subconscious.
Nevada is Grandma Frida’s favorite. She is the first grandchild. Grandma Frida still calls her “the baby.” I used to have a lot of butthurt over that. I’m the youngest. I should be the baby.
Both Grandpa Linus and Grandmother Victoria prefer Catalina. Grandpa does dote on me. I can come to him for advice any time, and he spoils me. But he doesn’t respect me. He doesn’t take me seriously. I’m humored. Grandmother Victoria mostly doesn’t notice I exist, unless I specifically get her attention. To be fair, she ignores Nevada and my cousins as well. She put all of her eggs into Catalina’s basket. And Catalina is welcome to those eggs. Dealing with Grandma Victoria requires a computer brain. I would lose my patience and smush her.
Dina: Is that why you kept your grandfather’s identity a secret after that incident in the hospital?
Arabella: Partly. Mostly I just liked having a bit of power over the two of them. Let me tell you, you have never met two more manipulative people. When they met, it had to be fate, because they richly deserve each other. Keeping their hospital visit private gave me ammunition in case I needed to use it. When one of them started planning something nasty, I could wave it around and threaten to expose the whole thing. It worked better on Linus than Victoria.
I did have to excuse myself and laugh hysterically for a few minutes when it all came out. You should’ve seen Catalina’s face. Ha! I shouldn’t laugh, because she really went through hell with the two of them, but her expression! I wish I had snapped a pic.
Dina: So back to being nobody’s favorite.
Arabella: Sure. We’ve covered grandparents. Mom is a person of great integrity. She tries so hard to keep everything equal, but if you watch her, you’ll notice that she pays slightly more attention to Bern and Leon. They had an awful childhood until they came to live with us, and she’s compensating a little. It’s not that she loves me less. That’s not it at all. It’s that she focuses on Leon and Bern, and when they are okay, she usually ends up putting out fires with Nevada or Catalina. It’s understandable. Nevada has baby Arthur, who might be a supervillain. I low-key keep waiting for him to accidentally destroy Houston because he can’t find his sippy cup. Catalina deals with her Warden crap and tries to run the House. I…
Dina: Fall through the cracks?
Arabella: Sometimes. For example, when it was Bern’s turn to go to college, we all had a lot of discussions about it. What major, how he was doing, how his grades were, and so on. Same with Nevada. When Catalina refused to go, it was a massive deal. Leon needed a lot of encouragement, and we all rooted for him. It was a group event to keep him on the path to graduation. I think we all should’ve gotten honorary degrees by the end of it, or like one of those coins military people get. Let me ask you, what’s was my major?
Dina: Accounting?
Arabella: That’s exactly what most of my family would say, except for Nevada, who saw my diploma. I double majored in Business Administration and Applied Magic Theory and got my degree in three years. I also have a Masters in Global Business and House Societies from Yale. I was admitted into the special semi-remote program for Primes there. To get in, you need a 3.8 GPA and two Prime sponsors who are not related to you. Really helps if one of them is an alumnus.
Dina: Who did you get?
Arabella: Augustine Montgomery and Stephen Jiang. I flew back and forth every other week for a year to attend debates and in-person lectures. I’d spend four days there and come back for ten. I paid for it out of my own pocket and told everyone I was going shopping up north. I would even bring back an outfit or two and parade around in them.
Dina: Did it work?
Arabella: Some. I knew when Leon figured it out because he started to make cute comments about my shopping trips. Leon is the best PI out of all of us. Alessandro tries very hard, but Leon is on another level. Maybe a tie with Nevada, except Nevada relies on truthseeking, and Leon is just that good. It’s really hard to keep things from him. He’s like a cat. Mom eventually told him to knock it off and stop hassling me, and that I lived in my own house and was allowed to have my own independence. I do love my little house on the edge of our lake. It’s my sanctuary.