THIS IS ME TRYING

1: Special

LUNA UGLIANO had always wished to move away from New York- well, mostly to move away from her father. Her dad, Gabe, was a miserable man: always drinking, lazy, obnoxious,
cruel- there was a lot of negative words to describe his behaviour. Nevertheless, Luna had promised herself she would never end up like him, no matter how hard her life got.

Her mother figure had never been around and Gabe refused to speak about her. After years of asking, Luna eventually gave up, almost having excepted her fate. Luna imagined she was a beautiful woman- she would often paint portraits of what she thought she would've looked like. The paintings were always the same: red hair, lots of freckles, blue eyes, a gorgeous smile.

Painting was a hobby that calmed Luna down, mainly due to her ADHD. It helped her focus on one thing at a time, making her brain go silent for a while. She almost hyper-fixated on her art. It made her feel at peace, thought it was always interrupted by...

"Luna!" Gabe yelled from the couch, "Luna! Grab me a beer."

"I'm painting!" Luna shouted back, rolling her eyes in frustration. She placed her canvas on her desk, which was covered in paint brushes and pens, before putting on her rucksack.

"Who do you think you're yellin' at?" Gabe questioned, his voice lowered and more intimating than before, "You forget how much I've done for you. Raised you. Fed you. Put a roof over your head-"

"This isn't even our apartment." Luna interrupted, as she walked out of her room and towards the kitchen.

Luna and her father had been staying with Gabe's new girl friend and her son. Luna would normally cause a fuss, yet this girl friend is different to the rest of his hook-ups. She actually cares for her son, and Luna, whilst managing to deal with Gabe all at the same time. Sally Jackson had the kindest soul, she was an understanding mother figure that Luna had only dreamed about.

Her son, Percy, was rather nice yet he only spoke sarcastically- Luna had sworn she had never heard him speak in a normal tone. However, Percy's sarcasm was a key asset to his and Luna's bond, which never made it awkward for the two to hold a conversation if they needed to.

Gabe stood up from the couch threateningly, "What'd you say to me, kid?" He paused at Luna's silence, "Say it again!"

"I said it isn't our apartment." Luna deadpanned, as she used a butter-knife to spread jam across her sandwiches, "Because it's not our flat. It belongs to the Jackson's."

"Excuse me?" Gabe provoked, "You sayin' I haven't earned my place here. 'Cuz, let me tell you, I'm the one making dollars here-"

"Sit down, Gabe." Sally Jackson interrupted calmly, and the man did so, as she packed Percy's lunch in a brown bag. She turned to Luna, "You excited for the trip to the Museum? I know Percy is."

"Uh, I guess so." Luna replied, with a slight shrug, "I'd rather stay home and paint."

Sally smiled, with a slight chuckle, "Your art is incredible. Have you ever thought of selling them for money?"

Luna shook her head, "I paint for my own benefit. It's a waste if I sell it, you know? They have too much meaning."

Percy strolled out of his room, his eyes scanning the surfaces, "Mom, where's my pen?"

"I don't know." Sally replied, "Where did you last have it?"

"Well, if I knew, I would've found my pen by now." Percy said sarcastically, before squinting at the girl, "Lu, have you stolen my pen?"

"And why would I do that?" Luna questioned, "I have a perfectly good one in my bag."

"Percy, you're just gonna have to use a pencil today." Sally rushed, as she passed the boy his bag, "Come on, we're late."