Excerpt of Uncharted by Claudia Burgoa

JACOB

“Can we order them online?” Matthew whines while waving the booklist in front of me. We could, with a few clicks and a credit card, but I want to have the whole college experience, and that includes the campus bookstore. “Think about the hours of sleep I’ve missed already.”

Not even glancing in his direction, I continue my way to our destination. Moments like these make me wonder if we made the right decision about heading to UW instead of following our sister to UT. AJ would help with babysitting Matthew—and maybe me too. Instead of a dorm, perhaps the parents would’ve leased an apartment for the three of us. She’d clean, I’d help her cook, and we wouldn’t be miles apart.

I won’t ever admit this in front of her, but I miss my sister. We’ve gone months without her because of summer camps or vacations. However, this situation is different from the others. This time she’s going to be far away for years. Two bachelor’s degrees, a master’s, and whatever else she plans to do with her life. Matthew tried to persuade her not to go to Texas. We even agreed to follow her to any music school that accepted her, but she declined all of them.

As my brother and I discussed our options, Seattle won. Our parents own an apartment they are letting us use, we have access to the recording studios, and our father Chris visits Seattle often. Neither of my parents plan on visiting my sister. Both avoid being seen with us in public. A part of our daily life, living in the shadows because of their fame.

“We’ll go in and out, Matthew James.” I push on the glass door, and as we enter, we both stop in our tracks. The entire place is jam-packed— clearly the first sign we’re in the wrong place and why we should find a way to move in with Princess-bitch. She’s usually the one who keeps us organized. Without her, I have to create my own evil plan. “You get in line, I’ll gather the books.”

“Can we come back at a better time?” He hunches his shoulders, using a dreadful voice. “No.” I fight the urge to slap him in the back of his head for behaving like a child. “Your job is to stand in line.”

I hurry through the mass of college students, gather the books on the list, and head back to where MJ waits.

“Here, carry your own shit.” I hand him half of the stack and keep the other half.

“They’re heavy.”

“Why buy two of each?” That’s a rich question coming from the guy who had issues lending his toys, and sharing his drums, guitar, or any other object he owned.

“For the same reason our parents always bought two or three of each.” He gives me a hooded glare. “You have trouble sharing and making decisions on what you want to do. This is college, not home.”

He shakes his head, rolling his eyes in exasperation. The mane of dreadlocks dangles along with his face. “Dude, I’m not a child anymore. We’ll take one set and save some of that money they gave us.”

I hang my head without uttering a word. He dares to tell me with a straight face that he isn’t a child anymore. The dreadlocks and Jamaican hat imply the opposite. The outfit he wears screams party: “I’m here for the beer, the sex, and whatever else they throw my way.”

“Humor me, MJ. Let’s take both sets.”

I plan on having fun too, because all work and no fun isn’t my game. However, he’s all fun and little work when our parents aren’t around. Just one reason why I’m hauling his ass. The main reason is because I have no fucking idea what I would do without him. This dude and I have never been apart. Never. Ever. And the thought of that happening this soon scares the shit out of me. I’m not ready to face the freaking real world without him. One day we’ll do it, but not yet.

“As long as you do my homework, you can buy as many books as you want, Jacob.” I slam a hand on my forehead. That had been a stupid promise.

He wanted to be an English major, a useless degree that would take him too long and would be a waste of our time, as we both want to pursue our music career. He made the right choice when I explained that the more time we spend in college, the more we have to push the release of our second EP. The band is our life. We started it two years ago, released a few singles and one EP, and toured with a couple of bands. Nothing too far from the West Coast, but we do have a small fan base.

Pushing him toward finishing school with me was easy, as I’d promised to help him study, do his assignments, and be his personal butler for the first month. As far as I’m concerned, in a couple of years we’ll be as famous as our father, Chris, and we’ll hire our own butler. If we can stick to the plan for one entire school year, we’ll earn our freedom.

“No, Mommy.” I hear a soft voice behind me. My ears tingle with the sound and it makes me look that way. “I’m telling the truth.”

A black curtain of curls blocks the view of the female subject that piqued my interest. She holds a bunch of old books, and her eyes remain on the floor, even when I clear my voice trying to grab her attention. That’s when I realize she’s on the phone. I stare at her olive colored legs and the fun, pink Converse sneakers she’s wearing. Time to implement some of those moves I keep in reserve to lure a girl in. College awaits. If only I had done this while we toured—flirt with girls. However, Chris traveled with us and used his hawk-like vision, steering us away from trouble. The two times he was unable to join, he sent his trusted friend and bodyguard, Arthur Bradley. Unlike the other bands, we were escorted straight out of the venue once we had finished playing. College is the opportunity to expand my horizons, get acquainted with the opposite sex, and have sex. My brother elbows me, giving me a warning glare. Choosing to ignore him is a no-brainer. With a beauty like this, I couldn’t have picked a first college fling better if I’d tried.