My name is Lanai Montigo and I live in Bridgeport, CT. I’m 15 years old and starting my sophomore year at the Applegate Academy. I’m the last born in a set of triplets, Liam and Lila. There’s nothing special about me. I’m just some rich girl at my school. I have more money than the average person so you’ll think I’m happy and spoiled just like any other rich girl. But that’s far from the truth. Money can’t buy everything.
Yeah, I live in a big fancy house in the suburbs just outside of Bridgeport. What do you expect when both of your parents are famous music artists. My dad, a DJ, singer, and producer. My mom, a singer since she was my age. My parents are well known and of course, the public knows who about my siblings and me since we were born. We were just days old when we showed up on the cover of a popular magazine. We grew up in the limelight but now as teens, we are slowly fading away from the public’s eye. There’s nothing really special about us and my our doesn’t post pics of us on her Instagram as much as she did when we were kids.
“You’re not extraordinary. Just a rich girl, plain and boring.” Those words from my mom echoed in my head. She’s displeased cause there’s nothing special about me. No talent, nothing unique, not even a birthmark. Just ordinary.
With the first day of school coming up and I felt like I need to stand out. Liam is a star student, a chess champ, math whiz, gaming champ, and my mom is proud of it. Lila may act odd or dress strangely but even she has special. Lila is a well known Youtuber with thousands of subscribers. She live steams her gaming with funny content, goes on wild adventures, and does make up tutorials. And I play the guitar poorly.
Money can’t buy me talent or a personality. It does buy me friends. I would give anything to be something cool like my siblings.
“Ugh! I’m so boring! I have a pretty face but boring. I need something cool. Hmm. Maybe Lila can give me a makeover and she can Youtube it. I bet that would be cool. I can’t go another school year being boring. Maybe a hair?”
“Whatcha think, Dakota? Should I get a haircut or something?”
“Arf!”
“Maybe a new hairstyle then. I dunno if I’ll look right with a haircut. I need something, girl.”
“Arf! Arf!”
I went to Lila’s room hoping she could help me. She was busy at her computer but I felt I should bother her anyway.
“Hey sis, maybe you can give me a little makeover and you can record it for your channel?”
“What?”
“Give me a makeover. Please?”
“I would but I’m busy editing a video. I got a schedule ya know.”
“So that’s a no? Really? Tomorrow is the first day of school. I could really use one.”
“I tried once before but you ran away.”
“You wanted to give me a mohawk!”
“It would have been cool.”
“No! You can do my hair but no mohawks, Lila! I’m serious.”
“I wish I could Nay-Nay but I got so much to do. Maybe ask Flo?”
I headed to Flo’s room, she’s our live-in nanny and housekeeper. I wasn’t shocked by the actions between my dad and Flo. This has been going on for years but we pretend to be clueless about it.
“Borage, no. I gotta pick up my room.”
“C’mon, you can do that later.”
“But I can’t. Your wife is home.”
“She’s busy.”
When they think they are alone, they aren’t. Usually, I or my siblings would see our dad fooling around with Flo. I just wish they would hide their affair better than this. What teen wants to see their dad have sex with another woman when he’s married to my mom. This situation is crazy.
“Just a little quickie. I miss you.”
“I miss you too but it’s not right when your wife is home.”
“When is it ever right?”
“It’s never right, Dad.”
I hid behind the car as my dad left the garage. I waited for Flo to return to her room before speaking to her. Why am I not mad at them? Cause my parents’ marriage was an arrangement done by my uncle Cergio. My mom loved my dad but my dad never loved her. My dad fooled around a lot. I don’t like it but that’s how things are. I like Flo, she’s like a mother to us. Honestly, she has been more of a mother to us than my mom has. Mom is busy a lot with recording, tours, and shows.
“Flo can you help me with something?”
“Sure, like what?”
“A makeover. I’m boring and I wanna stand out tomorrow at school. I don’t want to be my plain Jane self again like I was last year.”
“Lanai sweetie, you’re not boring or plain Jane. You’re very beautiful and talented. I heard you play the guitar and you’re sounding better each time you play. There’s no need to stand out. You’re perfect as you are.”
“You really think so? I think I suck at playing the guitar. It’s not like I’ll be a rockstar like my parents but I guess I’ll keep trying.”
“Maybe I can find a teacher for you. How would you like that?”
“Oh cool! I’ll like that a lot if you think I can play.”
“You know you can play. You need some confidence. Just believe in yourself and you’ll find that you can do many other things.”
Feeling good about myself, I headed up to the park near with my siblings Liam, Lila, Luna, and Bora. It was a nice evening out and our last day of summer vacation.
“A game of chess?”
“So I can lose?”
“That would be the point.”
“Ha! I think I can beat you this time.”
“You think so?”
“I’m a believer.”
“You’re on.”
“I caught dad and Flo again.”
“Where at this time?”
“Garage.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Shut up! Don’t help me, Liam.”
“Mom was home?”
“Either Dad is getting bolder or doesn’t care anymore.”
“He’s really not careful.”
“You think Mom knows?”
“Of course Mom knows. She’s not dumb or anything. Mom just doesn’t care.”
“How do you know this, Lila?”
“Trust me, Mom knows.”
“She’s right. They didn’t get married for love, it was a contract.”
“Move that piece.”
“Don’t help her!”
“Thanks, sis.”
“Anyway, Mom knows Dad cheats. We know the truth about Luna and Bora. Our parents never hired a surrogate mother to have the twins. Dad had a girlfriend who was the mother and she was killed in a car accident. Cergio was the one who made the cover story.”
“You really believe it was an “accident”?”
“Don’t start with the conspiracies, Lila. Total accident!”
“I believe Uncle Cergio was behind it.”
“Lila, our uncle is not a murderer. Stop it.”
“You never know, Brother.”
Lila and I sat down on the deck while Liam played with Luna and Bora. My leg hung down above the pond and trill my leg in a circle as I watched my reflection.
“Still want that makeover?”
“Nah, I think I’ll be fine. I talked to Flo and she gave me some much needed confidence.”
“You sure? You can make a bold statement with a mohawk.”
“Mom would freak.”
“Totally.”
“So you’re gonna be okay?”
“Yeah, I was just a little dramatic.”
“Cool. I think Uncle Cergio is behind that missing woman mystery. I bet he knows where Shila Shlio is.”
“Lila, stop it! Ha ha ha.”
“I’m serious! Why does he have a lake house in Auberon that he won’t let anyone go see. That woman is there.”
“You and your conspiracies about Cergio. Ha ha ha!”
