My gaze flitted between Lucas and Zack as they glared at each other from across the dining table. I swear I saw dark clouds and lightning flashing in the background. I was surprised I didn't hear a deep voice shout 'Fight!'. Who knew I had such melodramatic people in my life? I thought I was the actress in the group. ''Do you plan to keep making eyes at each other for the rest of breakfast or...'' I trailed off. Both gasped and sputtered as if they just swallowed a huge gulp of salt water. Their faces looked like it too. They were once again trying to take my role as the actress in the group. ''Look, I don't get why you both don't like each other. I mean you guys like me so, you already have something in common. I don't see the problem,'' I said between bites of my 'crispy' pancake. ''He abandoned you for twelve years and then just waltz back into your life like it never happened. That's ridiculous,'' I'm sure it wasn't twelve years. I was about to say something that would def
''Oh, sorry about that. Lucas, this is Zoa and Kevin. Guys, this is my dear older brother Lucas,'' I introduced them to each other. They exchanged greetings while I dug in the food Lucas bought for me. A jumbo hot dog and iced tea. It was pretty good, minus the icky relish he didn't ask them to leave off. The tea was also too sweet and the hot dog was not warm enough. Perhaps I was just trying to find fault in the food so I could justify my bad mood. That was a thought I didn't want to get into so I tried to focus on the rest of the game. Everyone seemed to be really interested in it. ''They are so annoying. Do they ever shut the fuck up?'' Zoa said to me as she sipped her iced coffee. I thought it was odd to drink coffee at nearly 11 at night, but I was drinking black tea so, I wasn't going to call the kettle black. I laughed and nodded,'' All they do is yap on and on and on. They make chihuahuas seem like librarians,'' The game ended so we decided to get more food since the gam
''I don't think we should do that,'' Kayla said as she gnawed at her, no doubt flavourless, gum. She did so quite loudly might I add. It has been irritating me for the last ten minutes, yet I said nothing. I'm holding out hope that it'll just fly down her throat or she'll chomp down on her tongue instead. Either option works for me honestly; I wasn't picky. ''Why not?'' I asked. I had my face in my hands and no life left in my being. I was just waiting for someone to end my misery because I was beyond done with her and everyone in this dumb council room. ''It sounds boring,'' ''Well, what do you suggest?'' I put on my best girl scouts on icing sugar voice. We were trying to find a theme for the dance this year. Everything, and I mean everything, I suggested Kayla denied. I'm not sure why she has a say, but I guess her sleeping with Zack gives her the power to do that. It was unconstitutional if you ask me. Sleeping with Zack is something you'll never know about. How sad. Sh
I often wondered why Zack and I became friends. That thought would lead me to wonder how we stayed friends for so long. Sure we were similar, but we were also very very different. Zack was naturally charming and well-liked, he was a huge fan of tomatoes and pickles on the other hand I was an awkward, unfriendly people-hating tomato avoiding, pickle despising person. It didn't take someone with two brain cells to see how different we are yet we've been friends since the very beginning of time. I'm convinced we were friends in a past life as well. ''Why do you think we're friends?'' I asked Zack as I rested my head against his chest. We were in my room just enjoying each other's company while my laptop played some random sitcom in the background. ''I don't know. They say opposites attract so it might be that,'' he shrugged not giving my question much thought. ''Don't they say that about couples?'' ''I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it's just for people who are opposite but are att
I tried keeping my sobs to myself by stuffing the warm cake in my mouth. I felt Zack glance over at me but he kept quiet. I could tell he really wanted to laugh at me but he knew better than that. It's not my fault that I'm an emotional person who gets attached to every character to ever exist. It's part of being human. It's part of being a giant pain in the ass. "How comes you weren't sad when Victor cheated on Mia?'' Zack turned and asked me. "That was really a gut-wrenching scene and you sat there stone-faced as if you were watching an Adam Sandler 'comedy'," ''That's a valid question. Maybe it's because I never really liked her too much,'' I said not really focused. ''You like everything,'' he said incredulously. ''Not everything,'' I defended. That much was true I liked most things. Please note the word most, it's the keyword here. ''Name one thing you don't like,'' ''Kayla,'' ''I said a thing,'' he pointed out. I decided to remain quiet because I was done with this
''Why are you smiling like that? You look like the Joker. It's really freaking me out. Stop it, stop it right now,'' Lucas said as he opened the fridge to take out the juice. ''My apologies for being happy dear brother,'' I sarcastically replied. ''Apology accepted,'' I looked around for something to throw at him but, unfortunately, I came up empty-handed. Sure I could throw the broom I had in my hand but I was using it. ''You're lucky I like this broom,'' He laughed. ''Want a glass?'' I nodded and went to get the shovel. ''So when are you two going to get together?'' Lucas asked. He said that so casually. My eyes widened, ''I'm sorry?'' I asked, my palms sweaty. I kept my eyes on the line of dust that refused to go in the shovel. ''It's so obvious you guys like each other,'' he casually replied. ''I have no idea what you're talking about,'' Just because you deny it doesn't make it less true. ''Whatever,'' Lucas dismissed. He was going to bring it up later. He could
''Hey pal, what's up buddy? You look good. Is that a new shirt?'' I asked and tried to subtly look around to find an exit. Just like me to get myself into this sticky situation. My palms had gotten clammy, I had no idea what was going to happen. Zack knew almost everything about me, stuff like what I was afraid of or how to easily poison me; he had the potential to be my biggest enemy. ''There is no escape,'' he said lowly as he took steps towards me. I took a step back, he took one forward. Ultimately, my back ended up flat against the closed door. I gripped the cold handle tightly in hopes that it will cool down my sweaty palms. I just knew that I would end up regretting my attempt at murder, I just didn't know it would happen so soon. You know your mum always warns you about things like these but, as is know mine decided to forgo that task among many, many other tasks. If I die, I'll haunt her. That's if I could find her. ''Come on Zacky boy. You won't harm me, right?'' I as
''What should we do to her?'' Lucas asked as he took slow menacing steps toward me. ''I don't know,'' Zack answered. He stroked his imaginary beard and thought deeply about different ways to torment me. ''Hey, I have a suggestion,'' I jumped in, ''Maybe we focus on the good part of this night,'' ''Oh yeah, and what is part is that? The time when you threatened to drown me or the time when your brother tried to blind me,'' Zack asked. He's so dramatic and for what? What does he gain? ''I didn't try to blind you and you were on my sister. I'm the one that's blind,'' ''So what? Why do you care about what we do?'' Zack asked. ''Because she's my sister,'' Lucas said as if it were the most obvious thing ever. ''Your sister, not your property. She's her own woman that can make her own decisions,'' Could have fooled me. I decided to sneak past them as they argued back and forth like little children. I felt like having another slice of cake and a glass of chocolate milk before bed.
I listened to Kiara crunching on the bright red apple she grabbed on her way out the door. My eyes quickly took in the neon yellow numbers on the dashboard. According to it, I did not have enough time to stop by Starbucks to get Kiara some breakfast. Of all days I did not have food stashed away in my car, this was the day. Usually, I had at least a granola bar, but when I took my cousins on a joyride the other day Charlie gobbled it up. I don't blame her, they were delicious. Unfortunately, I forgot to replenish my stock. I tried to recall if I had any snacks in my backpack. What about the pack of nuts? No, I ate them one morning when I had to rush out with food. You had a bar of chocolate, where did that go? Oh right, I gave it to Kayla when she was feeling lightheaded. I was truly out of options. I feel so bad. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Kiara would get extremely crabby without proper nourishment. Plus, she would not focus in class and she really needed to focus
I stood outside Kiara's house and just stared. I left earlier than usual to enact my plan. I was going to sneak into her house and make her a feel-better breakfast. If she felt like talking I would listen, if not then I would simply share a meal with one of the most important women in my life. Yet, I could not seem to get myself to move. I was scared. Scared that she would turn me away, just like that night. I was terrified that she would blame me, but nothing made my heart ache more than the thought of never seeing Kiara again. Before I could turn away, my cousin's voice resonated in my head. When she was leaving yesterday she told me such simple words, something you could easily get off the internet, yet coming from her it made sense. "Just be there for her. It may not seem like you're doing much, but it would mean the world to her," Just be there for her. I could do that. I was great at cooking. I would be there for her while providing delicious food. Food made everything bett
I put down my textbook, accepting defeat. There was just too much noise for me to study. Can't a guy relax with some chemical equations in his own home anymore? Where was the humanity? The consideration? The house was extra packed today because my mum's side of the family is in for a visit. Mum has a younger sister named Auntie Abby. Auntie Abby is amazing, she has always made me feel like a part of the family even though I was not related by blood. Auntie Abby has two daughters, twin girls who are just as nice as their mother. Uncle Patrick, Abby's husband, and I also got on since we both loved science. In fact, Uncle Patrick was a scientist and last I heard he was researching a new bacteria that was found frozen in the Arctic. "Where's our little cousin?" Bernie asked from outside my door. "You do realise that I am older than you right," I opened the door and welcomed the bear hug from both Bernie and Charlie. "Shut up," Charlie laughed. They always said they were the older
I looked back at my mum who sat on a bench to the side, naturally, she chose to be seated in the shade. She was texting someone on her phone. It should be anyone, but the one person I really hoped it was not was Uncle Lionel. My parents tried to hide what happened between them from me, but I hear things. Today was supposed to be a good day, I should focus only on good things. With that mentality, I turned towards the beauty. If all the girls at my new school were this pretty then I definitely would not mind moving. Initially, my dad lived close to his family which meant I got to visit my aunts and cousins whenever I wanted. They were the only ones who kept me company when Dad had to travel or be at the office until two in the morning. I also loved our old apartment. It was big enough for me, him and Roger, the dog. It was our only little cosy place. Before my dad got married, he told me that we would have to move somewhere else since the apartment was not big enough for all of us. I
I puffed out my cheek, using a finger I poked each one. In my head, I figured I looked exactly like a chipmunk so what better thing to do than chirp like one. I barely paid attention to my stepmum as she hushed my little brother. He cried a lot. He also slept a lot, but I figured if you spend half of the day screaming you'd spend the other half sleeping. My stepmum, who I call mum, says babies cry because they miss being around us. I do not think I believe her but babies did stop crying when you gave them atention so she could be right. "Hey honey. Are you excited to spend the day with your mother?" she sat beside me on the couch. Daniel's fat little arms reached up to grab her hair. The day he was born I felt so happy because I finally had someone who I could spend time with. My dad sad I'd have to wait a bit longer befoe I could actually spend time with him. "I guess. It'll be nice to see her again after four or so months. What time is she supposed to get here?" I held my brothe
"How long is the cake going to take?" I whined. The sweet scent of the cake permeated the house. This was not helping my craving. Kiara checked her imaginary watch, and with a look of concentration, she told me that the cake had ten minutes left. I had no reason to call her bluff. I would be satisfied as long as the cake was not burnt, I would eat it. After all, Kiara took time out of her day to bake a cake with me. Who was I to disregard her efforts? "Can you turn off the lights?" Kiki asked as she finished straightening the bedsheets. From where I was standing I could already see her pulling up the movie. It did not take long to find it since the page was already bookmarked on her laptop and mine. I turned off the lights as she requested and slid into my usual spot- on the left side of her bed. Within seconds her attention was glued to the opening scene. The very same scene we had seen so many times that I could rewrite the entire script from memory alone. I knew the exact sce
I gathered as many ingredients as I could while Kiara got the bowls and cake pan. I took a backseat while Kiara measured and mixed everything. There was something mesmerising about watching her move around the kitchen so naturally. For someone who did not like Maths and Chemistry, she did really well at creating recipes. I would suggest becoming a food scientist if she were not such a natural actress. "Am I going to need to add vanilla?" Kiara shouted over the sound of the pastel blue stand mixer I got her a few years ago. "What?" I called. "I know you heard me!" she jabbed me in the side with a spoon. "Yes, you are going to need to add vanilla," I smiled at her while she rolled her eyes at me. I dipped a finger into the batter after Kiki had mixed the flour and sugar with the other ingredients. I would risk salmonella any day just for some raw batter. Kiki, on the other hand, was cautious and complaining. She complained about the butter being too cold and the eggs not being warm
I wanted cake. Carrot cake to be specific. Actually, any cake would do. Perhaps it was because I was truly craving something sweet or perhaps it was because I was currently smelling Kiara's shampoo or it might have been one of the products she used religiously. It smelt sweet, yet I couldn't pinpoint exactly what I was smelling but I liked it. It reminded me of cake. I was about to angle my head so I could get another whiff of Kiara's hair when she spoke up. ''Why do you think we're friends?'' she started. She looked up at me with her beautiful big caramel-coloured eyes. She blinked her long dark lashes as she waited for my answer. I wonder if she could hear my heart race as she rested her head on my chest. I prayed my shirt could somehow muffle the sound. I glanced at her laptop which was playing a sitcom we found. I guess we both decided to use it as background noise. I thought about her question. We were friends because I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and wanted to
I glanced over at Kiara. Her eyes were closed. Her hand moved along to the beat of Alicia Keys. Did she know she was humming along? I doubt that she did. I have found that Kiara lacked awareness from time to time, I didn't mind nine times out of ten. I found it cute how she would sing louder at the parts she was sure of and mumble along to the parts she forgot. With Kiara's singing, my mind went back to what happened when I was dragged away that morning. I ended up missing the first session of the day. I would need to ask Kiara and the teacher for the notes because if I knew my best friend I knew she had mostly doodles with a sprinkling of words in her book. I locked the meeting room as Kiki and I watched towards our lockers. I tried to get her to talk about the game, but Kiara preferred to ignore things. That was one thing I wanted to change about her. Discussing what upsets you is a good thing, we don't have to do it the second a misfortune happens, but it needs to be done.Since