"What?" I blinked slowly. This isn't real; I was obviously trapped in some sort of twisted Alice in Wonderland wormhole. "He's so shocked he can't even say anything," the crowd laughed. Shocked doesn't even begin to describe what I was feeling. I didn't even know what I felt if I was being honest. Maybe disbelief is the word I was looking for. "Why would you spring something like this on me, and what went off in your head that made you think this was the way to do it?" I snapped. "Zack, you're embarrassing me," mum gritted her teeth. Her once happy tv appearance was gone. "I'm embarrassing you? I'm not the one who shoved a camera in her son's face even though he's repeated told you that he hates it. I'm not the one who had this huge thing in front of a fucking live studio audience. Have you lived in the limelight so long that you can't distinguish reality from this fake world?" I gestured to the crowd besi
The second my door clicked shut, I reached for my phone. My thumb hovered over my third emergency contact. She's in practice, I shouldn't bother her. I leaned my head against my bed, only to end up in an insanely uncomfortable position so I slumped down so my neck didn't feel like it was seconds away from breaking. I huffed and dropped my hand. I really wanted to tell her about all of this; I knew she would have supported my behaviour, unlike my so-called stepmother. Should I send her a text? No, I wanted to talk about it. With nothing else to do, for the time being, I stared at the ceiling. I never noticed how high it was. It appeared like a waste of materials if you asked me. My stomach loudly complained to me, disrupting the quietness in my room. "Ok, time to eat," I said to no one in particular and pushed myself off the floor. I quietly opened the door. Noting the silence, I cautiously walked out of my room till I got to the top of t
The silence that followed mum's whole manifestation spiel was odd, to say the least. Perhaps though, that was just the way I perceived it. She continued to eat as if she wasn't a thirty-something-year-old woman talking about 'manifesting a baby'. I knew she went to high school and often claimed that biology was one of her favourite subjects so my confusion was highly valid and extremely justified. In fact, if I weren't confused, I would be the weird one. My guess is that she was hanging out with Gweneth Paltrow too much; yes that was it.I bit my lip to stop the laughter; I still couldn't comprehend her statement. I wonder what Kiara would say when she heard about this? No doubt, she would try to pull a tightrope stunt; she would try to be polite while still maintaining her sarcastic charm. Kiara would fail miserably but, that just ensured her authenticity. She wouldn't be mean on purpose, especially not to my mother, so I never took it to heart."So mother
I stared dead ahead, arms crossed and back straight. This wasn't my usual seat but a certain someone was occupying the space. ''Um Zack hey, whatcha doing here?'' Kiara asked as she came to stand in front of him. ''I saw on his story that you were having a party, so I decided to come over since my invitation seemed to have gotten lost,'' I huffed. I knew I was acting spoilt. I was acting really spoilt but I couldn't help it. With everything that happened today, like the drama with my mother, having this stranger in Kiara's house late at night was not the twist I needed. ''There isn't and, there won't be a party. Sorry to disappoint but you can go home now,'' she said with a shrug. She wanted me to leave; she was practically pushing me out the door. Why? All I wanted to do while I was with my mum was to go home and see her there. Since I knew she wasn't going to be there, I came to find her and now she wants me to leave. I looked at her with furrowed brows, ''Why do you wan
Kiara and I talked for the rest of the night. We avoided what I said and I didn't mind. It was going to be one of those cringy memories that keep me up at night. By three am, Kiara fell asleep. I had to give her props, she lasted longer than I thought. "Kiara," I whispered to make sure she was actually asleep. I didn't get to tell her about the drama with my mum. She would have laughed till she was blue or rather purple. I made a mental note to tell her about it later. "I love you," I kissed her forehead and carefully unwrapped myself from her. I headed downstairs and out the door. If I knew my mum, and I knew my mum, she would be awake and waiting for me. The quiet night and bright moon that illuminated the streets brighter than the streetlights made me feel like I was the only person in the world. The feeling wasn't a bad one; it was rather refreshing. I was usually surrounded by so many people so a few moments alone was always appreciated. The time on my phone read three f
I listened a bit more, and the noise persisted. There were no sounds of shattering glasses or broken furniture. Were they the quiet kind of burglars? I contemplated whether or not I should wake up Kiara. If I were being robbed, I would want to know. On the other hand, Kiki has had it hard enough, so perhaps she didn't want to know. Ignorance is bliss and all that. Plus, I didn't want her getting in the way and ending up in the hospital. I also had the option of going down there myself. Yes, that seemed like the best option. I slowly unwrapped myself from Kiara's suction grip and crept downstairs. I peeked around the corner and, thankfully, did not encounter a burglar. The sight before me, however, wasn't any less shocking. It was a man gliding around the kitchen with ease. He was humming and dancing as he mixed ingredients in a bowl. He also made a mess of flour and eggshells on the counter, so he was no Masterchef, that's for sure. I wish I could see his face, I wanted to see the
As I glared at Lucas, I imagined all the ways he could die. I just know in my heart that it would be super dumb. He would probably choke on a chicken nugget or fall into a sewer. Perhaps he'll be run over by a Honda Civic or an equally dumb car. ''Do you plan to keep making eyes at each other for the rest of breakfast or...'' Kiara started before she trailed off. I started choking on the air. I coughed and shook my head in hopes of getting those horrible words out of my system. If only I could go back in time and plug my ears to stop myself from ever hearing those words. Lucas was also coughing up a storm. He should feel honoured if I even looked in his direction. "Why are you acting like that? As if you'd be so lucky to ever be in a relationship with me," I rolled my eyes at him. "I don't think you understand the meaning of lucky. I'm not surprised you don't," Lucas clapped back. "Haha, you're so funny. You should do stand-up. At least you have something you could do becau
I sat across from Daniel and watched him as he ate. I knew him so, I knew he wouldn't have eaten anything if I had left it up to him. The twins who could barely form a complex sentence were better at eating than he was. I looked at the time and if I didn't leave soon, I'd be late. Daniel was eating slowly on purpose. That little twit loved to get under my skin any way he could. I should have just thrown him away when I had the chance years ago. "Can you speed this up?" annoyance was very evident in the way I spoke. "Can you give me back my laptop?" he mocked. "Why are you even rushing? We don't live that far from school. Plus, we both know it'll never happen between you and Kiara, right." "Way to give your brother a boost of confidence, " A message came in on my phone just as I was about to slap him. It was from an apparent classmate of mine, Kayla. Kayla and I have never really interacted with each other. I had no idea what her personality was like, but I've seen her around cam
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