Reed My Lips

I was deciding whether to pack my knitted jumper or my loosely knitted crop top when my phone pinged. I looked down and saw it was my friend, Celestina.

Hey, can u chat Her message read. I hit the video option on my screen and waited for her to pick up. Seconds later, I saw her face appear on screen.

“Hey Tina, what one should I bring?” I said, holding up the two options I had been contemplating.

“Hmm, maybe the proper jumper, didn’t you say it was cold in Trefach?” She said, squinting at the screen.

Yeah, you’re right. So, what did you want to chat about?” I dropped my phone on my bed and put the jumper into the suitcase my mum had given me.

“Well, I was just thinking, if Ian isn’t available anymore, why couldn’t you date one of the other boys? I mean, if I wanted to date one of them, would it be ok? ‘Cause um, y’know I’ve liked John for a while, but I didn’t want to get in the way of your plan with Ian and I just want to know if it would be ok?” Tina’s disembodied voice carried over the bed to me. I got up and picked the phone up. I thought about it for a moment.

“I think it would be ok, you just might not be as popular, yeah? If it’s Connor, it would be fine, ‘cause his social status almost matches Ian’s and mine, but John? He’s a bit… lower. Just saying.” Tina bit her lip thinking about it.

“Yeah, you’re right,” She said looking away from the phone momentarily, “Yeah, ok. Sorry, my mum wants me to get some more flute done. Ok, I’m coming! Give me a minute! Sorry. Right, bye, Text me all the goss from your trip, AS IT HAPPENS! Bye!”

“Bye.” I said and put my phone down again. That reminds me, I need to pack my clarinet for the stupid concert thing Mum wants the whole family to put on.

As I got my case ready, I noticed it was missing something.

“Mum!” I yelled, “Where’s my cleaning cloth?!” I ran down the stairs, looking in the living room for it. I usually practised there, so it should be there, but it wasn’t.

“MUM!” I yelled again.

“Lara, stop shouting and come and find me!” Mum shouted back from what sounded like the kitchen.

I stepped around the corner in the kitchen and saw Mum trying to fit too many pots in one bag and sighed.

“Mum! Leave the pots. Aunty Brenda will have plenty. And where’s my cleaning cloth?” Mum looked up at me and blinked a couple of times.

“Oh, I put it in the wash, it looked dirty.” She started to unpack the pots but I saw her putting some to the side so she could pack them later.

“Mu-um!” I yelled, incredulous, “I need that to do that stupid concert this next week! Is it washing now?” I said, not waiting for her response and thundering into the laundry room anyway. There it was, spinning around in the water, all the other clothes tumbling around it.

“UGH!” I stormed out of the laundry room, through the kitchen, the dining room and up the stairs. I slammed my door for good measure and barely heard my mum calling something probably threatening up the stairs. I rolled my eyes and saw a text from my dad.

Gonna be home late, tell mum

Sorry 

I sighed and chucked my phone back on the bed. I flopped down next to it, dreading the week to come.

♪♪♪

“Larissa! Ben! And Laura! How nice to see you all! Come in, come in!” Aunty Brenda’s enthusiastic greeting didn’t bode well, especially since I could see the mess inside. I walked in anyway, and as soon as I did, I was attacked by my younger cousins playing with their cars and dolls. The two girls, Milly and Maria, tried to give me dolls to play with and the boys, Thomas and Jamie, drove their cars all over my feet and suitcase. I shook them off, disgusted, and asked Aunty Brenda which room I was in. 

Thankfully, I was staying with my older cousin, Abby. I trudged up the stairs and peeked into the rooms, trying to figure out which one was Abby’s. I didn’t have to look very long, because the third room I came to was full of her stuff, thrown all over the two beds and the floor. I sighed knowing this was going to be a long week.

“Oh, hey Riss, I was just going to look for you. Do you want to have that bed?” Abby said, walking into the room and pointing to the slightly less messy bed. She was the only one who called me Riss, everyone else just called me Lara.

“Sure,” I said, dumping my stuff on the only empty space on the bed, “Who are we sharing a bathroom with this time? Do you know?” She looked up at me from her phone.

“Uh, forgot to check. Sorry.” Then her head went back down. I sighed and started chucking her stuff off of the bed. I laid everything from my suitcase on my bed, making sure it wasn’t messy and put it in the set of drawers every room has. I left enough space for Abby if she ever decided to put her stuff away and sat on my now clean bed. Suddenly I heard a noise outside. I went to our big window and realised what side of the house I was on. My window was almost directly across from the one on the house next to us and I could see a very familiar bedroom through the blinds. So, I guess they haven’t moved yet. This week was going to get even worse.

“Oh yeah, the Masons are still there. Didn’t you like one of them before you moved?” Abby said, not looking up from her phone.

“No, one of them liked me. And I hated him.” She must’ve seen me at the window so I moved away from it quickly. As I walked out of the door, Abby spoke again.

“Well, it seemed like you liked him to the rest of us. Just saying.”

“Shut up!” I yelled back to her and stomped out the front door, going for a walk I used to go on before we gave the house to Aunty Brenda and her big family. I was watching a squirrel jump from a thin branch to another, thicker branch when A voice startled me.

“Well, well, well. I didn’t think I’d see you again.” He said as I whipped around and stared in surprise at the boy before me.

“Aiden? Or Jayden?” I asked, looking into the boy's eyes for the answer.

“Who do you think? Jay never appreciated you the way I did. Trust me, I asked him. So, how’ve you been?” I blinked in surprise at Aiden, for once at a loss of words.

“W-What?” I finally got out, startled by his response.

“Well, you know I liked you. I mean, you never returned the affection, in fact, you used me a bit, but I don't blame you. You liked Jay and that was the way it was. But let me tell you now, he’s got a girlfriend and she’s a nasty piece of work. I wouldn’t go near him now. But I’m still free for the taking. Just saying.” He smiled that lopsided smile that he always used to smile when we were younger. And he was still as honest as he was back then, never not saying his mind, whether or not it was relevant or normal. I blinked again and laughed out loud.

“I can NOT believe you just said all of that! Do you seriously think I’m still into you? Are you still into me?! Look Aiden, I was never into you, and I didn’t use you. I was just trying to get you out of my hair. And frankly, I hoped I would never see you again. You’re a loser, and your brother is a jerk. I didn't come back for you, I only came back for my mum and my aunt. So If you could leave me in peace, I would greatly appreciate it.” I turned back around and started walking away. 

“Ok, if that’s how you feel about it. Also, How are you NOT cold? It’s freezing out here and you’re in a crop-jumper with a thin shirt underneath it.” I could practically HEAR the shrug in his voice. I continued walking but yelled over my shoulder to reply to him.

“It’s called ignoring something! You wouldn’t know what that is, you never got the message when we were kids! Bye!” He said something else, but I couldn't hear it.

♪♪♪

“Hey! Lara!” I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see the one face I had been hoping never to see again.

“Seriously? Why are you at my Aunt’s Christmas party? And WHAT are you WEARING?!” I said, looking at his hideous Hawaiian shirt and stripy tie. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed us talking, and low and behold, Abby was watching me. She gave me a sly smile and a thumbs-up as if to encourage me to do the worst thing I could possibly do: continue this conversation. I rolled my eyes at her and focused on whatever Aiden was saying to justify his horrible costume.

“So really, this was my only choice. And why did you choose to wear your dress tonight?”

“Uh, it looked nice on me?” I said, unsure what his response would be. He nodded sagely and gestured towards the food table.

“Do you want a drink?” He said an open look on his face. I shrugged and we made our way through the other guests and eventually reached the table. He poured me one of the ‘Kids drinks’ and we both stood around the table, sipping awkwardly. Eventually, we started talking about all the things we had been doing since I moved, and occasionally, I would see Abby across the room making stupid faces at me. In the end, I gave her the finger and she left me alone. Then, I spotted a stranger with a relatively plain face and shoulder-length brown hair. The only noticeable thing about her is the shocking purple colour of her eyes that I could see from across the room. I blinked and she was gone.

“So I didn’t really know what to do so I just left. Lara? Are you ok?” Aiden said, looking concerned. I shook my head to clear it and when I saw his increasing look of worry I quickly assured him I was fine.

“Yeah, sorry, I just thought I saw… never mind. What were you saying?” I could see Aiden visibly relax as he carried on talking about how he and his brother gradually grew apart.

  “You know,” He said, “We should do this more often. You’re here for another couple of days, right? Well, maybe we could meet up sometime?” I nodded, a smile creeping along my face.

“Yeah, that would be really nice.” I said, and for the first time in a while, I really meant it.