DEAR YOU [Part 2]

Chapter 20

Coraline

“So what about winter dance?” Mark said turning towards me. We were walking to our next class, it was weird how after spending so much time together it was as if our classes have merged somehow. I almost spent the entire day with Mark and what was new was the fact that not once did I ever feel weird or awkward or the need to end a particular conversation and just rush out of there with no reason.

He made my day better, everyday and even though I wouldn’t ever admit it but he actually made me happy.

Being happy was a very rare emotion to me, most of the people bring out a different emotion in me basically being anger or annoy but he didn’t. He was my friend and it felt good to maybe lower my walls down a bit, just a bit.

“What about it?” I replied while checking my notes, making sure I didn’t forget my paper on anatomy.

“You going?” he asked raising his right eyebrow. His way of asking perfectly reflected how well he knew my answer.
I gave him a look confirming what he was thinking.

“Great, me neither.” He gleamed.

“Why what about your girlfriend?”

“Out of town.”

“I see. So whats your plan for us?”

I have known him long enough to know that he had already made a new plan for us to enjoy or for him to enjoy. He was one of those people who had a fear of missing out on life, on fun so I knew the minute he looked at me that he wanted something.

“How about we hangout? Watch some classics and eat enormous amounts of junk until we become junk.”

“Perfect.”

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I inserted my key and with a click, the door opened. The house was empty and thus locked. My little sister, well not so little anymore, had entered that phase in her life when she was almost out all the time either watching movies with her friends or going to cafes, instagramming everything. You could tell more about her through her profile rather than talking to her but at the same time, you couldn’t.
My mother on the other hand also prefered to stay out of the house as much as she could. It was not that she didn’t want to spend time with her kids but just the fact that it felt to her as if she was betraying dad, spending time with us when he should be doing so.

I had accepted the fact that there was no more home for me, it was just a house. A house with three people who happen to be related by blood (co)exist. They talk, exchange salutations but all of it is superficial because the person who made it all real was gone, forever.

I threw the keys unbothered on the counter and scanned through the mail. It was not as if I was expecting any more responses, the one I already got was enough for me. Santa, he was enough.

Gaily eyeing the addresses on the covers I flipped through them but to my shock, I discovered another response.

This one was from a boy, maybe of the same age as me. He went on about the mess his life was but I couldn’t feel his pain which somehow bothered me. I wanted to feel his pain, I wanted to feel everything but I couldn’t so I put the paper back into the envelope and folded the top of the paper so as to close it.

I placed two plastic bowls in front of the television and on an oak table that my mom had so mindlessly bought from a flee market.
One was filled with popcorn and the other with chips. I was about to open the fridge and grab a two litre coke when the bell rang. 6:00, right on time. I liked the fact that he was not a second late nor early.