Our Story • cel

Search in Progress

- Chloe's POV -

"Any idea what your mom's last name is?" Josh asks without looking up from the directory. He's lying on the floor with my laptop and the phone directory in front of him whereas I, having starved for half the day, sat on my rolling chair with a bag of chips in hand. "I forgot," I mumbled, my mouth full of chips. "So your mom is really tall and has light blonde hair, like you, right?" Josh questions, referring to the list of things I knew about my mom. I nod in response, more interested in filling my growling stomach than #ProjectTrackback. Josh doesn't see my nod. He turns his head, his mouth half open as if to say more, but when he sees my slumped posture and uninterested expression, an annoyed look replaces his previous expression.

Josh reaches out and angrily grabs the chips away from me. "Could you at least put in some effort into this project? It's as if I'm the one with a lost mom," he reprimands, looking back at the directory again. As he reads, he subconsciously sticks a hand into the bag of potato chip to grab a few slices and stuffs them into his mouth eagerly. "Hypocrite," I mumble loudly. Josh looks up as if to reprimand me again, but realizes what he just did and turns slightly pink. I could tell from his expression that he was trying to think up a good comeback. It took him 2 seconds before he finally retorted, "I never said eating wasn't allowed. You just have to know how to multitask." I rolled my eyes once he was facing his book again so he wouldn't see it.

After awhile, I started feeling bored, so I got off my chair and rolled on my back on the floor next to Josh. "Hi, I'm looking for a lady who's tall, slightly taller than me, with light hair and a sharp nose. She abandoned her baby many years ago. Have you seen her? If you have, contact me!" I say, mostly to myself, mimicking what a typical "lost person" poster would say. "She has a sharp nose? You never told me that," Josh comments. I simply shrug. "You know Chloe, your mom looks a lot like mine. Maybe their twins, or distant relatives or something. That'd be so cool!" Josh adds. "Yeah! We'd be relatives then!" I exclaim with realization, rolling over onto my stomach. Something in Josh's expression changes. "What?" I ask, worried that I may have hurt or offended him. "Nothing. I'm just not sure I want us to be relatives," he replies quietly before busying himself with the directory to avoid further conversation.

I watch as he flips through the 'Lu' part of the directory. That was from the 'What We Know' list. I distinctly remember my mom's last name was rather unique and started with an L, followed by something like a u. I couldn't remember the full thing so we just put it down as 'Lu...' in our list. "There's a thousand and one 'Lu's in here! We're never going to find her like this!" Josh yells in agitation after looking through a few more pages. I sigh in disappointment. "Why don't we call it a day then. We'll do more tomorrow," I suggest, already getting up and gathering my stuff from the floor. Josh nods tiredly before mumbling about needing to use the toilet and leaves the room, leaving me alone. Once I was sure there was nobody left to watch me, my disappointment overwhelmed me. A few tears flowed down my cheeks as I stuff the directory back into the old, dusty shelf along with my hopes and dreams.