Her Last Summer (editing)

Chapter 3

Anna kissed me on the forehead.

“What would we do without you?” She asked. “Before you go upstairs. I want you to meet some people!” She exclaimed.

Anna pulled me out of the living room and into the bright kitchen. Five women sat on stools.

“Mia, these are my sisters, Amalia, Anita, Alcina, Antonia and this is my niece Maria.” Anna introduced with a massive smile.

I glanced at each of their faces. They all had the same dark hair and tan complexions. Anna was the tallest of the six women. The youngest, Anna’s niece, had lighter brown hair. She balanced a baby on her lap.

“Hi.” I grinned.

The five sisters, including Anna, were stunning. The niece, Maria, was just as gorgeous, but looked more down to earth in her sweatpants and messy bun.

“It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.” Maria smiled. She held the baby in one arm and stood up to hug me. Surprised, I hugged her back.

Amalia, who I presumed was Maria’s mother and Anna’s eldest sister, offered me a kind smile.

“Mia, beautiful.” She said.

“Molto affascinante!” Alcina agreed.

“Aberto and Mia would make pretty children.” Antonia muttered.

I blushed under their heavy gazes. I didn’t know what to say.

“Mia came to console Jackie.” Anna declared, swooping in to my rescue. She rested her hands on my shoulders. “She’s in her bedroom, bambolina. Go knock some sense into her.”

I needed no further encouragement.

Making my to Jackie’s bedroom was like walking through a jungle. Kids popped out of nowhere, scaring the heck out of me. I had dodged a flying ball and intentionally thrown Barbie by the time I made it to her door, barely unscathed.

“GET OUT, NOW!” I heard Jackie bellow from inside her bedroom. Her door was flung open and a young girl hurried out. Her face was pale and fear was clear as day in her chocolate brown eyes.

The girl shot me a warning look as I approached the door.

“Don’t go in there.” She whispered, and I held back a laugh. I swung the door open and stepped inside.

“ISABEL!” Jackie yelled, enraged. She blinked.

“Mia?” She wondered.

“In the flesh.” I replied cheekily.

“What have I done to be graced with your presence?” She muttered.

“I’m here to make sure you don’t finish that.” I said gesturing towards the massive jar of peanut butter. “Jackie, that’s enough to feed the whole of Africa. You’ll get sick.”

“No!” Jackie wailed. She threw herself on the bed. Her long hair scattered everywhere. “I want to be fat. Fat people are happy.”

I scratched my head. What logic was that?

“Idiot.” I sighed. “Who knew you liking a guy would turn you into such a softie?”

Jackie shot me a cutting look.

“Who knew getting rejected felt this bad?” She snapped.

Jackie wasn’t crying. She lacked her usual cheerfulness and looked utterly dejected and empty, and that was so much worse. We sat in silence for a few minutes. I wanted so badly to fix this situation.

Jackie wouldn’t open up to me in her uncharacteristic, sullen mood. I glanced at her iPod dock and smiled.

Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,

So tell me what you want, what you really really want,

I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,

So tell me what you want, what you really really want,

I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha

Jackie stared at me like I had gone mad. I stared back at her with a determined grin. I moved my hips and arms to the beat, like we had done in the fourth grade. I started singing along.

If you want my future forget my past,

If you wanna get with me better make it fast,

Now don't go wasting my precious time,

Get your act together we could be just fine

I jumped on her bed. I had the lyrics memorized by heart. Jackie struggled to keep a neutral face as her body bounced up and down.

I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,

So tell me what you want, what you really really want,

I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha

I sung louder. I threw my arms in the air. Jackie laughed.

“You’re insane!” She yelled over the music.

“I love you too.” I winked.

She got off the bed. We sung along.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends (gotta get with my friends)

Make it last forever friendship never ends,

If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,

Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is

I grinned as Jackie doubled over in laughter.

“This is the part where you kissed Ricky!” I reminisced.

Jackie had convinced a boy named Richard and I to join the talent show at our school back in the fourth grade. Even then, Jackie didn’t own an innocent bone in her body. She had smashed her lips against Ricky’s after the song’s chorus, causing her dad to almost die of a heart attack. Ricky had run off stage screeching ‘cooties’ while Jackie shrugged and returned to performing.

We had won ‘most interesting performance’ that day. Jackie smiled. The song eventually came to a stop. I pressed ‘pause’ as the next song on her iPod came on.

“Can you tell me what exactly happened yesterday?” I asked.

Jackie’s smile dipped, but she didn’t melt into a puddle of despair.

“I called him. We talked. I told him I liked him as more than a friend. He asked me out. The next morning, he’s spouting off insults at me and making babies with that tramp Carmen.” She explained through gritted teeth.

“You only called him once? You didn’t send him a text afterwards?” I interrogated.

Jackie looked at me weird.

“No.” She said. “I would’ve called him again but I lost my phone that day and Isabel was using the home phone. So, I figured I’d just wait and talk to him at school.”

I straightened my back and stared at her with wide eyes. That’s it! It was too much of a coincidence.

“When and where did you find your phone?” I asked.

“I guess it was in my schoolbag all along. I found it there when I got home from school today. Mia?” Jackie’s expression was a mix of frustration and confusion.

“I’ll explain later.” I said and hugged her. “I have something to do.”

I exited Jackie’s house with a newfound determination. If Carmen thought she could screw my best friend over and get away with it, she was a monochromatic shade of wrong.