Flirting With Death

Chapter 2

I walked through my bedroom door, which was covered with meaningless posters, except for the one that read 'stay out' in big, black letters. Having a younger brother can drive you insane, no matter how adorable they can be sometimes.

I threw myself onto my bed, which was my favorite thing in the world. When we moved into this house, there were some extra things left by the previous owner, who is sadly deceased, such as a twin sized bed.


Having one myself, I begged mom and dad for a queen sized one, but they wouldn't budge. So I dragged the one left behind by the owner outside, and scrubbed it up and hosed it down. After a few days in the sun, I brought it up to my room and smushed my bed with it. I put one queen-sized sheet on it, and it became a queen sized bed.


I'm creative like that.


My parents didn't argue, since they didn't have to pay a cent for it.


I quickly unzipped my bag, and took out my assignment notebook, looking for any assignments that were left uncompleted during study hall.

Sure enough, Physics was the only thing left, but it didn't take me long to finish the last four problems that were left undone.


I had finished schoolwork for the day, and just as I was about to settle in comfortably in my bed, a sound echoed through the halls and my opened door.


"Maaack!"


I immediately groaned.


"What do you want, kid?" I questioned my little brother, who I could hear was making his way up the stairwell. I shoved a purple pillow in my face, trying to block out the sound of his annoying, little voice.


"Mom said you have to make me chocolate milk." He said, and even though I still had a pillow on my face, I could tell he was standing by the doorway with a devious smile on his little face.


"Go away, James." I muffle bluntly into the pillow.


"Come on, please! Mom said you've gotta do it! Which means you're gonna do it!" He complained, and I immediately sprung off the bed and threw the pillow at his small, round stomach.


"Mom! Mackenzie hit me again!" He yelled through the hall in a sad voice, but when he looked my way, I could see the evil through his chocolate brown eyes.


He's pretty damn devious for a five year old.


I groaned once more before trudging down the stairs and into the kitchen where my mom was making some delicious smelling food. I gave her a quick kiss on her rosy cheek before saying hi.

"Hello, dear, can you please make James some chocolate milk, he's driving me insane." She said in an exhausted voice.

I could tell she wasn't joking; her wavy brown hair was pulled up by a big, unsatisfying-looking clip and her clothing was stained with something that looked a lot like tomato sauce.


"Uh, you okay, mom?" I ask, knowing the answer is no, but also aware that she will not answer it truthfully, just so she won't worry me.

"Oh, yes, of course, sweetie," she smiled at me but it never really reached her tired eyes.


"Oh! I forgot to tell you, Mama Elk is coming back! The cancer's gone!"


My moms eyes suddenly lit up, and her smile became real.


"Oh, oh my goodness! Thank God," her hand was on her heart and her eyes were welled up with tears. My mom was always a friend of Mama Elk since they were both in the same high school and were aquatinted with her then too.


She pulled me into a hug, and I couldn't help but think how long it's been since I've gotten one her big, bear hugs, so I savored every second of it.


But then James had to ruin it by screaming, "Group hug!" And jumping on top of me, resulting in me letting go of mom and falling onto the ground.


"James!"


"Whoops," was all I heard from him before he sprinted his way up the stairs to the room.


I rolled my eyes and rubbed the sore spot on my forehead. My mom was just standing there, trying to look intimidating, but it didn't work with her soft, hazel eyes and baby-like face.


I gave her a smile as I pushed myself off the ground and pinched her cheek. She hates when I do that.


She sent a playful glare my way, to which I smile innocently to.


She shook her head and made her way back to the pot on the stove, "We must go visit Cassidy, I'm sure she's missed us too while she was...away."


"Well, Clark said she wasn't home yet, he said maybe sometime next week they'll agree to let her go home after they finish signing all the papers and stuff."


"Well, I, for one," she turns off the stove and faces me with a grin on her face, "Can't wait."


**


"What day is your birthday on?" Clark muffles out between bites of his Uncrustables PB&J sandwich. He runs a hand through his hair then leans back onto the grass, his gaze fixated on the sky.


"It's a Friday," I say, a bit cold even though I'd dressed up appropriately for this outing, "Can you tell me why we still do this? I mean, I get it, every Sunday, we go on a picnic no matter what the weather. But can't we have an indoor picnic? It wouldn't hurt." I complain, throwing a grape in the air, hoping it would land in my mouth, which it did.


"Oh! Nice!" Clark remarks on my good catch, "And, come on! It's our tradition. If you're too cold then we can go inside but this is nothing." He gets up off the grass and sits up, leaning over to grab a grape.


"Yeah, says the guy who has three sweatshirts and a jacket on, with gloves and a hat."


Just as he was about to throw the grape into the air, he stopped and sent me a glare before throwing the fruit my way instead. It hit me on the nose.


My mouth dropped and he started to burst into fits of laughter. It wasn't long before we started a full-out grape war. And it also wasn't long before I raised my white flag.


"Okay, okay," I groaned, "You can stop pelting me with grapes now, I surrender." I mutter, picking up a grape that had landed on my lap and popped it into my mouth.


"Ha! I have one! I am the greatest grape-thrower of them all, and with that, I shall rule my kingdom!" Clark booms dramatically, and he sounds like one of those guys in those shakespeare plays, except for the fact that the words coming out of Clarks mouth made no sense.


"What kingdom, you imbecile?" I chuckled at his foolishness, and threw another grape, making it into his mouth. I was actually kind of surprised about that but I didn't show it.


His eyes widened and as he chewed down and gulped the last grape, he made his way next to me and lifted a hand, palm out to the sky and says, "Our kingdom."

The dazed look in his eyes was enough to make me wonder if Clark had taken any sort of drug before this oh-so-delightful picnic.


"Are you high?"


"What?"


"Are you high?"


"Wha-no! Just because I'm dreaming about a grape kingdom, does not mean I'm high!"


"Right, okay." I mutter, pushing myself up onto my feet and dusting off my pants.


Clark sat there for a few more seconds, looking up the sky that was veiled with clouds, making it seem as though a storm was soon arriving.


"There have been a lot of freak storms lately, huh?" Clark asked me a rhetorical question, his gaze still fixated on the sky, when a drop of water had landed on his nose. His eyes immediately widened, and he narrowed his eyes on the tip of his button nose making him look cross-eyed.

His mouth formed from an o-shape to a grin, and the next thing I knew, he was up on his feet, grabbing the picnic basket and blanket with one hand and my arm with the other, and started dragging me along with him.


Soon, we were sprinting, while our lighthearted, cheery snickers and cackles echoed through the neighborhood while the rain started to pour down on us.


We kept running, which soon slowed down to jogging, and eventually we stopped all together, in the middle of the street, completely soaked.


It was moments like these that left me completely filled with delight; eternal bliss.


It made me feel less anguished; a lot less miserable and troubled.

Clark was at the end of the street, while I was only at the half-way mark. I grinned, even though in the back of my mind, my conscience was reminding me that going home like this will get me in massive trouble.


I didn't care at the moment. In that moment, nothing could ruin this moment. Not even my moms wrath.


I start to slowly jog towards Clark, who was currently waiting for me at the corner of the block. My jog gradually turned into a sprint, and when I had reached Clark, I jumped into his arms, giving him a giant bear hug with my legs wrapped around his waist, genuinely laughing happily. He twirled me a couple of times before setting me down and offering me a piggy-back ride. I happily obliged.


I didn't care that my hair and clothes were wet, or that I'm probably going to be grounded for the next week, or that I'm probably going to wake up with an aching head and a stuffed nose.


I live for these moments.


xx xx xx

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-Wazzi✵