The Yellow Umbrella

Chapter Two: Mom

"What about all those movies where the underdog guy gets the girl?" I asked.

He took a sip of soda, then said, "Emphasis on movie. And you know how those go, either they live happily ever after or someone dies. None of that stuff happens in real life."

"I get it if you're jealous." I teased.

Wyatt tossed his controller at me. "As if. I'm totally fine with my girl, you know, she's actually in my league." He scoffed.

"Yeah yeah." I rolled my eyes. "Not all of us have Allisons."

Not that I wanted an Allison.

Two years ago, while at a summer pre college program for computer science, Wyatt met the infamous Allison Krever. On first meeting, the two hated each other, becoming the fiercest rivals. They were always trying to one up each other, out coding one another every other day. Then, on the last day of the program, Allison's computer crashed, Wyatt lent her his, along with his code he spent hours programming. He sacrificed winning an amazing scholarship because he realized hidden under all that banter and joking, was a crush. She ended up winning of course, Wyatt's code was brilliant, but he said he was the real winner because she agreed to let him take her out to a celebratory dinner. Ever since then, it was Allison and Wyatt, Wyatt and Allison.

Everyone thought they were cute, but they didn't have to deal with Allison on a weekly basis like I did.

I hated her before I even met her. It wasn't because I was jealous or anything. She was just a really bad person, I mean like Satan incarnate, but Wyatt was too in love to see it. And who I was I to say anything on relationships when I never really had one? Allison was the kind of person who told him who he could and could not hang out with. That's why I was his only friend. I knew deep down he would never leave her, even though she was psycho. He had this routine, this set life, and his thought process was: Why change?

I guess I kinda understood. Change was scary.

One time, Wyatt invited both of us over in a sorry attempt to form a supergroup of smart people. I was already hesitant about meeting the monster that was Allison Krever, but Wyatt was my best friend, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. Not even two minutes in, Allison said I was inferior to her because I wanted to be a film major. 

We had not hung out like that since, but Wyatt still dragged her to one of our hangouts every now and then.

But enough about Allison, let's get back to Mia.

"Leagues are just so," I paused to find the right word. "Shallow. It all seems so meaningless. If you like someone, go for it. Shoot your shot."

I prayed he wouldn't bring up the fact that it took me three years to shoot my shot. And technically, I didn't shoot, Mia did.

Wyatt rolled his eyes, "Yeah and I think mutts are just as great as purebreds, but there's still people that disagree."

I slid down the couch, upside down, balancing my head on the floor.

My legs were stretched out, my feet reached toward the ceiling. "I just like her, okay? It feels like you can never be happy for me."

"Brandon likes her, so does Avery, and Cam..." Wyatt droned on, picking up his controller and averting his attention back to the game.

"But," I said, yanking the controller out of his pudgy fingers, "She has never gone out with any of them."

His character got shot down by an enemy plane, the screen pulsed 'You're Dead!' in gaudy red letters. A beam of sunlight peeked through the small window above the TV. When the garage became mine, my mom insisted a window had to be installed. She claimed she didn't want me living like a hobbit sitting in a dark cave. My eyes trailed a speck of dust floating in the air, and I wondered how carefree life must have been for it.