(un)lucky

two.

"What should I make?" He speaks into the pillow.

It takes a moment for her to answer. "That thing you wanted to make last time, um, the cheese thing. What's it called?"

"Cheese bread dumplings?" he offers.

"Yes, that's the one," she snaps her fingers. "Okay, I'm done. Let's go."

When he turns he catches the sight of her tan midriff right before she pulls her shirt down. The sight makes his throat go dry and he feels something ricochets around his stomach.

Mel stands in front of her full-length mirror. She looks this way and that way, checking all her symmetries and angles. Suddenly, she sucks in a sharp breath, tucking her tummy in and gives herself another critical look before breathing out.

She's been mostly ignoring his heavy gaze but now her eyes shift and their retinas clash in the mirror. There's a brief moment of stillness in the air. Mamés swallows with difficulty.

The air shifts again and she mouths, silently to him. "I'm so fat."

Mamés exhales through his nose. His mouth opens, releasing his soundless reply. "Who cares?"

You're beautiful.

Mel shakes her head in response but he catches the slight twitch of her lips. Even though it's followed after with an eye roll. It doesn't make his heart thump any softer.

◒

Mamés has a hard time pinpointing the exact moment he fell in love with his best friend, Melanie Hart. But if he had to go back, retrace his steps, and find out when he slipped into a mere trope. It would probably be on his seventh birthday.

Even though it was his party Lulu had taken it upon herself to invite literally all the kids in town including his personal bullies. He only had a handful of people he knew well enough to call friends. All the unfamiliar faces irked him and it didn't help that they didn't know him as much as he didn't know them. All he heard all day was 'It's Mama's boy's birthday'. 'Mama's boy' this, 'Mama's boy' that.

Back then parenting to Lulu meant taking him everywhere she went. Everywhere. Mel used to be the only one that called him Mama's boy because he was never far away from her. And he didn't mind, she never said it like it was a bad thing. She was crooked-tooth Mel and he was Mamés the Mama's boy. It was fine until everyone else joined in.

He was fed up by the time it was time to cut the cake. When a kid who looked way too old to be at his party told him to empty his pocket he agreed to ditch at Mel's request and followed her to the bridge above the creek. It was better than being at the party but only by a fraction. The sun was frying him and he was miserable.

"I want to go home," he told Mel, for the umpteenth time. "My mom's going to be worried. I don't want her to cry."

Mel's mouth pinched in annoyance. "Everyone's right about you, you know. You're obsessed with your mama." The curve of her lip, the grit in her tone. She didn't sound any different from the other kids.

"Take that back," he said immediately. His voice came out shaky, like his heart and fragile ego.

"I won't," she folded her arms and gave him a hard look. An ultimatum. To stay meant submission but to leave meant total annihilation. Their friendship was still a fragile thing, but it worked well because all he had to do was follow her, and if she said 'jump', he'd ask 'How high?'.

Mamés turned his back on her for just a fraction of a second, staring hard at the sun and the creek below him. He was hot all over, brimming with sweat, blood, and indecision. Then just as he finally decided to apologise, giving up on himself. Gravity gave up on him too because suddenly he was falling off the bridge, into the creek, to his death.