On the morning of Mila's seventeenth birthday, she felt oddly weird as for the first time in three years, she was woken up by the singing voice of both mom and dad.
Her mother Sophia had baked a lavender cake, as she does every year. Even though Mila told her, she did not like it.
They sang the birthday song and Mila blew out the candles on her birthday cake. "Happy Birthday Millianna" Her father said as he handed her two presents. One clearly from her mom and one from her dad. Mila smiled gently at both of them.
She opened the first one, which contained a beautiful version of the bible, which did not surprise Mila. She looked at her mom who's smile was brighter than the stars.
"So what do you think, do you like it?" Mila looked at the bible, it was white with red-colored roses on the cover. Mila honestly thought it looked more like a teenage fantasy book, yet she faked a smile. "I love it, thank you mom"
After that present, Mila wasn't as excited to open the next one, yet her fake smile continued as she opened her present to have received a history 101 book, Mila looked up at her dad.
"We got mail, you're failing history?" Her dad asked, Mila bit her lip as she took a deep breath. "It's my birthday, and it's Saturday, can we wait for the whole lecture about me not becoming an author until at least Monday?"
Her dad took a deep breath as he looked at his former wife who nodded slowly. "Sure honey, well get dressed, I have made brunch"
The parents left her room, leaving her with the two books, she couldn't decide which one was worse. She took to her two necklaces the cross and the s.
"Elijah, do you really think my parents would go crazy... if I told them I .... might have stopped believing in him? " Mila asked her fictional character Elijah, who was hanging on the wall of her bedroom.
Mila imagined him looking at her like Reggie looks at her when she says she is looking forward to English. "Of course... Never mind I even asked"
Mila took her notebook and went to her desk where took her pen, she took a deep breath as she began writing something quite different in her notebook.
If you have a plan, which I hope you do. I need to know.
I can't keep myself believing in you, trusting you.
If the people whom I am suppose to trust with my dreams,
will shatter them to pieces.
How do I believe in you?
Before she could answer her own question, the sound of her mother yelling made Mila stand up and walk down in the kitchen in her black and white pajamas.
Her mother had filled the whole table with all kinds of breakfast things, tostada con tomate, aceite, y jamón, chocolate con churros, soletillas, pancakes, bacon, eggs, and much more. Mila placed herself and began putting things on her plate.
"Well, let's say our morning prayers, Mija?" Her mom smiled as they all placed out their hands, Mila closed her eyes as she took a deep breath.
"Dear God, thank you for having been with me these last seventeen years, I am grateful for the life I have been given. May today be filled with happiness, friends, and family. Amen"
At that began the Garcia family to eat, her mother and father beginning a conversation about who should drive to church Sunday morning.
"I am simply saying Andrew, that you maybe could drive your daughter to her .... detention," Her mother said before sipping her black coffee. Mila looked around the house, it was filled with her mother's horrible Halloween decorations.
Her dad nodded slowly. "I mean... if Mila would want me, then sure" He looked at his daughter, who didn't seem much to care about the whole conversation as she ate her breakfast.
"Mija?" Her mother asked as she placed her hand on her daughters, Mila finally spoke yet not what they thought she would say.
"Thank you for breakfast" And with that, she stood up and walked to her room, where she hid. She wanted to tell her mother to pack the decorations away, she wanted to tell her dad to throw her mom out... yet she couldn't.
Mila ended up hiding in her room, sketching in her notebook as she wrote out the next part of the story. This ended as a knock on her door was heard.
"I don't want a piece of the cake Mama," Mila said as the door opened. "Oh, I'm crushed" Her eyes widened as her head turned faster than light towards the door, where the smile on her face grew.
"Is it already three?" Mila asked as she stood up, walking over to Luke who placed his guitar case and bag, before hugging Mila. He couldn't help but smile as they both wished their hug lasted longer.
"Happy Birthday" Luke chuckled as they broke the hug, Mila bowed slightly. "Well thank you" Mila giggled as she placed herself on her bed.
"Are you ready to study?" Luke asked as he took his bag, taking out his history book, Mila rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "I probably never will" Mila answered as she went to her desk taking her book.
They both placed themselves on her bed. "How has your day been so far?" Luke asked as Mila turned to the page they were studying.
"It was.... interesting, I have mostly been writing in my notebook" She admitted, which made him laugh softly. "I can imagine"
"Okay so, let's get this over with" Mila sighed as she began reading out loud in the notebook.
World War II started in Europe in 1939 when Nazi Germany attacked neighboring Poland. The war - whose armed conflicts affected several countries on almost every continent - ended first with the capitulation of Germany and then Japan in the spring and summer of 1945. Japan's capitulation came after the US attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima with the new doomsday weapon, the atomic bomb.
Mila finished the sentence and made a fake snore which made Luke laugh. "Come on it's not that bad" Mila looked at him with a dead serious face. "It's bad" They both laughed before Luke gently nudged her.
"Now answer the questions," Luke said with a smile, Mila wrote down the answer ending up laying on her stomach as she did so, Luke leaning up against the wall reading in his own history book. Sometimes Mila would look over at him, ask him a question about the history, which Luke would answer, only for her to place her nose back in the book.
This went on for an hour until Mila threw her book on the floor. "I'm done with this stuff" Luke chuckled as he closed his own book. "Too much war?"
"Too many stupid people making stupid decisions" Mila answered, causing them both to laugh. Mila sighed, taking a pillow and placing herself beside Luke who placed away from his history book beside him.
"When will the others come?" Luke asked as he looked into Mila's eyes, Mila did a thinking face as she tried to remember. "Around five I believe" An awkward silence then started between them, which Luke broke.
"I'm still sorry for... yesterday" Luke apologized, which Mila didn't truly understand, she looked at him with a confused face. "You know the girls" Luke reminded her, which caused Mila to giggle.
"You don't have to say sorry, you saved me, my hero Luke" She teased as she laughed softly, so did he.
Luke couldn't help but smile at the sound of her laughter. "I was thinking, maybe we could write that song together?" He asked as he looked at his guitar still laying in its case on the floor, Mila bit her lip as she nodded.
"Fine... but only because you saved me yesterday" She answered, as Luke got up and took his notebook as well as his guitar, Mila went over taking hers.
The light wood guitar was dusty in every corner. As soon as Mila just strummed once, it was so out of tune, she made a face to the horrible sound. "Haven't been used in a while" She admitted as she looked at Luke who couldn't help but smile as he placed himself beside her.
She tuned the guitar, as he found the small lyrics he had written. "So I was thinking we could use F Dm C Bb instead of Am and G?" Mila nodded as she put her fingers at the different chords he said.
"And then I was thinking, we could say-" He played the chords as he sang the first part of the song. "In times that I doubted myself, then Dm I felt like I needed somе help then C Stuck in my head then switch to Bb with nothing left, F I feel somеthing around me now, Dm So unclear, lifting me out C I found the ground shift Bb I'm marching on"
Mila smiled brightly as he sang, nodding to the words. "I like that a lot, then we could go into a pre-chorus, it could sound like this?" She played "So C, Dm, Bb twice?" She asked which he nodded to.
"Yes that would sound so well" Luke replied, as he wrote down the melody. "Then we need lyrics," They both thought for a while, playing the melody as they thought.
"Life is a risk- " Mila sang gently, which Luke continued on. "But I will take it, close my eyes and jump" He sang they both agreed this sounded good.
"Together I think that we can make it" Mila sang gently, which caused Luke to chuckle. "Rise through the night you and I- " Mila interrupted him as she sang: "We will fight to shine together bright forever?"
"That would be a really good chorus?" Luke said and so they began writing the song fully, finishing each other's lines as they did so both smiling the whole way through.
"Okay, so I will sing the first verse, first pre-chorus, then your beautiful voice will sing at the chorus, send verse and we will unite in the pre-chorus and sing the rest together, until the last chorus that you will sing alone?"
Mila nodded. "Let's try" They began playing as they sang their song together, their voices harmonizing beautifully.
"Andrew! Andrew!" Mrs. Garcia almost yelled at her former husband as he looked up from the newspaper. "What Sophia?" He asked, but before she could answer he smiled brightly. "Is that?"
"Mila singing... that boy must be special," Mrs. Garcia said as she smiled listening to her daughter singing and playing again, Mr. Garcia leaned back in his chair as he closed his eyes enjoying the sound of his daughters playing.
As the song finished Mila and Luke couldn't help but laugh. "That was amazing, I knew you were talented," Luke said as he took off his guitar.
"Luke... we made the song together, you're the talented one" Mila answered as she looked at the song in his broken-down notebook, they still needed a title though as Mila thought.
"What should we call it?" She asked as Luke went to his bag taking something. "You decide, you're the genius behind it" Mila bit her lip, as she took a deep breath thinking.
"Bright... let's call it bright" Mila smiled as she placed her guitar on her bed, she looked over at Luke who chuckled. "Why bright?" He asked.
"Because you and I will be bright forever" She cheesily said, Luke jokily acted as he had to throw up, causing her to slap him in his chest.
"Like I'm the cheesy one of us," Mila said causing Luke to laugh. "Well, I will take the price" He finally revealed what he had been hiding behind his back, the thing he had taken out of his bag.
Mila blinked as she looked at the perfectly wrapped birthday present in Luke's hands, she looked up into Luke's eyes, he was nervous... well honestly he was terrified.
When he was doing that week had gotten the information that Mila's birthday was coming up, he knew exactly what to get her. She took a deep breath: "You didn't have to get me anything" She said. Luke shrugged as he gently licked his lip before smiling.
"I wanted to, " He answered truthfully. Mila took the present, nervous as well. After the disaster of presents from her parents, she was almost in tears as she opened the present.
An elegant leather-covered notebook, with engravings of peddles and a compass, closed by a leather string. Beside the notebook, there was a letter, which Mila looked at Luke who smiled nervously at her.
"Well read it" He chuckled nervously, she couldn't see his hands were sweaty and his spin was shivering.
Dear Millianna,
I do not know where our story will go
you are the author, so I thought you could write it
You're talented and that talent should
not be written in a broken down notebook
therefor, I hope you in this can write every story,
thought and feeling you have.
I as well hope, you and I can write songs
which can end in this as well.
Write your legacy.
Yours,
Luke
Mila looked up at Luke with tears in her eyes that almost freaked out Luke. "Is it that bad of a present?" Mila shook her head with a bright smile.
"No... it's perfect" She smiled truly happy, he awkwardly scratched his neck, smiling happily that she liked it. Mila giggled as she couldn't help herself from wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug, placing her head on his chest. "Thank you" She whispered.
This caught Luke off guard, yet it didn't take long before his arms were around her as well. "You're welcome" He whispered back, they stood there for a bit before pulling away slowly, their eyes met.
And if they only knew how the other felt, maybe he would have kissed that beautiful girl, she would have said he made her truly happy. That both their hearts were almost in sync, that butterflies were in both of their stomachs.
Yet as Luke was about to tell her, tell her how much he cared for her. The voices of Bobby, Reggie, and Alex were heard from the living room.
"The others must be here," Mila said as she fastly stepped away from Luke, she was about to say something, yet ended up walking out the door, leaving Luke sighing.
"Don't ruin a perfect friendship Luke," Luke whispered to himself as he threw the thoughts he had out of his head, formed a smile on his face and went into the living room.