Despierto

“Have you seen Samantha’s new boyfriend? I think he’s gorgeous. She doesn’t deserve him,” said Emily to Amelia. “Yeah, I’ve heard of him, but he’s way too, I don’t know. He seems kind of shallow to me.” “Well, whatever you think about him, you have to admit he is gorgeous! No matter how vain, or shallow, or self-centered he may or may not be.” “I guess you are right, then again, aren’t you always? That would be the day Emily Wright is wrong about something…” “Yeah, whatever. Amelia, you know you wish you were me,” Emily teased, nudging Amelia in the rib playfully. Emily’s words stung Amelia, and she grimaced in response. Quickly, she regained her composure, catching herself before Emily had the chance to notice her facial expression. Emily was right; she had a perfect life. Good grades, amazing parents, a loving boyfriend, her own car, and practically the largest house in Crimson Springs. You name it, Emily had it or would obtain it within the next couple of days. Amelia did wish for a life like Emily’s, or at least a portion of it. It was wrong of her to feel that way, and she knew it. Amelia and Emily were practically sisters, and for all intents and purposes, what belonged to Emily belonged to Amelia. They loved each other like family and had always been inseparable. Emily and Amelia were both the only children in their households, which was part of the reason the two of them were so close. Even so, from time to time, Amelia found herself envious of Emily. In her own opinion, Amelia’s life was boring. She had below-average grades, a modest house, no boyfriend, or prospects for that matter. Worst of all, parents who were constantly absent from her life. It was almost as if she didn’t have parents at all. Who am I kidding, who wouldn’t want to be Emily? Amelia thought before changing the subject as they walked home from school. “I’m absolutely going to blow Mr. Walker’s homework tonight. The way I see it, I can blow at least one more assignment and still pass with a C.” “Amelia, I don’t even know why you do it to yourself. You don’t make it to the top of the class by skipping assignments... Amelia?” Emily turned around to see Amelia was far behind her, picking up books off the ground, aided by some handsome stranger. She hurried in their direction, looking to get acquainted with Amelia’s new friend. Amelia gazed up at the stranger as he helped her with her books. He was handsome, his hair was dark, slightly curly, and his eyes were a beautiful sea green which accented his lightly tanned skin and hair extremely well. Looking down at the books in her hands, Amelia’s cheeks began to heat, blushing bright red. She didn’t want to be caught staring. Little did she know, the stranger had been equally as mesmerized by Amelia as she was with him. He immediately noticed her caramel-brown skin, freckles across the bridge of her nose, her reddened rosy cheeks, and her loosely coiled light-brown hair. In fact, he had purposefully bumped into Amelia. He saw her in the distance and couldn’t resist talking to her. “My name is Alex, by the way. Sorry, I pretty much just knocked you over. May I ask your name?” “My name is Amel—” “Emily! My name is Emily. Nice to meet you, Alex,” said Emily, as she reappeared seemingly out of nowhere. Emily was now standing in front of Amelia with her hand outstretched eagerly. Alex shuffled the books into his left hand and shook Emily’s reluctantly with his right. “Nice to meet you too, Emily… and you, Amel.” Alex smiled at Amelia warmly after he spoke. Amelia’s cheeks reddened as the mispronunciation of her name slightly embarrassed her. The scene unfolding had her at a loss for words, and she made no effort to correct him. Alex handed Amelia back her books, displaying another grin. “Well, I have to get going now. It was nice meeting the two of you. Hope we see each other again,” said Alex, as he walked away, looking back at them once more before completely disappearing from view. Unbeknownst to him, Emily and Amelia were mesmerized as they watched him walk away. Seeming to be in a trance-like daze until they lost sight of him. “Wow, what a catch! I’ve never seen him around here before. A guy like that, I would definitely remember, dark hair, tall, tan, and dreamy? I think I’m going to have to get formerly acquainted.” “Aren’t you already spoken for? What about Johnathan?” Emily had a boyfriend already. As far as Amelia could see, Emily and Johnathan were madly in love with each other. They never argued, always were there for each other, and Johnathan pretty much worshiped the ground Emily walked on. He loved her more than anything, and it was evident. Emily always joked or commented about other men, but deep down, she would never betray Johnathan. At least Amelia hoped that she wouldn’t; their love wasn’t one to throw away. “Johnathan who? Whatever, Amelia, you’re no fun. It’s unlikely he would choose you over me anyway. I saw the way you were drooling over him. Keep dreaming, Mel. Besides, whoever said there was anything wrong with two men? At least, as long as they don’t find out about each other.” Emily grinned menacingly as she rubbed her palms together with intent. “I see you are counting your chickens before they hatch. You don’t even know anything about him, and you probably don’t even remember his name! Don’t worry, though, as far as competition goes, I know when I’m beat, you don’t have to worry about any interference from me.” Emily could be so blunt at times, never seeming to care about the impact her words had on other people. Amelia acknowledged there’d be no competition if the two of them competed for one person. Emily was beautiful in all regards. She had auburn hair, bright blue eyes that were swoon-worthy, flawless clear skin, and on top of that, she had everything. She and Johnathan were a match made in heaven. He was a tall, muscular blonde with blue eyes. Johnathan was highly intelligent, but he didn’t care as much about school. He only got by in his classes, just enough to pass. Johnathan, also captain of the football team, had to maintain a certain grade point average to stay on the team. Amelia couldn’t even begin to understand why Emily would ever look elsewhere. Emily stopped walking suddenly, causing a near collision between her and Amelia a second time. Amelia stopped abruptly, looking up and realizing they’d reached Emily’s house. “See you tomorrow, Amelia, and do your homework!” “Ok, Mom.” As Amelia began to walk off, Mrs. Wright, Emily’s mother, opened a window and waved at Amelia. “Oh, hello, Mrs. Wright. How are you?” “I’m doing fine, sweetheart. Tell Amber we send our greetings.” “Will do, Mrs. Wright. I’ll see you all soon,” Amelia waved at Emily and her mother as she proceeded to walk home. Her house was located only four blocks away from Emily’s, so it wasn’t too long a trip. When Amelia stopped in front of her house, she noticed the property to her left was no longer for sale. The for-sale sign had been removed, and a couple of boxes were stacked neatly near the front door. Strange, she thought. I never even knew anyone had purchased the house. Maybe I should stop by and meet my new neighbor. Amelia opened her door and walked inside. She baked one of her signature cakes—punch bowl cake was her specialty, one of them anyway, and everyone knew her for it. Amelia had been in the kitchen since as early as 5, cooking had always been her passion. It was something she remembered bonding with her mother over. The two of them always spent mornings together cooking. Amelia’s time with her mother in the kitchen were some of her fondest memories. They were also some of her only memories of her mother. Taking her back to a time when things were simpler. Amelia may not be a scholar, but she could cook anyone under the table. Maybe a cake is too much, I don’t want to seem too eager. What the hell, may as well continue since I’ve already started. The cake finished baking, and Amelia began to assemble it in her parent’s crystal punch bowl. Amelia created an array of strawberry flowers atop the whipped cream and flowered the edge of the bowl with cream. “I have to say, this cake is really something.” The layers were perfectly visible and separate. It looked so beautiful, like something out of a cookbook. Amelia enjoyed anything in which she had to create things: cooking, baking, writing, even chemistry. That was her gift. It was where she shone, if nothing else. She may not have been an academic scholar, but she’d been blessed with other talents. “This cake is so nice, I almost think I shouldn’t just be willingly giving it away,” Amelia said aloud as she slipped out her phone and took a photo for personal reference. What if they don’t even eat it? What if they aren’t nice neighbors? Or worse, what if they are allergic to one of the ingredients? Questions soared through Amelia’s head as she gathered the cake and headed toward the door. What ifs no longer mattered, her mind was made up, and she would deliver the cake. It would also give her something to do instead of waiting endlessly for her parents to return home. They had left on one of their famous conventions. Amelia’s parents constantly disappeared on a whim, leaving her with car keys and funds to take care of herself in their absence. “They probably won’t return home until I’m asleep anyway, as usual,” said Amelia to herself as she rang the neighbor’s bell in two short bursts, half-hoping no one would answer. Two minutes go by, and no one comes to the door. The awkwardness of her standing there started to make her anxious. Amelia wasn’t usually great with introductions; it was Emily that was the social butterfly. Amelia felt out of place, so she gathered herself and proceeded to walk away. The door opened, and she turned around, shocked to see a familiar face. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I was... Oh, hey, Amel!” “Wow, who’d have thought?” “How did you know where I lived?” asked Alex, slightly shocked. “Oh god, I hope you don’t think I’m a stalker or anything. I live right next door. I just thought I’d stop by to meet my new neighbor.” Suddenly, she felt extremely embarrassed to be bringing a cake with her. Amelia held the punch bowl behind her back, hoping he wouldn’t notice. “Ha! Stalker? That never crossed my mind. You are too beautiful to resort to stalking anyone, especially me. Oh, and you brought a cake? If the rest of my neighbors are as welcoming, I don’t think I will leave anytime soon. Why don’t you come inside? It’s quite chilly out tonight, and I wouldn’t want you catching a cold.” Amelia couldn’t recall ever being as embarrassed as she was at that moment. It occurred to her that she had not mentioned the cake, and she thought it was perfectly hidden behind her. Maybe it had been more visible than she’d thought. Still, there could have been anything inside of the bowl. Amelia handed Alex the punch bowl cake. He placed it on the table as he went into the kitchen to retrieve some dishes. She looked around, marveling at the interior of his house. Even when it was on the market, Amelia had never been inside the house. It was beautiful, fully equipped with beautiful Victorian furniture, crown molding, high ceilings, chandeliers, the whole nine. His parents must have extremely good taste, Amelia thought. “Wow, Alex, your house is really something. I could only dream of a house like this. Your parents must be very… well-off.” “Parents? Haven’t had those since… I digress. This furniture has been passed down over generations, and everything else I’ve acquired and arranged all by my lonesome.” Amelia looked at him, puzzled by his comment about his parents. “I’m so sorry. Did your parents pass away?” “Something like that, yeah...” “I’m so sorry I brought it up, so... You live here by yourself?” “Yep, just me and my cat, Sir—” “Charles,” responded Amelia abruptly, with conviction. She had no idea why she spurted out that name. “Interesting… how did you know that? That’s really something to be able to guess my cat’s name… Of all the names you chose, Charles. Interesting indeed.” Alex stared at Amelia intensely, as if there was something he couldn’t quite place. As attractive as he was, Amelia couldn’t help but be a little weary, alone in a grand house, after hours, with a gorgeous stranger. As strange as it may sound, it made her a little uneasy. How could I have possibly guessed the cat’s name? Thought Amelia. “I really must get going, Alex. Thanks for having me, but it’s getting late, and my parents will worry if I don’t come home soon.” She blushed and turned away, embarrassed by his staring and the fact that she had told a complete lie. The truth of the matter was her parents didn’t care in the slightest if she came home or not. They were always so preoccupied with work. The only way they’d realize Amelia wasn’t there was if she stopped cooking dinner and leaving it on the countertop. “Alright, Amel, I’ll see you around.” Standing at the threshold of the door about to exit, Amelia turned around to face Alex. “Amelia, my name is Amelia,” she said with a smile. “Even better,” said Alex as he watched Amelia walk away. Wow, what an interesting guy. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like that, and he’s my next-door neighbor too. I need to come up with another excuse to go over there again.