OCEANIA

VI

I walked to the kitchen to make coffee. I guess I’m allowed to have coffee now that I’m eighteen. My birthday went normal even after the warning message. I don’t know why but I still doubt that any of these is happening. It just seems unreal. I'm human and humans don’t deal with unnatural events. If my parents were in a mafia, these threats wouldn’t leave me so confused. “Morning” Aunt Shelly said. I nodded before taking a huge sip of the mug contents. “Martin and I are ready whenever you are”. She said in a small voice. I put the mug down and followed her silently.

We left Alameda yesterday. It wasn’t until I crashed on my bed that I remembered that summer needed plans. I had nothing on my mind except the possibility of getting a job. I sank into the armchair while they settled in the couch. “I think I’m ready”. I said nodding my head. My fingernails dug into my thigh through the pajamas. I only did that when I was super nervous. Well, who wouldn’t be if they were in my position? I'm about to hear about my birth Mom, my real Mom. “You sure?” Martin confirmed. I nodded again.

“Camilia was my only sister. She had it all; the looks, the smart not when it came to books though”, Shelly snickered, “she was amazing even though she was a rebel. She wanted to live life to the fullest not caring about the consequences”. She sounds a lot like Helen. “Things started turning bad when our Mom forced her to apply for UCLA. Cammie hated the thought but she went with it. After a year, Cammie ran away and came to Alameda…” “And as a good sister, you followed her”. I added. “Yes, I did” Shelly smiled slightly, “she had reasons why she left. The first was because she was agoraphobic”. “Agoraphobic?” I cut in. “Yeah, it's the fear of large places, spaces or crowd and UCLA is no pixie”, she answered, “the second reason was your father, Caleb. I don’t know much about your father except the things she told me. They were very much in love. But Caleb went away for a very long time and since Cammie had no one else in Alameda, she came back”.

“She refused to talk to anyone about it even me. Cammie was strong so soon enough she was back on her feet. She went back to her cheerful self. Our Mom wasn’t pleased when she concluded that she didn’t need anymore education but we all supported her. She took up a job at a jewelry store which I personally thought suited her”. I nodded my head in agreement. “She went ahead to…” her story was cut short by the sound of the door bell. She rushed to get the door. “You haven’t said anything about this”. I challenged Martin. “She misses Camilia and she hasn’t been able to talk about her for years”, he smiled, “so when times like this comes, I let her do all the talking. Besides, she talks a lot and I can't compete with that”. We both laughed.

“Special package” Shelly whispered. “Hey hey‼” I heard Helen's voice scream. “Helen!” I jumped out of the chair and I hugged her. “I'm so happy to see you”. I informed her. I gave Shelly and Martin a face that was asking for permission. They both nodded before I pulled Helen upstairs. “So how was the coast?” She raised her eyebrows repeatedly. “It was cool. We went out to a Chinese restaurant, had a picnic close to the sea and we went shopping”. I crossed my arms across my cchest. “Eurgh! Can you not be boring?” she whined. “I can’t help it”, I sat beside her on the bed, “lets talk about you for now. How are you doing?” “I told you already, I’m fine”. She scrunched her nose after the answer. That means she’s lying. “You’re lying”. I stated.

“Fine! I'm still hurt. I cared about her a lot and she just blew it off! I don’t understand why!”

“It’s because she’s a terrible person. You’re amazing, loveable and crazy. She's the one who's missing out”.

“I should be more like you. You plan to die alone”.

I scoffed before answering, “there’s nothing wrong with loving someone. And if you must know, I do not plan to die alone. My Mr right just hasn’t come”. I patted her shoulder and said, “don’t give up on love just because of a slut”. “Anyways, I have a surprise for you”, she smiled like a kid high on sugar, “go and get ready. We leave in ten minutes”. “Okay Mom” I teased swaying my hips into the bathroom. I hurried my bath and brushed again. I took the hairdryer, “why don’t you go and wait in the garage?” I switched it on, “I’ll be down in a minute”. “Okay but please wear something girly”. She pleaded. I laughed at her use of ‘girly’.

I picked a light pink off-shoulder top with a pair of black shorts but instead of sneakers, I wore boot heels. I used hairpins to make the middle parting of my hair more obvious. I checked myself in the mirror and concluded that this is as girly as I can get. I grabbed my car keys from the reading table. Something didn’t seem right. I remember keeping my journal on the bed but now, it's wide open on the table. I pulled out my phone to take a pic of what was on the page. It had a picture of a ticket with an address underneath. I rushed out of the room before I slipped into another one of those nightmares.

“When you said your parents got you a car, you never said anything about a Jeep!” Helen squealed. “Surprise!” I chuckled before settling in the driver’s seat. Helen wouldn’t stop talking about how amazing the car is. She said we were stopping at the mall. She even convinced me to park in the ‘employee only’ space. “If I get a ticket or my car gets tolled, you’ll owe me big time. I threatened as we walked inside. She dragged me to the jewelry section. “You dragged me here so that you could shop?” I retorted. She totally ignored me. She told the lady in front of us our names. “You don’t just give a stranger our names, you know?” I rolled my eyes and scoffed. “When did you start whining as a hobby?” Helen asked finally making eye contact. I felt the reversal of roles.

The lady came back while handing us two uniforms. “Before you ask, this was part of the birthday surprise from Bill and I. I figured we both needed a job before senior year and you’re not exactly…” I didn’t let her finish. I attacked her with a hug. “Thanks”, I breathed, “you’re the best”. “Hurry up now girls”, the lady quipped, “work must be done”. She had a heavy accent. French maybe. “You must come to work as early as eight…” she was explaining the many rules. Boy, did she talk too much. “In no time Ravens will rise”, I could sense the conclusion coming, “to the likes of Bling, Gold Empire, Studs-all-odds and The Fourth Wall”. My head snapped in her direction. Did she just say The Fourth Wall?