2021 short stories

Valentine's Day Eve

I scratched Mimi's cat under the chin and giggled softly. It was just one of those days when I had awoken in a good mood. After all, I had gotten to cat-sit for the Chen family first thing in the morning. I woke up at 8:15 on a Saturday, which would normally make me tired. But my lack of sleep was no match for my enthusiasm and cheerfulness. I pushed my curtains open with unusual fervor and hurried to the bathroom. Though I would be alone, I felt the need to look nice if I was to even exist in the Chen household. I did my makeup and put on one of my favorite outfits; one that Mimi would find cute.

I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the living room. Strawberries and bread, sugar and cinnamon, and a slight hint of cat litter. It smelled exactly like her. I thought of her face, and the neatly cut heart-shaped piece of construction paper hidden somewhere on my bookshelf. That was another special thing about this particular morning. It was the day before Valentine's Day. My heart beat fast with anticipation, and other emotions that are difficult to describe. A scene played out in my head that I had visualized many times.

Mimi and I are standing face to face under the large magnolia tree behind our school, mere inches away from each other. The sun is setting, and it illuminates the landscape with an array of golden yellows, melancholy blues, and bold purples. There is a slight breeze in the air, cooling and full of life. I reach into my back pocket and gracefully offer her my letter of confession.

I smiled at the comforting scenarios that took place in my head, but they were plagued by doubt and anxiety. I wistfully sighed at my own cowardice. Even though I knew that I could be a letter away from transforming fantasy into reality, I was far too scared to make a move. After all, what if Mimi secretly disliked me? And I had no idea if she was even.. you know..

Before I could spiral into despair and frustration, a loud shattering noise knocked me out of my thoughts. I immediately became alert and dashed up the stairs towards the source of the noise. When I reached the top, I was met with a long hallway and a series of doors. Only one of them was open. I looked inside, and was shocked to see broken ceramic scattered across the floor. Suddenly, Snickerdoodle crawled out from behind a nightstand with her head hung low and her face drooping in a guilty expression. Though she could only meow, her face told me everything I needed to know.

Just like the expensive vase in Mimi's bedroom, my high spirits were shattered. My head began to ache, and I fought back the tears forming in my eyes.

"Look what you've done now!" I yelled at Snickerdoodle, finger pointed at the disaster on the floor. She stared at me with her large, shiny eyes. I gave her nothing in return besides a stone cold stare. She dashed out of the room. I knew that the only thing I could do was face my fate and clean up, but I couldn't help sinking to my knees. Even though I acted angry towards the cat, I secretly blamed myself. It was my fault that Mimi's vase was broken. It was my fault that Snickerdoodle felt guilty, and my fault that her carpet was now covered with not only shards of ceramic, but salty teardrops as well.

However, I couldn't sulk forever. The Chens would be back the next day, and they wouldn't be happy to see an uncleaned mess. I got up to fetch a trash bag from their hallway cabinet, but something on a desk in the corner caught my eye instead. It was a small spiral notebook with a light brown cover. On the front were the words "Mimi's Diary" written in her unmistakable round handwriting. My heart began to pound in my chest. An idea formed in my head, but I immediately pushed it out. I truly was desperate to know if she liked me or not. But invading someone else's privacy simply went against my morals. Besides, I had already messed up enough that morning.

I marched towards the door and turned my head away from the desk with resolve. I couldn't peak. I couldn't look. Adrenaline rushed through my body, from my fingertips down to my toes. I could feel it's pages calling to me. Pages filled to the brim with thoughts and feelings, dreams and ambitions. I had to surrender to my urges. If I didn't, I would regret the opportunity for many years to come. I turned around again, and walked back over to her desk. After all, my moral code was no match for such strong temptations. I decided that finding out the truth then would save me from future suffering. I wiped my palms on my shirt and picked up the diary gingerly, careful to not damage it. I had to know the truth. I had to turn the page.

And so that's what I did. I turned and turned and turned, skimming over the papers until I found some mention or reference to myself. Most of them were fairly irrelevant to my curiosity, so I read as little of them as possible. I managed to cling onto my values, albeit in miniscule ways. Then, something caught my eye. It was my name, written meticulously at the top of a page.

"So there's this girl in my class. Katie Turner. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but she's so darn pretty. Like when I saw her after Language Arts, I literally had to go into the bathroom and catch my breath. What the heck"

The butterflies in my stomach increased to a nearly unbearable intensity and my cheeks were filled with an uncontrollable warmth. I couldn't believe what I was reading! How could someone like Mimi, as smart and pretty as she was, feel the same way about me that I felt about her? Well for goodness sake, why should it matter how! I was truly overjoyed. Once again I thought of the letter I wanted to give her, and my carefully crafted plan for confession. Except this time, I was certain I would go through with it.