Unknown Desires

Choices

The light cascades around me. 

How did I get back into my room? I rethink back to last night’s events. 

Oh, God. How could I have been so vulnerable? 

I put my head in my hands. He wasn’t supposed to see me like that. Our times have been rocky, but he wasn’t supposed to follow me, let alone comfort me. I will have to talk to him when he gets home.

 He works for his dad’s dating company. It is called MatchU. The company matches people and orchestrates dates for matches in special, private settings. I remember his dad always came by the school during the time the final years would be set to match. He works with President Audrey a lot because her office works together with the company to match them based on four factors: intelligence, character, body features, and interests. The data they collect gets observed to make sure we are matched with the best person possible. A waste of time, in my opinion. 

I head to the bathroom and clean myself up. I brush my teeth circling the soft brushes throughout my dry mouth. I look at myself in the mirror. My sloppy mess of curls looks like a mop in my hair, so I settle for putting it in a hair cap. I’m so exhausted. Dry spats of tears are still under my eyes. Burying my parents was the hardest thing I did. I have to toughen up and face the reality that they are gone. 

But sometimes I can’t help to think that if I were smarter, prettier, and wiser, then I could have stopped them from dying.

I leave the bathroom and I cross paths with Mykel’s mother. I’m used to being honorific.

“Good morning Mrs. House. How are you doing today?”

 She turns around with a lovely smile. “I am doing well. Thank you. Mykel left early to work with his father. Would you like some breakfast?”

It’s not like I can turn down the offer. “Sure.”

“Great.” She holds her hands gracefully and treads down the stairs. I follow her down toward the kitchen. I immediately smell the scent of bacon, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls. The scent wavers through the air. For a moment, the house smells sweetly. 

She reaches down towards the oven and takes the cinnamon rolls out. In a separate bowl, there is a fruit salad. Biscuits and bacon are set in each plate. I can’t believe she made this for me.

“Thank you. It looks so good.”

“You’re welcome. I decided to let the maid have the morning off from cooking. Plus, I wanted to know more about the girl that my son has fell in love with.”

“Yeah, it’s very exciting.” I say unenthusiastically. 

I help her bring the food to the breakfast table. I sit across from her.

“Eat anything you like.” I try to not be greedy, so I grab one of everything from the table. She pours me a glass of orange juice.

I eat very slowly and cleanly as I glance out the window at the sunny skies. It is getting very awkward in here. I sip my orange juice and try to stare at the pictures of their family on the wall.

“So, how did you two meet?”

I almost choke on my orange juice. That was random. “Well, I met him when we were partners on our science project in 9th grade. Since then, we have always had the same classes and were partners on everything.”

“Hmmm. Well, he is always talking about you. He adores you dearly. It doesn’t seem like you are too fond of him. May I ask why?”

His mother is very observant. I didn’t even realize that she noticed this. I sigh. Maybe I can trust her.