The Path of Roses 🥀

PART 2: CHAPTER FOURTEEN (2)

Word Count: 2,272

Still Saturday, September 4th, 2004 (1 month, 5 days after Jordan's Diagnosis)

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"Susan, I love your chicken pot pie." Mal said to my Mom before swallowing a spoonful from her mini casserole dish.

"Thank you Mallory. It's an old family recipe." My Mom replied modestly, but her eyes were shining with satisfaction.

"Keep using it Ma, it's so good." Nicole chimed in.

It was about seven o' clock and we, Mal, Mom, Nicole, and I were eating dinner. At least they were. I kept picking at my peas and carrots.

"V, you don't like it?" Mom worried, noticing my bowl still full of buttery crusts enveloping the wonderful mixture of creamed chicken and mixed vegetables.

"I do, it's just.." I stammered, not finding the words to fully explain. 

It's not because Mom is a bad cook like Jordan's Dad. I simply didn't know the reason for my lack of hunger, which was funny, because earlier today when I was hanging out with Mal, Jordan, and the guys I was feeling normal. But now, I can't eat and the smell of creamed chicken was starting to gross me out.

"I'm not hungry I guess." I said.

"Okay," Mom replied, even though she was still worried.

I grabbed my pie and placed it inside the fridge, hoping that my hunger comes back and I'll munch on it in the middle of the night or something.

Mal got up from the table too, but placed her empty bowl in the sink.

"Wanna go to my room?" I asked.

"Yeah." She nodded.

When we entered my room, Mal and I laid on our backs on my bed, looking at the ceiling which was filled with classic movie posters I've collected over the years.

"What a day, am I right?" Mal commented, stretching her arms over her head.

"Yep." I agreed.

"I'm sorry about you and David by the way," Mal said. "I wish things could have worked out."

"Yeah," I sighed, briefly remembering David's look in his eye when he told me that he loved me for the last time. Memories of us as kids and now as teenagers were excitingly vivid, but in a flash, I was reminded why I cut ties with him in the first place.

"But it's for the best. We'll move on and find other people." I predicted.

I didn't feel like talking about David or anything related to me. I wanted to talk about a bigger topic at hand and luckily Mal's vibrating flip phone provided the perfect opportunity to discuss it.

"Speaking of other people, what about you and Mark?" I asked, squiggling my eyebrows teasingly.

After the shaving thing, we took Jordan to Mocha Dream Cafe for lunch. It was really fun, especially that Mal's outgoing persona fit well with our group. I noticed that Mark McKallister, in particular, was really interested in Mal, because they were considered the "nerds" of the group. By the end of the day, they secretly swapped phone numbers and added each other on MySpace.

"Yeah." Mal smiled while she continued to text Mark. "I couldn't help it. He's super chill, but he's so smart. I swear that boy's probably smarter than me!"

"I highly doubt that. He didn't take summer classes at a community college." I reminded her.

"True." She smirked in victory. She continued pressing buttons on her phone, smiling and occasionally laughing.