Love, Scarlett | WATQ WINNER

04 | that knife

NICOLE AND SCARLETT parted ways in middle school, just at the starting of eighth grade. Scarlett was exempted from the former's life, as though it was just that easy to delete people from life in reality. Scarlett didn't say anything. She never was one of those who stood up to people, even though she knew they were treating her wrong. She didn't believe in fights, and compromised herself in the process.

She met Amelia one faithful day while en route to her house. The screams had taken another level and she didn't to be at house this early. So, she took a little detour. Oh how that changed her life!

She didn't know her way, and almost got lost, before she tumbled onto a street where she saw her. Amelia was sitting on the curb, and was in the middle of feeding the pigeons her lunch. It seemed she had been doing it for quite a while, as the birds were perched even on her shoulders. Amelia was carefully breaking her rice clumps into pieces and throwing it to the ground. Scarlett got intrigued. She had seen her quite a few times around in school. Amelia wasn't popular either, stuck in the middle level of this popularity ladder. Everyone knew she was kind of a wannabe though.

Scarlett approached her, tentatively. You see, Scarlett was never good at making friends or interacting with new people per se. But that day, at lunch Nicole had humiliated her yet again. Scarlett decided she would do something, anything different today.

And so she did.

The birds started squawking as Scarlett drew near, and Amelia looked up. The latter smiled, and pushed her lunch contained in a brown paper bag towards her. And so they sat together, and fed the pigeons. Sun dipping and converting the beautiful clear blue sky to an even more beautiful orange sunset. When the lunch was finished and there was nothing else to offer to these creatures, Amelia and Scarlett ran down the streets, the wind whipping at their hair, their laughter echoing in the dusk of the day. And it was the start of something new.

Over the next four years they grew closer, becoming each other's lifelines and cushions. They got to know each other's secrets which were never spoken. Scarlett got to know that Amelia wasn't feeding the pigeons as she had leftover food, it was because Amelia didn't eat any food. She tried to reason with her, how it would only destroy her body and not give anything in return. But Amelia was as stubborn as Nicole.

When Amelia was dumped by her first love in sophomore year, both of them stayed up all night at her house, watching reruns of Gossip Girl and eating tub after tub of mint ice cream.

But that wasn't the case when Rhett broke Scarlett. They didn't eat ice cream or watch Netflix. Instead, all she got was her best friend's cold stare as she reached school in the morning. She didn't receive the daily hug they exchanged, instead all she got was silence. And that broke Scarlett more.

In retrospect, Scarlett should have known, again. Amelia was wannabe, and you could never change that. She practically worshipped Nicole, even though she tried to be elusive about it. But Scarlett was gullible, not a fool. Yet she ignored it, risking their friendship wasn't an option to her. But that day Amelia got her chance, her chance to be known, to be recognised. It didn't matter to her that they were seniors in school, and all of this would be over in a few months. She didn't notice because she had been too busy waiting for this day since eighth grade.

Amelia was now one of Nicole's cronies, and didn't spare Scarlett another glance as she laughed along with other girls, disregarding their friendship for this position.

Scarlett watched on helplessly as Amelia destroyed what was left of both of them.