sk8-hi | sor

nine

"obviously not. my first and true love would have to be my first lego toy. i have it displayed in a glass case in my living room as 'zack's first love', i'll have you know," zack explained as we drove to the skate park.

"let's ditch," i said, grabbing his hand and looking at him.

"what do you mean, tomika?" zack looked rather confused but he accepted my hand and gripped it tightly. it made me feel safe, in all honesty.

"let's go somewhere else. talk about life, chat about school. i mean, it's what brought us together, i couldn't imagine our first date not letting us get to know each other better," i smiled. it was true that talking for hours on end is what brought us together, and i value the time i spend on meaningful conversations. "what do you say?"

he nodded after a few seconds of hesitation, before looking focused at the road. i wondered what he'd been thinking about, and so i asked.

"what's up? why the intent serious look?"

"i was thinking of the perfect place to go," he thought about it for a little while longer, before finally nodding his head and smiling.

"and that would be?"

"well, i was thinking we go to this diner at the border of town," he paused, and i looked at him with an eyebrow raised up, "good food, good music, great people. a wonderful place to have a first date with someone who doesn't care about how much money i have or how handsome i am."

"who says i don't care about your looks and wealth?"

he turned to me with a horrified expression. i was about to laugh my head off, but i figured that might cause me some serious injuries considering he is driving the car i am in.

"kidding, kidding," i said, and held his hand.

it didn't seem to take long for us to get to the diner; in fact, it seemed like mere minutes. but in actualitys, it took two whole hours for us to drive to the place. by the time we got there, it was already dinner time.

"you've been here a lot, i presume?" i asked as i took a booth facing the highway.

"not really. my brother and sister took me here a lot whenever my parents fought or were being too boastful with their wealth. they're a lot older than me, so they know better than to let me be influenced by them," zack explained, sitting across from me. we looked up when a waitress came by our table.

i flipped through the colourful menu, and ordered some bacon and eggs. there is nothing better in the world than breakfast for dinner.

"i'll have what she's having. and two coffees, please," zack smiled at the waitress, and we began to talk.

we talked about how beautiful it was in texas. we talked about how wonderful it was that we found each other at that party and started talking. we went on about how great the food was, more of our common interests. i found it scary how vulnerable i could be around him. then again, he opened up to me too. the cool kid, who did nothing but get into trouble to come out of his perfect brother's shadow. and myself, the skater rat who hadn't skated in so long. in fact, the last time i went skating was probably the day i met him. since that dang party.

it turned real dark real quickly. by about 8.30, zack decided that it would be best to drive back to austin. we blasted the best of the 70s, 80s and 90s, jamming out the entire 2 hour drive back home. he dropped me off at my house first. when i got down, he made sure to walk me to the door. i watched him and his black car drive off towards his mansion, and i was smiling like an idiot. from that moment, i could tell i was completely smitten.

i walked in and hopped up to my room, noticing my dad still wasn't home. but mom was. she was in her room, packing some things.

"ma? what're you up to?" i knocked on the door, opening the small crack i saw through a little larger.

"oh, nothing. just packing your father's things. he's going on a trip to michigan this weekend, he's got to visit your grandmother," she stopped pushing the clothes into the suitcase. "she's, um, she's sick."

"what? nana's sick?" i sat down beside her, and i could tell she'd been crying for a while now. "what happened?"

"well, she's been finally diagnosed with leukemia, and isn't gonna live much longer," she wiped away the tears. nana's always been fond of mom, even though nana probably knew about my dad's other options. nana normally takes more on mom's side than daddy's, even though nana's daddy's mom.

"that's terrible. can't we go see her too?"

"your father thinks its best for us to stay here in texas. we might never leave her if we go, he says. which i guess is true, despite his persistent lying all these years," she dissed. she went from sad and blue to salty real quick.

"how're you and daddy, by the way?" i rubbed her back, and grabbed some tissues for her.

"we're going to try to work it out. he claims he fell back in love with me, and he always loved you."

"seems like something daddy would say," i sighed, kicking off my shoes and jumping into their bed.

"yeah, you know him. anyway, why are you home so late, young lady?"

"i went to dinner with zack. no big deal."

"did you go on a date? oh, honey, this is great!" she took me into a hug. i think i'm gonna miss my mom the most in this town when i go off to college. her hugs smell like honey and caramel apples, and when she talked it was like drinking million dollar water — smooth, refreshing and crystal clear. when she moved around she was like a swan in a lake, and her smile lit up every room she walked into. she was the person i could confide in for anything whatsoever, and with her warm hugs, hilarious dancing and inspiring speeches to teach me a lesson.

if there was anybody i may ever love more than my significant other, i forever and always will know that that human being would be my mother. for she is everything i wish to be and i wish everything will remain good for her.

-

a cute part about mika and her mom. sorry for not updating in 863 years. will update very soon, i'm sorry but its exam time and i don't really think i can post a lot. thank you to all those who added my story into a reading list, though.