Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
GENEVIEVE CLOSES the refrigerator with a loud thud, causing a few items to fall down from their assigned ranks. it was late at night, around midnight when the creaking sound from the front door opening, literally scared her heart into stopping. once she calms herself, she peeks her head from the arch way of the kitchen, spotting her mother struggling with plastic bags from the grocery store. "ma, what are you doing?" she groans, taking a few bags from the hands of her mother and quickly carrying them to the kitchen, the girl didn't have much upper body strength to carry these — fifty pound bag — heavy bags.
"late night grocery shopping?"
"the fridge is getting empty, and i don't want you to keep spending money on garbage fast food. you and berto need fruits and vegetables." the woman in scrubs sighs and props herself onto the counter, "— why are you awake at midnight? you have school, you should be asleep, genevieve."
"i can't sleep. you know i have trouble sleeping when i'm home alone— well, with no older adult around" the tired girl shrugs, opening the fridge she had just closed, her eyes were hoping to see something new behind the cold doors. "i—i understand. i'm here now, get some sleep, kay?" her mother looked exhausted and ready to fall asleep for a few decades, the gentle lines of her face were more prominent with old and face was lacking the brightness the usually shined. they both looked different, not exactly in a good way. her heavy feet took one step before her mother said, "goodnight. i love you, sweetheart. thank you" it was a mind thing, a personal that was display with the expression of their eyes. genevieve nods and quietly walks up the rest of the stairs, her index fingers wiped the sleep from her eyelids and undereye, "i love you, mama. you deserve a great sleep"
the bedroom shined strips of light coming from the slightly opened curtains, causing a shadow that looked so aesthetically pleasing. the room was a chilled 73 degrees fahrenheit, the breeze made the slightly darker than skin hair bumps on her body rinse with a relaxing shiver. her mattress was in the corner with tons of thick blankets and pillows, the swift motion of her pouncing onto the mattress and into the land of comfort, opening her heavy eyes and slowly falling asleep.
genevieve loved having a cold room, so did kim. but, their colds were too totally different things. gene wanted to shiver, and kim just wanted to cool comfort. the older always swore that the other was going to get frost bite and possibly even hyperthermia from having her room so cold with a moving fan on full force and a repetitive ceiling fan on the medium level. her room was perfect, and if her mother ever turned off a fan, she'd know and scream at the top of her lungs in angst.
the morning came around slowly, her mother had gone back to work in a hurry as alberto cooked a small breakfast for him and his sister, his plan was to have a family breakfast together, at the dining table where their mother would tell gross, even hilarious stories about her patients, or maybe even some top secret story about how one patient claimed to be kidnapped by extraterrestrial rays of light from a ufo where the beings from some undiscovered planet removed said organ or injected some mysterious fluid into a random body part. his dream was crushed when their mother kissed his cheek and hugged his petite shoulders, a look of regret in her eyes as she hurried through the door almost spilling her coffee from its thermos.
"does she always have to work?" he mumbles, placing a warm plate in front of the girl who was almost literally shaking from cold. "unless there is a way to banish all illness and stop all clumsy idiots from their own stupidity then, yes. sorry kid, i know you miss her. i do too" they ate in silence as the sound of the living room clock echoed into the kitchen, making her anxiously tap her foot.
her mouth opened to say something but before the words could even form in the back of her throat, the door bell rung and four knocks followed. "it's your girl." he smiles, stuffing eggs into his mouth. alberto and kim behaved like best buds, he went to her for forbidden advice and they played basketball together when it wasn't cold enough to comfort polar bears and their cubs. genevieve opened the wooden door, causing wild winds to fly in with freedom.
"hey sweetums. sup berto!" the tall girl hugs her girlfriend with a firm, loving grip and kisses her brown toasty forehead. "you're warm, ya sick?"
"i'm immune to illness kimmie bear, didn't you know that?" kim cocks one brow and smirks, "you're a damn good liar, your rosy cheeks and runny nose says otherwise though," she walks inside with two large cups of something — probably coffee. and a smaller one with probably something for alberto. kim heads into the kitchen and does her signature handshake with the boy whose mouth was packed to the bridge with eggs and toast. it made genevieve smile that her girlfriend got along with her family, especially her younger brother.
the two chatted as she ate the breakfast her brother cooked with such satisfying labor. she couldn't help but glance over at kim whose eyes glistened from the sunshine from the kitchen window, the small precise line of black eyeliner on her waterline with a bit at the outer corners. she looked at a asian half goth princess in tight jeans that were always cuffed at the ankles, a neon shirt with bold patterns, a pair of high top sneakers, and a oddly matched flannel around her waist.
that flannel was usually for genevieve, because the girl admired the heavy collection that kim had obtained over the years. after breakfast kim disappeared upstairs to find some medicine for gen's sniffle. alberto grabbed his board — that almost broke his ankle and hurries outside after bracing for impact.
the brown skinned girl collects all her coily hair in the middle of her head and ties it into a loose bun of mystery. a thick jacket is placed over her black graphic tee and a spoon of red liquid is placed in her face, "open" kim chuckles, watching her girlfriend face fill with disgust.
"look, i'm better already. i'm not even warm anymore" she smiles, trying but failing to approach healthy and well bodied, the sniff sound didn't convince anyone at all. kim lays her fairly warm hand on the center of genevieve forehead to get a rough estimate of her temperature. "warm, drink up" the odd thickness liquid slithered down her throat and upset her tastebuds. "fucking gross. i'm suing that company for false advertisement of a flavor, that shit was not grape" she groans, grasping kim's soft hand with long slender fingers to pair and they walk outside, facing the wind with strong faces.
"i'll see you at uni, babe. have a good day at school berto!" she waves and hops into her car and drives off behind genevieve. the road to the middle school was isolated and empty, full of leaves and no presences. she watched the boy run into the school that was completely vacant at the front where all the skater wannabes and anime enthusiasts clustered around the shaded side of the class, full of happiness and ready to discuss a new anime or manga they found the previous night or rant about this killer new trick that almost caused a broken wrist or bruised groin.
she didn't want to go to class today, she could comfortably skip and head home to do nothing but enjoy the quiet sound of white nose coming from the bare trees outside her window. it's as if kim could sense a change in the atmosphere when genevieve wasn't at university. kim always knew. the short hung onto kim's forearm as she walked the sweet asian to class and kissed her farewell with pink cheeks. the art class that dragged out way too long didn't start for another ten minutes, so she wondered campus with pricked up ears fill with curiosity, she spotted a litter worth of medium sized kittens and a mother cat walking around aimlessly with no care in the world other than finding food to eat for the time. she even accidentally snuck up on a girl painting graffiti in the daylight in a quiet, abandoned corner lot that no one even knew existed. "sup" the girl nods, and goes back to creating a great masterpiece of lines and airbrush.
it turns out, the graffiti girl was in her art class, newly added. her name — asha. they ended up talking, even comparing how adorable their lovers were. it's interesting how friends are made.
