Anger Issues

twenty

Austin

"You told me to call," Jess said, her voice sad.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I was mad for no reason, I shouldn't have ignored you."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," she sighed. "But it's okay," she added.

"Did I miss anything at school?" I asked. "No, but tomorrow is Friday and you better be there, because it's our last day before break," she said.

"I will," I smiled. "I'll call you later, I'm about to head to the mall," she said. "Alright, bye."

As she mentioned the mall, I remembered that I needed to wrap Christmas gifts.

I hid everything in my closet, knowing nobody would find anything.

"Mom," I called, walking to my parents room. "Do we have any wrapping paper?" I asked.

"We should have a little bit in the basement closets, I'm not sure if it'll be enough," she informed.

"Okay, thank you."

I went downstairs, noticing the snowfall outside. I smiled to myself. Would we have a white Christmas?

It's New York, of course we would.

But then again, it's New York, and weather has mood swings.

I went to the basement and grabbed a roll of wrapping paper from the closet, tape, scissors, and went back upstairs.

Most gifts were in boxes, so I easily wrapped them. A few were in bags, in which I ended up covering with tissue paper.

Jess', though, was already wrapped. When I bought it, I had the cashier wrap it, and tie a small ribbon around it.

I knew that I would have family members coming over, so I still had a little bit of shopping left.

I put most of the gifts under the tree, then headed out.

The gifts I needed were for my cousins being younger than me, so I went to toy stores and clothing stores for kids.

One of my cousins was born a few months ago, so I went to the clothing section to pick out something.

Looking at everything made my head spin. The sizes, the design, the whole thing.

How would I be able to handle this in the future?

Eventually giving up on that, I got a few small toys instead.

The trip took me a few hours. By the time I was home, the night's darkness filled the sky.

I went to my room, and finished half of the gifts, giving up and putting the rest aside for another time.

Jessica

I got home from the mall, and to my surprise, one of my cousins had arrived.

"Hi!" I happily said, setting my things down before hugging her, as well as her parents.

I had the usual oh my gosh it's been so long! Conversation with my aunt and uncle, before departing upstairs with my cousin, Nikki.

She was only a year younger than me, but we got along great.

"So, how's your life?" I asked her. "Complicated as hell, sometimes," she laughed.

"Why so?" I asked. A shy smile creeped on her face, as she sighed.

"So, there's this guy.." my mouth fell open, as I collapsed next to her.

"Spill everything," I encouraged.

She explained how she was getting mixed signals, but that he confessed to like her.

"See, I can't relate to that, but screw mixed signals," I said. "Unless you really do want to give it a shot," I said.

"I don't know what to do Jessica," she dramatically fell onto her back.

I copied her action, but less dramatically. "What advice do you have for guys?" She asked.

"Oh, you're really asking the wrong person," I laughed.

She propped herself on one arm, looking at me like I was crazy.

"What? Why? Did you and Austin br-"
"No! No, calm down," I laughed at her worry.

"We're fine, I just suck at advice," I explained. "Anyway, this guy you're talking about, who is he?" I asked.

"This guy, Angelo. He's in a few of my classes," she said. "He cute?"

She grabbed her phone, pulling up pictures. "You tell me," she said.

I looked through his Instagram pictures, looking at a few.

"He's cute," I nodded. "Back off," she sarcastically said. "All yours," I smiled, an idea coming to mind.

I inhaled sharply, catching her attention. "I liked something," I sat up. "Jess I swear to- I hate you so much," she sighed in relief, realizing I lied.

A notification came up on her phone, another evil smile approaching my face.

"Hmm, Angelo texted you. Did you make it there yet? With two question marks, and a heart," I said.

"Stop," she laughed, attempting to grab her phone. I began to write a message, standing up.

"Yes Angelo, I made it," I typed. "Jess don't you dare!" She laughed, jumping up.

I stood on my bed, escaping her.

"Jess!" She yelled. I laughed, running down the hall, with her following me.
"I can't stop thinking about you, I really miss you," I teased.

"Jess don't send that you're making me sound desperate," she pleaded, as I simply laughed.

"Fine," I laughed, finally handing it back to her.

So far, winter break was looking great.