TEENAGE FEVER

07

"I like her," my mother said as we dried the dishes that night. She was talking about Jenny, who had been her usual outward self during dinner. I smiled at her, handing her a glass I had just dried.

"You say that about all my friends," I told her with a slight chuckle. She rolled her eyes at me.

"She's one of the only ones I mean it for," she admitted. When I gave her a shocked look she shrugged, letting out an exaggerated breath. "Let me not lie, most of your friends used to annoy the crap out of me."

I laughed, handing her a plate. "I always had a feeling you weren't fond of Addison," I mumbled, placing my hands on the counter seeing as the dishes were done. My mom's blonde hair was piled up on top of her head in a nasty messy bun that made her look younger. It was nice seeing her like this. She wouldn't admit it, but she had chosen California for a reason.

My mom was a neurologist and had gotten job offers from so many places before we'd moved. I knew she had taken the one in California because of the sea air and the history she had with it. She'd grown up here with the hopes of being an author until, much like mine, her dad had told her she was being ridiculous.

It startled me how much we had in common.

"Let's go for a walk," I told her, turning. I knew that my mom and I were in it together now. Being bitter towards her wouldn't solve anything. From time to time, I would hate her for what she did, I would want nothing to do with her. But then I'd remember that she was my mother, practically my best friend. I just needed to find out why she did what she did.

She gave me a long look. I rarely offered anything physical. Usually, I'd suggest we watched a movie or read together, but Oakland was a beautiful town. Staying indoors would be a crime.

"Where to?" She asked.

"Let's go to the beach. Jenny showed me the way," I told her with a slight shrug. I refrained from mentioning that I had gone for a party on one of our first nights here. It was so funny how much parents didn't know about their kids nowadays. It was like we were different people around them. Good people. She nodded. Minutes later we were on the same street Jenny and I had been walking on a few nights ago.

We were silent when we got to the beach, taking in the view. It was relatively empty, with only a few people lounging around or jogging to their cars with surfboards under their arms. My mother let out a deep breath, taking off her flip flops as she stepped onto the hot sand. I did the same and we stood together, side by side. Peacefully.

"Do you remember our trip to Spain?" My mother asked. I nodded, turning to look at her. I knew she was thinking about the time we had snuck out of the hotel room while my dad was in a meeting and gone around. Just the two of us. That was a year ago. When things were okay. She sighed, "That was the moment I realised....."

She didn't need to finish her sentence. I knew what she wanted to say. I bit my lip, staring at the ocean and taking a deep breath. "What....made you realise it?" I asked.

"We spent so much time without your father and I got used to that. But in another country? Another continent?" She chuckled bitterly, "I had had enough."

I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. A part of me wondered if my mom had fallen out of love with my dad. Though I couldn't tell if I wanted to know the answer to that.

"This boy," my mom changed the subject, turning to me. "When am I meeting him?"

"Wrong question," I told her.

She laughed. "Okay, fine. Is he nice?"

I pictured Jaden and I sitting on the beach, then Jaden and I sitting in the diner. Obviously, a smile spread onto my face just at the thought of him. It was out of character for me to develop a crush on someone so quickly.

"He's really sweet....and he makes me laugh," I admitted. "But.....there's a part of him that's kind of closed off. Like I know I just met him but even Jenny doesn't know much about him."

Wind rushed past us and the ocean let out a loud roar. Despite the conflict in my head at the thought of Jaden's enigmatic personality. I didn't know why it was such a big deal but it was. Sort of.

"A lot of people have a side to them that they don't show anybody," my mom answered with a slight shrug.

"I know," I sighed, "but I feel like his secret side is something...big. I don't know. Like if he keeps it to himself he'll explode."

"Did you tell Jenny about what happened that night?"

The question caught me off guard. My mom didn't like talking about that night so the fact that she'd brought it up meant she was trying to bring out a strong point. I shook my head. I knew where this was going.

"Because you just met her," she continued, "And Jaden just met you. If what he is going through is as big as you suspect, he's not going to tell you until he's sure you're there to stay. You have to get him to trust you."

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Jenny's parents were out of town that night so it was no shock that she knocked on my door at 10pm, saying she was scared of her house.

"They do this a lot and I usually go to Uriah's place," she admitted as she stepped into my house, dressed in cute pink bunny pyjamas. "But I have a female friend now and I'm getting over the shock so I've come here. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," I told her genuinely. "My mom is asleep but I don't think she'll mind either."

Once we were settled in my room, I let the moment sink in. I had a friend already. Most importantly, I had a Jenny. How lucky was I?

"How come your parents are always travelling?" I asked, getting comfortable on the bed. Jenny was brushing her hair in front of the mirror. She looked at my reflection in the mirror before she begun to braid her hair.

"They own this huge advertising company in the city," she shrugged, "And whenever they have this huge project they go over there for a week. Usually. They used to take me but I hate the city."

I nodded in understanding. Ever since I'd moved to Oakland, I had started to hate the thought of the city as well. Everytime I thought about it I thought about the smoke, the boatloads of people. The men hiding in corners. I shivered.

"Well, consider this your second home then," I told her. She jumped into the bed and pulled me into a hug suddenly. I laughed in shock, hugging her back and later, as she lay besides me, fast asleep, I smiled.

I got out of bed and walked to my table, opening my laptop. Once I'd opened word document, I stared at the blinking cursor for a while, trying to ask myself if I wanted to do this. I hadn't written in a while. First, it was because of my dad. And Addison. But then, I tried not to think about writing because I was afraid that I'd lost the ability to. I feared that it was now just a task instead of a passion.

I took a deep breath and typed a few words onto the computer. They immediately didn't feel right. I ran a hand through my hair and stood up. I couldn't do this. After shutting my laptop off, I sighed and slid back into bed. A part of me knew though, that I would try again the next day. And the day after that.

Because here I could be the Maddie I wanted to be and that Maddie was a writer.

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I wanted this to be exclusively about the females. Welp. Sorry if it's boring lmao.

Lots of love
Musawa