"is eveything okay?" Jessie asks as soon as l turn around to face them but l find that Elliot and Maya have disappeared
"where are the love birds?" l ask. For as long as l can remember, l have never been one to suffer from the thoughtlessness ideology called day dreaming. And this is the second time l have found myself drawn to nothingness.
"it's obvious isn't it?" l have always been an expert when it comes to relationships. Love is a very contagious feeling and there is no one immune to it or so l have learnt and when it comes to identifying those that have been struck by cupid's arrow, call me Professor Billy
"even a blind man can tell that science class made two negatives spark up a flame" l tell her and surprisingly she laughs at my lame attempt of pursuing comedy as a career
"dry humour always hits different. The food is here and l can't stomach microwaved take out. For your sake l hope it's still hot" she says turning around to leave the attic following the smell of greasy Asian food
Before l can take any step forward to follow her and fill up the growling beast that hasn't been fed in a day, but a buzzing in my back pocket halts me in my step. I feel for my phone but l find that l do not have it with me and that's the only thing that could have been buzzing
I chose to ignore it and walk down the stairs to the living room but the buzzing gets louder and more aggressive that l lose my footing on the stairs and in a not so graceful manner roll down the stairs, landing on a sift cushion and a concerned Elliot
"Are you okay?" he asks extending his hand to me lifting me off my butt and onto my feet
"yes l am. Thank you for the cushion, it broke my fall" but he looks at me weirdly before looking at the ground and l follow his line of vision to find that there is nothing.
"it must be the hunger" l walk away from him and into the dining room, my hand in my right back pocket searching for the item that almost paralysed me. It doesn't take longer than a second to find the shiny necklace that l picked up in the attick staring at me with it's mesmerising jewels that are hard to resist, l find myself putting it around my neck
The band of the necklace feels light, seemingly nonexistent making my heart flutter slightly. I will have to ask my aunt later if l can keep it but the idea of her saying no makes my head hurt and my heart break just a little
"nice necklace, it compliments your skin so well" Jess compliments with a stuffed mouth, with chewed up pieces of ramen falling out
"disgusting Jess, eat with your mouth closed and talk when your mouth is empty. No wonder why no guy wants to date you" Elliot says looking rather disgusted by his friends behaviour
"whatever" she says sticking up her middle finger at him but thankfully she chews with her mouth closed
"where did you get that? you weren't wearing it when we picked you up from the airport were you because l am sure that is the first thing we would have noticed and those two idiots would have at least stayed around to see if they could milk you or not" Elliot ask and this time around l find all eyes on me
"I just put it on now. I was scared that l might lose it if it is not around my neck" l tell them and all l want to do is bang my head on the wall. I have no idea what came over me and made me lie to the people that are potentially becoming my friends but it was like an overwhelming presence forced my mouth to spew the lies out
"alright, finish up so we can watch some telly, you know how your aunt gets when we eat on the sofas" he says and they all laugh like it's some kind of inside joke
My food is already on a translucent plate, stacked neatly but more of a portion that my late father would have loved however the idea that my food was dished out for me makes me feel very uncomfortable and the idea of eating everything in front of me seems like mission impossible
"If you don't mind me asking, how are you related to Aunt Anne? she has never spoken of any family she has and we have never bothered to ask" Jess, the only other person who still has food on her plate asks. I am not surprised by her question because Anne and my father had a weird relationship.
They fought a lot but couldn't stay angry at each other for long periods of time, apart for the fight they had three years before his death that led to their official and final separation. Father always refused to tell me no matter how many times l asked because he wanted me to have a relationship with his sister and he didn't want their baggage to get in the way
But this was an all time low for Anne. I understand that they never saw eye to eye, but denying having any family seems a little strange and uncomfortable for me. Had she warned me before hand, l would have had an idea as to how l should approach the conversation
"l'm home" she says from the front door saving me from the heavy loaded question Jess had asked
"Thank you so much for picking up my niece from the airport as well as babysitting her for me" Anne says giving Jess a two hundred note
"so you only stayed because she was going to pay you?" l ask the pink haired girl who looks likes she would rather be anywhere but here
"when she asked, she made it seem like you were a kid and l am a student, l need the extra change. I would have never for the life of me imagined that l would like your company" she defends but a voice in my head tells to me to shove her on the ground and walk away without an apology or goodbye
"Billy, get back here" Anne shouts but l ignore her, slamming the door of my bedroom, a clear indication that l would rather be alone than with any of them at the moment