Maya repeatedly shook her head " nothing ever happened".
Olivia sighed and ruffled Maya's hair gently. She suddenly felt guilty and useless. Guilty because she felt she had being too hard on them. Useless because... she couldn't do anything to protect her siblings from being harassed.
" Come here" She pulled her siblings for a tight hug while patting their backs gently.
" I'm sorry" Olivia apologized in a low voice " I'm really sorry, okay?" She continued " Everything is going to be okay, I promise". She assured whilst continuing her gentle pat of her hands on their backs, her eyes closed, relishing the bonding moment.
She loved them. She loves these two siblings of hers and she was going to spoil them. Love them. Protect them. Till her death.
"We love you" The twins echoed in unison.
Olivia's eyes became teary as she tried to keep herself from crying in front of her two sweet, little pumpkins. She needed to be strong for them. " I love you both too. Very much." She said as she tightened the hug.
Olivia was about to say more when—
'GROWL!!!'
The twins' stomachs protested in hunger and Olivia broke away from the hug with a loud laughter.
" I'll go prepare something for us" She said as she stood up and patted their buttocks as she went to the kitchen to heat up some food. Hardly had she stepped her foot fully into the kitchen when she remembered something.
Oh shoot.. Ingredients. There were no ingredients in the house!! Oh Jesus, could her day be any more worse? She.. she had no money!! And she had no family relatives. They all turned invisible after her parents death with no clue of contact. Who could she go to?
Georgina. Yes, her best friend, Gina could help. How could it have escaped her mind?! Where was her phone?
Olivia hurried out of the kitchen in search of her phone. She didn't take her phone with her to the park to avoid disturbing her from having fun with her siblings. It wasn't as if anyone would call her anyways.
She sighted the rickety button phone where it was laid on top of the table and dashed towards it like her life depended on it under the curious and confused gaze of the twins who were seated on a sofa opposite the table.
Olivia ignored their questioning gaze and grabbed the phone firmly but carefully to avoid letting the dial pads button which were already threatening to tear off, fall apart completely. She struggled with the buttons for a minute and managed to search up her best friend's contact on the phone and immediately dialled the number.
Georgina Sparks, her best friend since childhood wasn't born with a silver spoon just like herself but her situation was better than her's. Gina could afford three square meals a day. She couldn't. Gina's parents were alive. Hers weren't. So, Gina was her only hope when she has nob—
" OLIVIA!!!!!!!" A loud female's soprano voice sounded from the other side of the phone. Olivia withdrew the phone from her ear as her eardrum threatened to burst. Georgina, I don't want to go deaf!!
After she felt Gina had calmed down, she drew the phone near to her ear at a considerable distance.
" Hey, I've been trying to reach you all this time!! What's wrong? Are you okay? How are those two little penguins? I hope they're not giving you too much heartache. Just tell me. When next I come, I'll give them a nice spanking. I'm so sorry for not coming all this time. I hope I'm still your best friend, huh? Do you hate me? Don't hate me, please!! What am I going to do if you hate me?! I'm going to be the world's best best friend you've ever known, okay? OLIVIA!!!!!!! TALK TO ME!!!!!" Georgina finished in one breath which left her panting hard and loud. Loud enough for Olivia to hear clearly.
"..."
Olivia sighed softly. This was her best friend. Always a drama queen. If she had pursued a career in acting, Olivia was pretty sure she'd make it big in the entertainment industry.
" Georgina, relax, okay? I'm here. How are you doi—
"Georgina? You never call me by my full name!! You always call me Gina!! You... you're angry with me!! " Georgina gasped over the phone.
"....."
" OLIVIA!!!!!!" Gina yelled angrily like a child throwing tantrums.
" I.. It's not like that, I just—
" I know, right? I shouldn't have screamed at you like that. I'm on my period and you know how cranky I can get when it's that time of the month. Please forgive me now or else I'm going to cry!!" Gina's voice changed to a kid begging for candies.
"....." Olivia was stupefied!! It was hard to believe that this best friend of hers was going to be twenty three the next month! She was whining like a child!!
" Gina, Gina, relax, okay? Take a deep breath" Olivia instructed.
Gina did as she was told. She took a deep breath.
" Now breathe out slowly"
Once again, Gina did as she was told and exhaled deeply, slowly through her mouth.
" Yes that's it. Easy does it. Are you okay?" Olivia asked, concern obvious in her voice.
" Yeah, I'm good. I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. You are not angry with me, are you?" Gina finally relaxed.
Olivia laughed " Don't be too dramatic. You know I'm not angry with you, Gina. I have no reason to."
" How has life being for you?" Gina's voice went quite.
Silence.
Olivia knew she was asking her how's been faring since her parents death.
Gina on the other side knew she had struck the wrong chord. Her best friend was swimming out of an ocean and she had ended up pushing her right back into the ocean! What kind of a friend was she? Ugh, her blabbermouth was going to get her into trouble one day. She had only said that at the spur of the moment. She was about to say something to change the topic when Olivia's voice rang out rather quietly.
" We've been doing great. Me and the twins" Olivia's voice turned hoarse. She was holding the tears in.
" Who is that, sis Olivia? Is that Food-gina? " Maya's tiny voice broke the atmosphere which had turn eerie. She had heard the conversation as Gina's voice was loud. It was always loud.
Olivia turned to Maya and nodded her head while smiling. Her siblings always troubled Gina whenever she came around and Gina would have none of it as always tried to pry off the twins by spanking them. But the twins also proved to be stubborn and would vice out a plan which always ended up with the three playing hide-and-seek and throwing things at each other!!
" Ah! You!! I said it's not Food-gina!! It is GEORGINA!!!! How many times do I have to tell YOU that, you little penguin?!" Gina screamed loudly at the phone. She had heard Maya's voice from the phone asking if the person over the phone was Food-gina. She needn't be told twice that that penguin was talking about her!
" Oh no, no, no. Maybe when you stop being a glutton, we'll move to call you Water-gina!!" This time it was Jerry's voice that was heard.
Squeaks of laughter could be heard from the amused twins who were clearly enjoying teasing the glutton aunty.
Gina's face turned bright red at what she just heard. Arghh!! Those penguins, I'll make them pay!!
Olivia came to Gina's rescue and motioned to the twins to go to their room. The twins reluctantly obeyed not before dropping one last bomb.
" Don't get fat soon or you won't find a husband to marry you, Food-gina!!!" They screamed and scurried into their room with squeaks of laughter.
" Those two penguins are starting to get on my last nerve!!" Gina yelled. Why couldn't those two be like their sister? Just why?! They filled her life with thorns and needles!!
Olivia laughed" Don't mind them, you know they don't mean what they say"
" Don't try to justify their sins!! You and I know those two penguins mean every single word they said and you know it!!"
Olivia sighed. She was getting frustrated already. How does she borrowing money from her best friend warrants her into being yelled at? Sigh. Life was cruel.
" Can you lend me some money? I- I've run out of money. But I'll give you back after I find a job. "
" Huh?! What are you you talking about?" Gina asked, surprised.
" I–"
" I sent you some money last week, Oli," Gina said in a soft voice, calling her best friend by her pet name.
" H- Huh?" Olivia was stunned. Gina sent her some money? But she never got the ale– But then again, her phone was faulty! Maybe that was why she couldn't get any messages! Ugh, this damned phone of hers.
" A–Ah! Don't tell me you haven't seen it yet!," Gina gasped.
" N–No, I–I haven't seen it yet. It's probably because my phone is really faulty and I can't be able to receive messages," Olivia's voice cracked out in between relief and desperation.
" You know what? I'm heading over right now, I'm going to–"
" No, no, no. I can handle this. Since you've sent it, it should be in my account. So, I'll go check it and I'll call you lat–"
" Are you sure you don't want me to come over? " Gina interrupted.
" It's fine, I'm okay. I'll call you later, okay? I need to go get the money. The twins are starving" Olivia mumbled hurriedly.
" Okay, but are you really sure you don't want me to–"
" Gina!! I'm going to be fine, okay? I have to go now and by the way, I really appreciate what you've done for m–"
" Don't mention. What are we bestfriends for? Oh! I forgot to tell you something. I'll be going for–"
Toot* Toot* Toot* Toot* Toot* Toot
Olivia hung up the phone in haste and ran to her room. She rummaged through her things and found a torn jacket which she slung over her shoulder. It was freezing outside. She made forward to grab her bank card which was on top of a wooden chair and dashed towards the door in haste. She ended up tripping on some of her belongings which laid around.
" Jerry! Sweetie pie! I'll be out for a minute! Please lock the door and don't open the door to strangers.. or anyone, okay?" Olivia yelled out in her loudest voice to her twin siblings who were inside their room.
" Okay, don't be long! "
" Be safe!"
The twins
Olivia hurried out of the front door and made sure to lock it tightly. After a last-minute checkup on the bolt, she ran through the freezing and bone chilling weather to the nearest bank. The snow was falling really hard and the whole street was white with snow.
Her parents restaurant was on the way to the bank and she couldn't help but halt her step as she moved her head towards the restaurant which was now empty... and lifeless. How ironic. This was the restaurant her parents had suffered and sweated for. But everything has disappeared into thin air. Everything.
As Olivia stood rooted to the ground out in the freezing cold, memories started flooding. She could vividly remember the sweet memories they all shared as a family. She could see herself outside the restaurant inviting customers in with a heartwarming and welcoming smile. She could see Maya and Jerry running around the area with other children their age, playing and shouting delightfully. She.. she could see her parents serving the customers with the most beautiful smile she's ever seen, telling them to come patronize them next time.
And now everything is gone. Within a blink of an eye. She.. she'd never see her parents again.
Something wet slid down her cheek and she touched it only to realize she's been crying. Olivia chuckled sadly. She couldn't believe she was crying at a time like this.