WARNING: UPSETTING CONTENT
Bereavement, racism.
Elodie's clothes were flying around the room, landing on the floor, the bed, and one almost got caught on a lightbulb.
Elodie rushed into her room.
"Mamá!
¿Qué estás haciendo?"
Elodie's Mum sighed.
"¡Él me va a matar!"
"Who's going to kíll you?", questioned Elodie.
"My boss!", exclaimed her Mum.
"I put a dark blue box in your room by accident when I was cleaning. I didn't know it was his!"
"It's ok, Mamá...", said Elodie.
"I moved it on to my desk", she said.
Her Mum breathed a sigh of relief as Elodie picked it up from her desk. Her finger slipped, causing the box to crash to the ground.
The pair were on the floor the next second, frantically trying to pick up what looked like photos. One in particular caught Elodie's eye.
It was a picture of a man cradling a little baby in his arms. He had the biggest smile on his face. A sad smile appeared on Elodie's face as she thought back to her own father.
Her Mum placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Come on, hija. Let's tidy up."
Elodie did as she was told, but her mind was still on her father, even after her Mum had left.
________ ELODIE'S P.O.V ________
I don't remember a time my Dad wasn't telling cheesy jokes. Do you know those corny jokes middle aged men with atleast one child always say?
Dad jokes?
Yeah, God invented them specially for my Dad.
Or, Gods. Or a spiritual being. Or a higher power in general. Or a power typically used to create solidarity between a community- or one that causes a certain group to be hated.
Whatever you believe in.
I've always tried to be accepting of other people's beliefs and ways of existing, really.
My Mamá is an immigrant from Colombia, and my Papá's parents are from Ecuador.
They moved around a lot, before I was born. They finally settled down in Moorside, the only place that didn't immediately label my parents as gang members.
That's pretty sad, right?
Not that people here are super accepting.
They still get ab*se hurled at them, but it's calmed down over the years.
One incident is still engraved into my mind. It involves Maya and her family, actually.
Maya and I walked down the street after finishing up in the school library.
"No, I'm telling you, the food was so bad!", I said.
"She said she was a spice lover, but it was like biting into a foot."
Maya burst out laughing. Her laugh, and her smile, always seemed to cheer me up. She was an all or nothing kind of girl. If she was trying to fake being mad at you, her face would betray her.
This probably sounds weird but I don't always look at Maya's eyes when she's talking to me.
Sometimes I just like looking at how expressive her facial expressions are.
"Sorry, how do you know what a foot tastes like?", questioned Maya.
I smiled sheepishly, before laughing. "That's a story for another time", I joked.
"Oi! Scum like you shouldn't be on the streets!", yelled an old, hench man.
Maya sighed.
"Sorry, people say stuff to me sometimes."
I shook my head.
"No, he's talking to me."
Maya's eyes widened, and she involuntarily looked at him.
I was right.
I didn't know him, but I knew people like him.
"Let's just keep walking", I said.
My pace remained the same, but Maya had increased hers, which, from experience, I knew meant the man thought he was actually achieving something.
He continued to shout after us, even when he reached Maya's house. To my surprise, a man came out of her house, rolling pin in his hand.
"What's this waste man saying to you?", asked the man.
Maya's eyes widened.
"Uncle Mo, put the rolling pin down!"
I quickly shook my head.
"Oh, no, he isn't saying that stuff to Maya.
He's just talking to me."
Maya's Uncle looked at me, a confused expression on his face.
"Oh! I'm Elodie", I said.
"A friend of Maya's."
Uncle Mo opened his mouth to speak, but a much younger girl approached him.
"What's goin' on?"
"This d*ck head is being mean to Maya's friend!"
I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that. I thought telling him would mean he'd stop, but he seemed just as mad.
The girl grabbed the rolling pin.
"Give me that! You'll tire yourself out running then you'll swing and miss."
Suddenly, the girl ran towards the man. Uncle Mo's eyes widened.
"Oi, how are you fat shaming me right now, man?"
Maya and I just stared at the scene, completely gobsmacked. We didn't move. We just watched as Maya's Aunt and Uncle chased the man down the road.
When they returned, they had sweet smiles on their faces.
"Just took out the trash", said Uncle Mo.
The girl rolled her eyes.
"Excuse his awful catch phrases. Wanna come in for some food?"
It took me a few seconds to find my words, so I just nodded at first.
"Uh, y-yeah. If that's ok."
Uncle Mo smiled.
"Course it is!"
As we walked inside, Maya leaned closer to me.
"He can't cook to save his life, so just nod and say 'yum.' "
That evening was great. Their house is full of laughter. It's a lot like mine, actually. But my Mum and Dad work a lot, so we never get to have a meal together.
Except for Fridays. The sky could be falling and we'd still have dinner together.
Family's important to me.
I liked how it was important to Maya too.
I guess... I guess that's another reason I felt so betrayed by Maya.
I didn't just lose a friend.
I lost an entire family.
As you can imagine, that's pretty hard to handle when you've just lost your Dad.
______________________
Hi.
This is a two parter dedicated to telling Elodie's side/version of events a little more.
Even though your characters aren't involved, I hope you're still entertained by this (even though it's very sad.)
What would you say to Elodie right now?
Elodie and her Mum's conversation:
Elodie: Mum! What are you doing?
Mum: He's going to kíll me!
Hija- daughter
What are your thoughts on this chapter?
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