𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝟬𝟬𝟰: CONVERSATION

[ Mid December of 2020 ]

Days turned to weeks, and Bobby kept drinking orange juice till there was no more. Fortunately, Helen kept buying him more, which made Bobby happy. He didn't know he could find happiness within orange juice, but he just had.

Everyone in his household—though they didn't say it out loud—thought he had an obsession with orange juice, which was merely false.

Just because all he talked about was orange juice and everything he wore was orange didn't mean he has an obsession. It was simply something he enjoyed. He thought about the time Annabeth had asked him if he was okay; Bobby was fantastic when he had juice.

So, he was currently not fantastic because he had just finished his last and fifth cup of orange juice. (It was the sixth bottle he drank in a week.) Bobby promised it wasn't an obsession—Orange Juice was just tasty.

Anyways, because Bobby was so used to a full glass of juice that an empty glass made him sad. Bobby preferred glasses of sugary deliciousness more than empty ones.

Fortunately, mommy was buying food for the week, and she agreed to get him orange juice after Bobby had begged her to. Bobby couldn't wait when mommy arrived home, and he would see that cute, perfect bottle that was always in his dream. It might seem like a joke, but it was true.

No one could outshine orange juice, and Bobby knew that, unlike everyone else. They all thought of him as weird, but Bobby considered himself to be someone with good taste because he was.

"Hey, Bobby," Said Annabeth, walking into the dining room, and asked, "Is Helen home yet? I need to tell her that Thalia is arriving on—Bobby?"

"Huh?" Asked Bobby, snapping his attention away from the empty glass and looking at Annabeth, he said, "You were saying something about Thalia coming to New York?"

Annabeth nodded and answered, "Yeah. Thalia's arriving on December 21st."

    Bobby looked at the calendar behind him and said, "That's in a week." He looked back at Annabeth and said, "I like Thalia. She's cool."

    "I agree," Chuckled Annabeth.

Bobby watched as Annabeth's gaze drifted away from him to the empty orange juice bottle on the counter. Her eyes slightly widened, and she looked back at Bobby, who grinned.

"Bobby!" Exclaimed Annabeth. "Helen is going to be furious because this is the sixth bottle you finished this week by yourself!" She groaned, "I can already hear the lecture she's going to give you when she comes back home!"

    "Don't worry, Annabeth," Reassured Bobby. "Mommy isn't going to be mad! She said she was going to get me another bottle of orange juice from the store!"

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows and said, "Bobby, you're really convinced that Helen is going to buy you orange juice?" Bobby nodded, and she sighed, "Oh, Bobby, do you think Helen was joking when she threatened to stop buying orange juice if you kept drinking it?"

    "Yeah," Nodded Bobby, then added, "Mommy wouldn't do that to me; she loves me too much to do that."

Annabeth pressed her lips together, and Bobby frowned, wondering why her expression was like that. He tore his gaze off Annabeth when the garage door opened, and Helen stepped inside with a handful of bags.

    "Mommy, you're home!" Said Bobby, getting out of his seat, and exclaimed. "Did you get orange juice?"

Apparently, those weren't the right words to say because Helen scowled at him and placed the bags onto the floor; Annabeth went into the garage to get the rest of the bags. Bobby frowned and asked if something was wrong.

    Helen looked at Bobby and answered, "Bobby, yes, something's wrong." She then explained, "You're obsessed with orange juice. You keep drinking it every single day, and that isn't healthy for you! It has too much sugar!" Helen then spotted the empty orange juice bottle and sighed, "That's why I didn't buy you orange juice today."

Her words caused Bobby to gasp, and he let out a cry. He couldn't believe what mommy had just said—He wasn't going to drink any more orange juice. This couldn't be happening. Bobby couldn't just abandon orange juice.

    "But mommy!" Whined Bobby and begged. "Please! Please buy orange juice for me again! I promise I won't drink it every single day! I promise!" Helen shook her head, and Bobby started crying; he said, "Mommy! Please—"

    "Bobby, I don't know why you're crying," Sighed Helen, then explained, "I told you before that if you drink too much of it, I wasn't going to buy any more for you."

Suddenly, Bobby wanted to whine and fuss as anger slowly took over him, but before he could do anything, Annabeth gently put her hands on his shoulder and directed him toward the stairs. Bobby wiped his tears away, and they walked up the stairs.

    "Bobby," Said Annabeth softly. "It's going to be okay."

    "No, it's not!" Cried, Bobby. "I want orange juice!"

    "You will have orange juice again," Reassured Annabeth.

    "But I want it now!" Bobby whined, then mumbled, "How am I going to survive now that I don't have juice?"

They walked into Annabeth's bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed. Bobby gazed around at the pictures in his older sister's bedroom before looking down at his lap.

Though there was a possibility that he would get his juice back, Bobby doubted it because nothing could change his mommy's mind after she was set on it. Bobby clenched up his fist, thinking about how mommy had taken away his juice. How dare she. Orange Juice was his only happiness. His only love.

    "You'll survive, Bobby," Said Annabeth, causing Bobby to look at her. "You will get used to a world without orange juice—There are many other options besides orange juice like—"

Bobby drowned out Annabeth's voice, not wanting to hear about the other types of juice because his heart belonged to one juice only. He bit his lips at Annabeth's mention of a world without orange juice—How will he survive a world without orange juice? He didn't.

[9/10/21] 𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘: Hello! Sorry for not updating for the past two days! Schoolwork and studying came on those days, so we're finishing Taste of Love today, which is exciting! Anyways, Helen has taken Bobby's juice away—How could she? (😮😪) When Bobby said he couldn't survive without juice, he really meant it as we all know (😔). Moving on, I hope everyone is doing good and has a good weekend! Thank you for reading for reading and have a good day/night! Much Love, Lucinda! 💙