I put back all of Noah’s belongings into the box I was about to take to goodwill — but I discretely hid under my bed — and got ready for school.

Despite being a year, it was still hard to part with Noah. That sometimes I always hoped it was a nightmare and I would wake up from it one day. But that one day is taking too long.

I brushed my dyed red hair before putting it up in a ponytail. I made sure I washed my face well so no evidence would prove that I had been crying. That’s the last thing mom needs to find out or she too will turn to a sobbing mess.

I put my books in my bag, before I headed out of my room grabbing cellphone on the way out.

“Jasmine!” I heard mom call from downstairs.

“coming!” I replied, and I closed my bedroom door behind me.

I skipped down the stairs like I always do every morning. A minor change in my routine would give mom a hint that it’s about Noah.

I skipped into the kitchen, and the sweet smell of brewed coffee hits my nasal glands.

I saw mom standing by the counter putting her phone close to her ear.

“No, honey, you don’t have to. It’s okay.” She said into her phone.

I waved to her good morning as I went to the table to help myself with the breakfast she already prepared.

“I understand, Tina. You don’t have to worry.”

I stopped chewing when I heard the name. Tina.

Why is she calling now?

I chewed on my food angrily as I waited hastily for mom to hang up. 

“Oh. Okay. I’ll send you some of those tomorrow... Yes... Goodbye... take care.” Mom hung up the phone and sighed before turning to me fully.

“Morning, honey,” she greeted, gripping her coffee mug close to her mouth before she took a sip.

“Tina?” I wanted to be sure.

She brushed her hand through her hair in a frustrating manner before she took her seat opposite me. “Yes, that was Tina,” she sighed.

“What does she want?” I wrinkled my nose up in disgust.

“Jasmine, don’t be like that...”

“Be like what? This is the only time she ever thinks about him. She’s busy slumming it with other guys.” I spat.

“Jasmine... she deserves to move on,” Mom whispered in a pleading voice.

She deserves to move on?

If he were alive, he wouldn’t move on. He used to call her every night and day. He’ll go up to her house all the time, he hardly stays at home. He’ll save her from her abusive father. He did all those things, and now that he’s dead she wants to move on.

How do you move on from that?

No matter how I want to fight it, mom is right. She can’t be crying herself pity over her dead boyfriend, she is still young too. But he loved her. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Am I being a selfish sister right now?

“What did she want?” I asked in a softer tone this time.

“Nothing, really.” She shrugged and took another sip from her coffee.

She looked deep in thought for a while, as if contemplating telling me what she said next.

“She just said, she wanted to come over so we could go see him together.”

“Pft! As if.” I scoffed, and mom sent a scowl my way.

“Really, Jasmine?”

“What?” I asked innocently.

“It’s not fair.” She said after she swallowed.

“I don’t think—”

“You shouldn’t be like that.” She condemned.

“Mom, she doesn’t deserve to see Noah if she has a boyfriend. Does she want to move on? No problem! That means, she is out of Noah’s life, and she doesn’t know him!” I vociferated.

Mom heaved a heavy sigh before she went back to her coffee.

Tomorrow is going to take a huge toll on mom, it’s the day our family was incomplete. The last thing we need is to be arguing over whether my dead brother’s girlfriend should move on or not.

Even though she doesn’t deserve to.

“Okay. Okay.” I raised my hand in surrender before going back to my meal.

I studied her as she quietly ate her food. I’m sure there are a lot of things going on in her dainty little mind, and it hurts that she’ll never share them with me.

“I’m going to the mall today. Is there anything you’d like me to get you?” She asked, breaking the dismal pressure.

“No, not really.” I shook my head, but then my brain turned on a reminder. “Wait!” Mom raised her eyebrow, taking another sip.

“There is something...” I said while a huge grin formed on my lips, “it’s nothing huge, it’s more like a token, some would even say a tip—”

“I am not buying you that game toy for you.” She pointed out, bluntly interrupting my rambling.

“It was worth a shot,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Honey, I’m not spending my money on some game toy, that adds no value to my life.”

“Mom, we’re talking about my life! And it’s a game tool.” I deadpanned.

“Either way, I’m not buying.”

“Mom! I need this!! I can’t breathe without it!” She glanced at me with a puzzled look.

“You seem to do fine.” She shrugged nonchalantly.

“Mom, you do not understand! I need to beat this level-headed beast!! And that’s the only thing that’s stopping me!”

She sighed and dropped her cutlery, “if you want to beat this level beast person so bad, why don’t you get a job?”

“I tried!! They are not accepting any more vacancies at Matrix.”

Matrix is the arcade I normally go to and play my games when I feel bored at home.

“I’m not talking about that game place, I’m pretty sure there are a lot of diners that need barristers.”

“I’m not qualified.”

“There’s no qualification for―”

“Mom, you’re missing the fact!”

“I am?”

“Yes! I need to beat this guy before a new location is unlocked!”

Mom gave me a pointed look, which meant I couldn’t push it further. She got up and took her mug to the sink.

I watched her pleading eyes as she washed the mug and put it back in the cupboard. She dried her hands with the napkin, then her eyes caught something on the table. She picked it up and turned to me with a smile.

“You know, this came in for you today,” she said, waving a blue envelope in her hand.

I raised an eyebrow as she walked toward me and handed me the envelope. I hesitantly took it from her. With a smile like that on her face, you can’t be too sure of what will happen next.

This had better not be one of those invites to her children’s seminars.

Mom always set up these children seminars to help young kids to get over their insecurities and to instill self-love in them. Attending those seminars would have been fun; if I was 12 and was completely off this world.

I carefully opened the envelope and took out the card that was in it. “Oh. It’s shiny,” Mom gushed, wiggling her eyebrows and I shook my head.

I read the first few words of the card, and I knew immediately it was something stupid.

“Who is it from?” Mom asked when I dropped the card nonchalantly.

“Justin Floyd,” I muttered and went back to picking at my food. Her eyes lit up, and a grin appeared on her lips.

“Justin Floyd? Isn’t that the guy who always throws one of the biggest parties in your school?”

Don’t ask me how she knows that, since I’ve never spoken to her about Justin before.

“Er- I guess?” I replied, baffled.

“Oh! Is that one of his invites?” I nodded grimly.

“Yes.”

“What does it say?”

“That I’m invited.” I shrugged, repeating the exact words I read.

“Is that all it says?”

What else could it have said?

I sighed, and picked up the card, tired to read,

“Dear Jasmine Orlando, we invite you to the biggest party of the week...”

He said the same thing last week,

“...at Justin Rocket Floyd’s mansion...”

His middle name sucks, I know.

“...blah blah blah blah.” I read in gibberish.

Mom rolled her eyes and took the card from me. She took her time to read, with the grin still on her face.

She’s way too ecstatic about this than I am.

Justin Floyd, one of the elites and wannabe heartthrobs of Horace High School, never has his parents around. I hear they’re always on a business trip or something like that. So they always leave Justin home alone.

Rather Justin, like any other serious student, uses this as a time to do one thing productive. He hosts one of the biggest parties every week.

Don’t ask me how he always does it.

People have given up on throwing parties and have left it for Justin since no one hardly attends theirs.

The thing about Justin’s party is that everyone can come. Maybe you’re a student or bus driver, you are free to come and get stoned. He invites everyone with the saying, the more the merrier.

We all know the second meaning to that is, the more people come, the more bitches to fuck.

It’s not that I have a problem with Justin as a human being― that is if he’s one― I just don’t have the flair for partying.

Getting dressed, trying to look good, watching your every step because you know all eyes are on you, and they could start some kind of rumor and also getting stoned and dancing your life out.

I am someone you’d call a couch potato I enjoy staying in my comfort zone― that is, my bedroom― kicking asses of the epic game players of Matrix.

After a thousand times of him persuading me, and me throwing his invites at his face, he gave up and stopped inviting me.

That was, until now...

I don’t know why he had to send the invite to my mail! Now, mom has seen it, and with the look on her face, it only means one thing―

“You’re going.” She dropped the card on the table, and I groaned at the thought of it.

“No.”

“Why? I hear his parties are always lit.” I look at her with a raised eyebrow.

“How do you know that?” I wanted to know.

Please don’t tell me she’s been secretly going to Justin’s party too!!

Oh, the horror!!

“We mom usually talks about you kids a lot.”

“We moms?”

“You know, at the office. Some moms can be very annoying.”

Tell me about it.

“There was one who said her daughter was dating the Justin boy, and they broke up the week after,”

She is stupid.

“It’s fun to always hear the things that go on in your school.”

No, it’s not. Horace High is the school of shit. If it weren’t for the rich elites, you’d think it was a public school.

“It’s totes cute!” She squealed. I cringe and turned to her.

“Mom, you’re 43.” I pointed out, in case she’d already forgotten.

“Pft!” she scoffed, and waved me off. “So, back to the party― I know a really cute outfit you can wear!”

“Oh, god! No. No, mom. I am not going to the stupid party!” I protested.

“Honey, why?”

“This is Justin Floyd’s party! The party most virgins get rid of their card, get perspective!”

She pressed her lips in a thin line as if studying me. “Honey,” she sighed, “I am not telling you to go to the party to lose your card... or whatever it is girls lose. I’m telling, more say, pleading with you to go, hoping you’ll make some friends.”

Okay, that hurt.

I am quite reclusive. It’s not that I like it. Just the thought of having friends who turn their back on each other and say a lot of nasty stuff behind your back.

Also, Horace High is a private school. You would hardly find people with my status in there. People who got in on merit. And the rich snubs want nothing to do with people like me, not that I give a shit, mind you.

I prefer staying locked up in my room or the Matrix arcade kicking other players’ ass than hanging out with people who would make me feel insecure.

“Jasmine, look at me. It’s not that I am not happy with the woman you’ve become,” here comes her therapy on me, “to be honest, I am proud. But, it will be nice sometimes to see you bring friends over, do something rebellious or just do something crazy―”

“I threw miss Becker’s false teeth in her dog kennel,” I let her know with a smirk.

“Now, that is just mean!” She reprimanded, “the old lady would look everywhere for her lost false teeth.” I thought she wanted me to do something crazy?

“I am saying, you need friends!” She raved.

“The levelheaded beast is my friend.”

“Real friends―”

“He’s an actual friend. He’s human.”

“Friends you can see!” She was getting frustrated by now. “Friends with cool names like Annabeth? Mary? Poppy!?”

How is poppy or Mary a cool name?

“I’m not sure there are people with those names at my school.” I got her more frustrated. Maybe if I crossed the line, she’ll leave me alone.

“Not people with those names,” she scowled. “What I’m trying to say is you have to go to this party. You wouldn’t know these people until you meet them.”

Oh, I’ve met them. One of them.

She sighed and sat down next to me. “Okay, let’s do it this way.” She turned my head to face her. “How about, if you go to this party, I’ll get you that game toy? It would be a win-win for both of us.”

My eyes widened, and a smile formed on my lips. “Really?”

“Yes,” she nodded affirmatively, I’ll go get my credit card right now. Tell me the name and I’ll get it for you at the mall." I tried so hard not to laugh.

“Mom, it’s a virtual game tool.”

“So?”

“You can’t find it in the mall, buy it online,” I explained.

“I’ll put in all my card deets?” I rolled my eyes again at her pathetic attempt to fit into the new millennium.

“Yes, mom. Put in your essential card details.”

“Won’t they hack my account?” She widened her eyes in fear.

This was exhausting, “no mom. They just need their money, not yours.”

She bit her lips and thought about it for a while. If you ever seeing me having trust issues, I took it from my mom.

“Mom, there’s nothing to worry about,” I assured her.

I’m sure it came out more like, just drop the damn credit card for Christ’s sake!

“Okay, okay.” She finally agreed, and I smiled triumphantly. “But remember, your part of the deal. You are going to the―”

“Party. Yes, I know.”

“Okay, then. I guess we have a deal.” She stretched out her hand for a handshake and I laughed, putting mine in hers.

“Definitely.”

I only agreed to go to the party, not stay at the party. Once I’m sure she’s gone, I’ll sneak away and go to Matrix to play some games until they close, then I’ll head back.

There is no way in hell I’ll stay over 10 minutes at Justin’s house. Mom should know better than that.

Thank you for reading TCS!

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Love,
Y

aDramaQueen