Chapter Seven

What do you do on a Saturday?

I had been lying on the bed in my pajamas for twenty minutes straight, in my messy room. The zeal to do a clean-up wasn't there. I scrolled through my Instagram page, checking my notifications, and I saw that Slade Rowan had requested to follow me. I clicked his name and went through his profile. After going through it, I rejected his request. Today was only Saturday, which means I had only one day to elope to Mars if I don't want to face him on Monday.

I followed Sam's advice and I've been myself throughout last week and this week, ow the moment of Truth is at hand. Can't I sleep past Monday? I had wanted to call my brothers, but if I did so, they would probably…probably? No, they would abandon all they were doing. I need to talk to someone before I explode. I dialed Cam's number.

"Heyy"

"Hey Soph, how's it going?"

"Everything is going well."

"Wow. That's great."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Okay," he said.

"Okay," I replied. Groaning, I switched off my phone. This is my mess, I had to clean it myself ad does not involve anybody else, taking the vacuum cleaner, I started putting the house in order while having my Gramophone play Maroon 5's Girls Like You.

***

I woke up to the grumbling of my Stomach. Have I even had Breakfast? The time is 3 pm, the house is sparkling clean, I'm very hungry and there is nothing to eat! I decided to just order some food, go home and eat while watching Netflix.

"Hey,"

"Hi," a guy said, his head bending over a book.

"Umm...sooo, Do you guys have Pasta? I mean, I would like to have Pasta and some Salad, one plate." He appeared to be focused on the book. Poor customer service, I noted. "In a paper bag please, I'm taking it home." Seriously, Soph, he doesn't care where you are taking it too!

"Eww," he said.

"What?"

"This is 2021," he raised his head. An eight on a good day. "Who still eats Salad...and why does your face looks familiar?" He frowned. I've heard it from many people. A man who was in the same ward as Ma had called me Elena, when I inquired, I was told that it was his late daughter's name who had died in a fire accident, together with his wife.

"Umm, I dunno, can I just have my Pasta?"

"Sophia Carson?"

"Yeah?"

"Where've you been?!"

"Er, do I know you?"

"Do you know me? Really!!! Oh My God, I need to tell the others." He shouted and left. Great, I've gathered attention to myself, just what I needed.

"Justin, where are you hurling us to," a manly voice came through the door.

The door swung open, and I focused my eyes on my boots noticing some nail polish stain on the right foot.

"Alright, Mama, Papa, Dad, Mum, Montee, Murphy, Muriel, Martin, Markson, and Miranda. Y'all won't believe who I just ran into."

"Spill," a boy said.

"Mama, you remember the Sophia, the one who lived downstairs with her mother and two brothers when we were in Virginia."

I raised my head and a woman gasped.

"Sophia?"

"Riquella?"

"Oh my... Sophia!" She screamed. She opened the counter's door, drawing me into an embrace. I found myself embracing her back and crying at the same time.

"Hush my child, hush. Don't cry. Don't." She cleaned my eyes with her calloused hands but I cried the more, not minding the children staring at me with pity in their eyes and the customers who had since abandoned their food. This was all I need, this was all I prayed for.

After what seemed like forever, I calmed down except for a few hiccups here and there. I was no longer a customer standing in front of a counter, looking forward to ordering some food. I had been brought into the restaurant 'inner chamber,'.

Riquella had been trying to calm me down, till her mother had signaled for her to stop. They had given me 15 minutes of Privacy I cried. My voice went high and low as if I was performing some Opera. My shame discarded, I cry for my Mama, and I cried for my Papa, I cried for my Conrad and my Simon. I cried for my Jenny who was leaving. I cried for Cam who made me laugh and Parker who endured me. I cried for Sam who thought that I could be anything I wanted to be. I cried for Slade, the one who made me love and hate at the same damn time and I cried for me, the one whose life was a mess.

"Are you okay?" Miranda asked, handing me a handkerchief, or was it, Montee? They all look identical with long blond hair, almond shaped blue eyes, that looked as if it was more purple than blue.

"Yes, I said," blowing my nose into the handkerchief. Suddenly embarrassed, I excused myself but she just smiled and skipped away, her long hair bouncing behind her.

"Crash," the sound of arranged chairs that were beside me a few moments ago, came tumbling down.

"Justin?" I said, looking at the man who was busy arranging their chairs to their position. "Where you busy watching me while I cried?"

"Oh, now you remember me." He said, sarcastically, his hands on his waist. "What happened to "Er, do I know you?" and "how did you know my name, are you a random stalker?"

"What's that?" I asked

"What?"

"That"

"What's What?"

"Random Stalker."

"Oh, that."

"Yeah."

"It's like a person who stalks people randomly."

"I don't remember saying you were a random stalker Justin, and that explanation you gave me, doesn't make sense."

"Told you!" Miranda or Markson or Murphy or Montee or Martin said. Muriel was the baby, the only name that I had grabbed.