Chapter Five - Fireworks

Late night talks and a New Year's celebration.

December, 2012


                 The menu for breakfast was pancakes. Carla had accidentally slept in and no one had bothered to wake her up, so it was a surprise when she had exited the spare bedroom to see everyone at the table, all fully changed and feasting on stacks of pancakes.

"Sorry, I would've woken you," Mallory laughed when Carla had gotten dressed and finally settled herself down on a chair with a plate on pancakes in front of her. "But you sleep like a rock! Jesse said you wouldn't wake up, no matter how much she tried!"

"It was kinda scary," Jesse mumbled around a mouthful of pancake. "I thought you were dead." Lauren giggled at Jesse's flat tone, leading to her accidentally choking on her food.

"Well, now that Sleeping Beauty is awake, what're we doing today?" Mallory asked Sasha, who was scrolling absently on her phone. Carla felt her cheeks heat up at the nickname.

"I was thinking that we could wander around, see the sights! How does that sound?"

"Awesome!" Chris replied, the others nodding eagerly.

"Alright! But before we get going, I need everyone to help me clean up this pancake mess!" Sasha laughed, gesturing at the tower of dishes and splatters of batter on the kitchen counters.

The kids all nodded again, though not nearly as eager as before.

#

After everyone had finished their pancakes and worked together to clean up the kitchen, they spent the rest of the day exploring the busy streets of the city. While the other five seemed absolutely stunned by the size of the buildings and the huge crowds, Carla was barely fazed. She had lived in the city for the first twelve years of her life, so the trip was barely a new experience to her. Though after nine months of living in Sunflower Shores, Carla had to admit that the city had never looked more daunting.

"So did you live around here, Carla?" Lauren asked as the group strolled down a street that was bordered with apartment buildings. The braided girl had been gaping at the towering buildings with a look of wonder in her eyes, and her question made it sound like she thought Carla had lived in some sort of castle.

"Not anywhere near here," Carla laughed. It was such a large city, Carla was sure that she had never even been in the part of town that they were currently exploring. "I lived in some apartment near the bridge. It was small, but my parents really liked it. It was one of the highest rooms, and it had a nice view."

"Better than the outlook?" Mallory asked with a mischievous grin. Carla recalled the view from the apartment, during the days she spent by herself, sitting on the balcony and waiting for her father to come home, with only the distant city sounds to give her company. She then thought back to the first time she went to the outlook with Mallory, and how the moon had illuminated the crashing waves and Mallory's hair, waving slightly in the gentle breeze.

"No, I don't think so," Carla replied with a slight smile.

"So, do you have family still living here?" Sasha asked, slowing down enough so that she was walking beside Carla.

Carla hummed, pretending to think. "No." she said after a slight pause. Much to her relief, the conversation ended there.

They spent the whole day exploring the city, visiting parks and cafes, and wandering through stores and malls. As the sun started to set and the group had finished their meals at the restaurant where Sasha worked, Carla anticipated going back to the apartment. her feet were sore from all the walking, and she could tell that the others were also tired out. When they finally got back, Carla was looking forward to finally lying in bed and resting. What she was not looking forward to, however, was Jesse's nightly questioning.

"So why did you move to Sunflower Shores?" Jesse asked after five minutes of blissful silence.

Carla wanted to lie, to give Jesse some sort of ridiculous answer. But  she was too tired to come up with anything witty. "I'm sick. And the city had too many bad memories."

"About your mom?" Jesse asked. Carla turned to scowl at her.

"Yeah, but why do you know that?" She huffed. Every day she thought Jesse couldn't get more nosy. Every day she was proven wrong.

"You said earlier that you lived with your parents. But now you just live with your dad, right?"

Carla was silent.

"What happened to her?"

So nosy. "She died."

"Oh."

It was Jesse's turn to be silent. Carla would've liked to keep that silence, but it slowly became unbearable to her.

"She died when I was seven. She had a bad respiratory disease and she had an attack while I was school and my dad was working, and she had no one to help her." Carla paused. Usually, she'd feel bad about oversharing so much, but the words came out effortlessly. "We came home and found her. Dad wouldn't let me in the room to see her."

"Sorry." Jesse said quietly.

"It's okay, I don't..." She trailed off. "I don't remember her very well." She hummed and rolled onto her back. "But, well, when I was eleven, I got diagnosed with the same disease."

"Are you okay?" Jesse asked softly. The concern in her voice was obvious.

"Yeah, I've got it under control." She replied quickly. She didn't want Jesse to worry. "But yeah, we decided to move to Sunflower Shores after I got diagnosed. It's better there, the air's cleaner. Less stressful. And dad..." She paused. "He's happier there, I think." She thought about how he had dropped his job, his home, and left the place where he had grown up. Now that she thought about it, despite how hard the move must've been for her father, he seemed happier in their new home.

"Sorry," Jesse said once again. "I shouldn't have asked."

"It's okay," Carla replied. "I actually...don't think I've ever told anyone all that. besides, y'know, my dad. And the counselor." It felt nice, talking about it like this.

Jesse turned towards Carla, her eyes wide, "No one?"

"No. I didn't really...have any friends to talk to here." She replied with a yawn.

"Carla?"

"Hm?"

"Does that mean we're friends?"

Carla turned away from Jesse's wide-eyed stare. She was silent for a moment. "I guess so, yeah." She hummed. She had her back turned to her, but Carla could tell that Jesse was smiling.

#

The next day, the group made the decision to visit the Aquarium. Carla had visited the Aquarium once on a school trip, when she was in grade one. her mother had volunteered to help watch over the kids during the trip, and Carla had been ecstatic to share the experience with her mother. She hadn't been the kind of child who was embarrassed to be with her parents around her classmates; she had loved her mother with all her heart, and Carla vividly remembered holding her hand throughout the whole field trip. She would point excitedly at whatever sea creatures she recognized from her father's National Geographic magazines that she'd look at, and her mother would carry her on her shoulders, to give Carla a better look.

Her mother had assured her that someday, she would take Carla there with her father as well, and the three could spend the whole day there to see every sea creature in the building. When she was little, she had looked forward to that day. But now, it was just another unfulfilled promise. It was one of Carla's only clear memories of her mother, but she preferred not thinking about it.

It was almost strange to Carla that her next visit to the Aquarium was not with her family, like how her mother had promised her. Instead, it was in the company of friends. The group had split up into smaller groups, which left Carla in the company of Olivia and Mallory. The exhibits had changed quite a bit since the last time Carla had visited, and she couldn't suppress the childish excitement she felt as she explored. Luckily, her companions shared her enthusiasm, and the hours passed quickly as the three girls excitedly ventured the huge building. Before she knew it, the group was driving back to the apartment, with Carla holding an otter plushie from the gift shop close to her chest.

That night, it seemed like Jesse was holding back from talking. Twenty minutes had passed since they had gotten settled in the bed, but Jesse hadn't said a word. Normally, Carla would consider this a blessing, but instead, she was the one to initiate conversation.

"Do you like Sunflower Shores?" She asked. 

Jesse was quiet for a moment, most likely from surprise that for once, it was Carla who talked first. "It's alright," She hummed. "But...I don't know, I don't think I could stay there."

"How come?" 

"It's too small." Jesse replied with a sigh. "Everyone knows who you are, and change seems like such a wild concept to everyone there, if that makes sense?"

It didn't really make sense to Carla. "What do you mean?"

"You guys and my sister...you're the only ones who see me as who I am." She huffed with frustration. "Everyone else hates change so much, they probably wouldn't even call me by my real name if I asked them to!" Carla recalled Jesse's conversation with Sasha about their brother. "I just don't see why it's so hard for them all to understand."

Carla nodded. "That is pretty stupid." 

"So, I don't think I can stay in Sunflower Shores. I think I'm gonna move somewhere else when I grow up,"  She rolled onto her back, and stared at the ceiling. "Where no one knows me as how I used to be," Carla could see her eyes, lit up by the city lights from the window. "Just as the me who I am now." 

"I think that's a good idea," Carla agreed. She had felt the same, when she had moved to Sunflower Shores. Her situation was much different than Jesse's, but she knew there was a sort of relief about living in a new place, where one could start over and not have their past interfere.

"I'm...really sorry, Carla." Jesse said suddenly.

Carla turned towards her, confused. "How come?"

"I got excited, when I heard that someone new had moved in. You don't...you don't know anything about who I was, just as who I am now, if that makes sense, and..." She trailed off. "I've been really overbearing, haven't I?"

"Sort of," Carla laughed, recalling all those times in the library. Somehow, those times seemed so far away. "But I don't mind anymore." Although she wasn't a fan of Jesse constantly getting into her personal space, she could finally understand why the girl had taken such an interest in her. 

"Thanks," Jesse smiled. "I guess this is like...equivalent exchange? You told me something yesterday that nobody knew, and now you know something about me that I haven't told anyone."

Carla smiled back. "Yeah, I guess it is."

They talked the whole night after that. When she woke up the next morning, Carla couldn't recall when exactly the conversation had ended. But she was glad that it had happened.

#

The next night, it was New Year's Eve. As the clock ticked down, Sasha drove the group out to the bridge and huddled together near the ledge overlooking the river, anticipating the upcoming festivities. The night sky was clear and while the city lights made it hard to see them, Carla could make out the stars, glimmering brightly.

"Five!" The countdown had begun, and Carla joined in, yelling as loudly as she could. She wondered how she had gained the confidence to use her voice with such little thought.

"Four!" She looked over the city that had held so many memories, and wondered why it finally seemed so inviting.

"Three!" She glanced over at her friends, and wondered how she had managed to make so many friends in such a short amount of time.

"Two!" She turned her gaze to Jesse, who was shouting so cheerfully. She wondered how she had grown to become friends with someone who she had loathed not even a month ago.

"One!" She then turned her gaze to Mallory, whose eyes were bright and wide with excitement. She wondered how she had met someone who could change her life so easily.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The group threw their arms in the air with glee, and the fireworks filled the sky, exploding into a beautiful display of every colour Carla knew. And as she stood among her friends, laughing and yelling into the winter air and watching the colours with wonder, she wondered why she felt so warm.

Reviews

[cait]

great!!!!!!!!!!!! i love I can not wait until the next charter

[hatmouse]

thanky ou very much!! i'm glad you liked it!