Status: unfinished but I'm trying hard to do so! =D
Dressed up in Faded Costumes
Dressed up in Faded Costumes
While I was waiting in my old room for my mom who was getting ready to bring me to the airport to go home, I had my brother’s old guitar on my lap. I walked to my grandmom’s room to say goodbye with the guitar.
“Hey, grandma,” I said to her.
She was sitting on her bed and looking at some trinkets and jewelry grandpop had given her. She looked at me with a hurting smile as I walked towards her.
“Hey there, dearie.”
“I want to sing you something for grandpa” I said.
“Well, go ahead, honey,” she smiled.
I nodded my head and went on to start the song.
“There’s no one in town I know,
You gave us some place to go
I never said thank you for that
I thought I might get one more chance
“What would you think of me now
So lucky, so strong, so proud?
I never said thank you for that
Now I'll never have a chance
“May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads the sleepless go
May angels lead you in
“So what would you think of me now
So lucky, so strong, so proud?
I never said thank you for that
Now I'll never have a chance
“May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads the sleepless go
May angels lead you in
“And if you were with me tonight
I'd sing to you just one more time
A song for a heart so big
God wouldn't let it live
“May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads the sleepless go
May angels lead you in
May angels lead you in”
“I’m sure he would’ve loved it, honey,” she said. A tear left her eye as she smiled at me.
I just nodded my head as I, too, shed tears of my own.
She hugged me tightly and I told her that I loved her so much. I told her to be careful with everything. I left her room with a feeling that made me feel calm and serene. And I left the house having the same feeling with a touch of sadness.
“I’ll be alright on my own,” I told my mom when she brought me to the airport. My flight was boarding its passengers already.
“I love you,” she told me. “We’ll be back tomorrow; I have a few stuff I need to take care with your grandmom. Tell Lea, I miss her.”
I nodded my head, and went on to board the plane.
While I was on the plane, thoughts of every kind rushed through my head. I met the cousins grandmom had been comparing me to; and in her defense, they were pretty amazing people. Apparently they were people I could never measure up to. And even though I didn’t believe in comparison, I simply just gave in and accepted that they were better than me. At the time, I was clouded by depression over the loss of my grandpop and I was sad at the same time just completely blank on things. I started to do stuff just because either it was needed or just because I wanted to get a certain thought out of my head.
It seems as though family was only getting together through big reunions or tragedy.
When I got off the plane, I got a cab and went straight to Aunt Liz’s house to pick up Lea. It was a Saturday. The 19th of December.
I knocked on the front door of the Aunt Liz’s house and Liam opened the door.
“Hey,” I said awkwardly remembering the stuff I shouted at him when I was leaving for Minnesota.
“You here to pick up Lea, right?” he said.
I nodded my head. He walked away to the living room, not even inviting me in. I heard him talking to Lea.
“Hey, you have a surprise waiting at the door,” he told her in a tone different from the one he used when talking to me.
“Really?” Lea exclaimed.
She was running when she came to me.
“Michelle!” she said.
I caught her and hugged her tightly at the same time carrying her. Liam came walking towards us. I put Lea down.
“Are you ready to go home?”
She nodded at me.
“Now, why don’t you get your stuff?”
She ran upstairs and I looked at Liam.
“Is Aunt Liz home?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“I’m sorry about my burst out last week,” I said. “Are you gonna let me in so we can talk better?”
He stepped to the side and let me come in. I got my suitcase and he stopped me.
“Let me get that,” he said taking my suitcase.
“Okay.”
He led me to the living room and I sat down on the couch. He sat down on the one-person sofa to my right.
“I’m sorr…”
“I’m not mad.”
“Then what’s the matter?” I asked him.
“I think it’s the fact that I can’t stand a friend being mad at me. I mean, at first I was frustrated, but…”
“Soooo… you’re really not mad?” I smiled.
He shook his head. “No, not at all.”
“So, we’re still bestfriends?”
“What made you think that we would stop being friends?”
“T’was just a question…”
He smiled as he looked at me.
“I’m ready!” Lea said carrying a huge backpack.
I went to her and took the bag and held Lea’s hand.
“So where is everybody else?”
“Melina is upstairs sleeping, Leila is out with Maria, Mom is getting groceries, Dad is out on a business meeting, Darren is upstairs waiting for his graveyard shift, and Eliza is in the kitchen.”
“Okay, Lea and I should get going,” I told him. “Thank you guys so much for taking good care of her!”
“No problem,” he said. “Uh, want me to walk you home or something?”
“Oh that’s okay, you don’t have to.”
“Too bad, I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
He took my suitcase and walked to the door. “Eliza! I’m going out.”
I walked outside to follow him with Lea.
When we reached the house, I opened the door with my key and Lea went straight to her room. I smiled at her. I dropped the backpack on the sofa in the living room, and I let myself fall beside it.
“I missed home,” I said.
Liam smiled at me. “So where do I put your suitcase?”
“Oh, just leave it anywhere. I’ll put it upstairs later.”
I stood up again and told Liam, “Thank you for walking me home.”
“You think I’m leaving right away?”
I couldn’t say anything, and I didn’t know why.
“So, what do you do around here?” he said running upstairs.
“Oh, no, no, no!!!” I ran up following him.
I found him in my purple-wallpapered room, messing with my laptop which was password protected.
“Ha!” I said. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“I know.” He said.
He shifted his look to my bookshelf filled more CDs than books.
“You have a lot of CDs,” he said. “And an untidy room.”
I hadn’t cleaned my room at the time, and it was a bit messy; bed wasn’t fixed, closet was open, desk was cluttered with stuff.
I sat down on the chair in front of the laptop and told Liam to look away; which he did, so I could type in my password which was as easy as “a1b2c3d4”.
“You can look now,” I told him. “What do you want from my laptop, anyway? There’s nothing in here.”
“I don’t know. I figured there were photos and stuff.” He laughed.
“You are not allowed to see those pictures!” I told him.
When I turned my head to look at him, he was so close to my face that everything seemed to just stop. We looked at each other and before I knew it… BAM! He gave my lips a soft—maybe a little too abrupt—kiss.
Both of us didn’t say a word. I was pretending to be busy fixing my hair, while he was musing around my room.
“What was that for?” I said.
“What was what for?” he smiled. “Nothing happened.”
“You’re right. Nothing happened. It wasn’t that good, anyway.” I teased.
“Hey,” he said. “What do you mean by ‘wasn’t that good’?”
“Nothing happened, remember?”
He just smiled at me and so did I. I was thinking of something to get rid of the awkwardness of the kiss, so I simply said, “D’you like to watch ‘The Black Parade is Dead’?”
He nodded and took the CD from my shelf. I played it on the laptop and I sat down on the carpeted floor and Liam sat beside me. I rested my back on the wall and just watched away. Not even reaching the second song, Liam said something.
“My Chemical Romance must be your all time idols, huh?”
“Yes. Yes they are,” I smiled. “See, I’ve known all my life that I wanted to be a singer; I wanted to do what I loved for a living to help my mom. But when I knew about My Chemical Romance, that was when I knew for sure that I didn’t want to be just a singer. I wanted to be an artist; a performer.
“When I watched this for the first time, seeing them dressed up in faded costumes, I knew that when I reached their age, I wanted to be doing the same thing.”
Liam smiled at me. “I have no doubt that you’ll reach that.”
I smiled back at him and laid my head on his shoulder, and we continued watching the people that if I even be a fraction of what they are, I’d have achieved something not anybody can.
“Hey, grandma,” I said to her.
She was sitting on her bed and looking at some trinkets and jewelry grandpop had given her. She looked at me with a hurting smile as I walked towards her.
“Hey there, dearie.”
“I want to sing you something for grandpa” I said.
“Well, go ahead, honey,” she smiled.
I nodded my head and went on to start the song.
“There’s no one in town I know,
You gave us some place to go
I never said thank you for that
I thought I might get one more chance
“What would you think of me now
So lucky, so strong, so proud?
I never said thank you for that
Now I'll never have a chance
“May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads the sleepless go
May angels lead you in
“So what would you think of me now
So lucky, so strong, so proud?
I never said thank you for that
Now I'll never have a chance
“May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads the sleepless go
May angels lead you in
“And if you were with me tonight
I'd sing to you just one more time
A song for a heart so big
God wouldn't let it live
“May angels lead you in
Hear you me my friends
On sleepless roads the sleepless go
May angels lead you in
May angels lead you in”
“I’m sure he would’ve loved it, honey,” she said. A tear left her eye as she smiled at me.
I just nodded my head as I, too, shed tears of my own.
She hugged me tightly and I told her that I loved her so much. I told her to be careful with everything. I left her room with a feeling that made me feel calm and serene. And I left the house having the same feeling with a touch of sadness.
“I’ll be alright on my own,” I told my mom when she brought me to the airport. My flight was boarding its passengers already.
“I love you,” she told me. “We’ll be back tomorrow; I have a few stuff I need to take care with your grandmom. Tell Lea, I miss her.”
I nodded my head, and went on to board the plane.
While I was on the plane, thoughts of every kind rushed through my head. I met the cousins grandmom had been comparing me to; and in her defense, they were pretty amazing people. Apparently they were people I could never measure up to. And even though I didn’t believe in comparison, I simply just gave in and accepted that they were better than me. At the time, I was clouded by depression over the loss of my grandpop and I was sad at the same time just completely blank on things. I started to do stuff just because either it was needed or just because I wanted to get a certain thought out of my head.
It seems as though family was only getting together through big reunions or tragedy.
When I got off the plane, I got a cab and went straight to Aunt Liz’s house to pick up Lea. It was a Saturday. The 19th of December.
I knocked on the front door of the Aunt Liz’s house and Liam opened the door.
“Hey,” I said awkwardly remembering the stuff I shouted at him when I was leaving for Minnesota.
“You here to pick up Lea, right?” he said.
I nodded my head. He walked away to the living room, not even inviting me in. I heard him talking to Lea.
“Hey, you have a surprise waiting at the door,” he told her in a tone different from the one he used when talking to me.
“Really?” Lea exclaimed.
She was running when she came to me.
“Michelle!” she said.
I caught her and hugged her tightly at the same time carrying her. Liam came walking towards us. I put Lea down.
“Are you ready to go home?”
She nodded at me.
“Now, why don’t you get your stuff?”
She ran upstairs and I looked at Liam.
“Is Aunt Liz home?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“I’m sorry about my burst out last week,” I said. “Are you gonna let me in so we can talk better?”
He stepped to the side and let me come in. I got my suitcase and he stopped me.
“Let me get that,” he said taking my suitcase.
“Okay.”
He led me to the living room and I sat down on the couch. He sat down on the one-person sofa to my right.
“I’m sorr…”
“I’m not mad.”
“Then what’s the matter?” I asked him.
“I think it’s the fact that I can’t stand a friend being mad at me. I mean, at first I was frustrated, but…”
“Soooo… you’re really not mad?” I smiled.
He shook his head. “No, not at all.”
“So, we’re still bestfriends?”
“What made you think that we would stop being friends?”
“T’was just a question…”
He smiled as he looked at me.
“I’m ready!” Lea said carrying a huge backpack.
I went to her and took the bag and held Lea’s hand.
“So where is everybody else?”
“Melina is upstairs sleeping, Leila is out with Maria, Mom is getting groceries, Dad is out on a business meeting, Darren is upstairs waiting for his graveyard shift, and Eliza is in the kitchen.”
“Okay, Lea and I should get going,” I told him. “Thank you guys so much for taking good care of her!”
“No problem,” he said. “Uh, want me to walk you home or something?”
“Oh that’s okay, you don’t have to.”
“Too bad, I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
He took my suitcase and walked to the door. “Eliza! I’m going out.”
I walked outside to follow him with Lea.
When we reached the house, I opened the door with my key and Lea went straight to her room. I smiled at her. I dropped the backpack on the sofa in the living room, and I let myself fall beside it.
“I missed home,” I said.
Liam smiled at me. “So where do I put your suitcase?”
“Oh, just leave it anywhere. I’ll put it upstairs later.”
I stood up again and told Liam, “Thank you for walking me home.”
“You think I’m leaving right away?”
I couldn’t say anything, and I didn’t know why.
“So, what do you do around here?” he said running upstairs.
“Oh, no, no, no!!!” I ran up following him.
I found him in my purple-wallpapered room, messing with my laptop which was password protected.
“Ha!” I said. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“I know.” He said.
He shifted his look to my bookshelf filled more CDs than books.
“You have a lot of CDs,” he said. “And an untidy room.”
I hadn’t cleaned my room at the time, and it was a bit messy; bed wasn’t fixed, closet was open, desk was cluttered with stuff.
I sat down on the chair in front of the laptop and told Liam to look away; which he did, so I could type in my password which was as easy as “a1b2c3d4”.
“You can look now,” I told him. “What do you want from my laptop, anyway? There’s nothing in here.”
“I don’t know. I figured there were photos and stuff.” He laughed.
“You are not allowed to see those pictures!” I told him.
When I turned my head to look at him, he was so close to my face that everything seemed to just stop. We looked at each other and before I knew it… BAM! He gave my lips a soft—maybe a little too abrupt—kiss.
Both of us didn’t say a word. I was pretending to be busy fixing my hair, while he was musing around my room.
“What was that for?” I said.
“What was what for?” he smiled. “Nothing happened.”
“You’re right. Nothing happened. It wasn’t that good, anyway.” I teased.
“Hey,” he said. “What do you mean by ‘wasn’t that good’?”
“Nothing happened, remember?”
He just smiled at me and so did I. I was thinking of something to get rid of the awkwardness of the kiss, so I simply said, “D’you like to watch ‘The Black Parade is Dead’?”
He nodded and took the CD from my shelf. I played it on the laptop and I sat down on the carpeted floor and Liam sat beside me. I rested my back on the wall and just watched away. Not even reaching the second song, Liam said something.
“My Chemical Romance must be your all time idols, huh?”
“Yes. Yes they are,” I smiled. “See, I’ve known all my life that I wanted to be a singer; I wanted to do what I loved for a living to help my mom. But when I knew about My Chemical Romance, that was when I knew for sure that I didn’t want to be just a singer. I wanted to be an artist; a performer.
“When I watched this for the first time, seeing them dressed up in faded costumes, I knew that when I reached their age, I wanted to be doing the same thing.”
Liam smiled at me. “I have no doubt that you’ll reach that.”
I smiled back at him and laid my head on his shoulder, and we continued watching the people that if I even be a fraction of what they are, I’d have achieved something not anybody can.