That's All She Wrote

"You're really awesome."

"Yeah, I know."

"Can I see your bedroom?"

"Sure."

I led him through the bathroom to the adjoining room. The white walls were covered by posters and magazine clippings, concert tickets and autographed memorabilia. The floor was littered with clothes and books, and little spots of the hardwood peeped through any open centimetre. I smiled when he stared around.

"Welcome to my room."

"It's so...different than the rest of the house."

"Yeah. Oh, I wanna show you something."

He stood in the doorway, almost afraid, it seemed, to move, and I pulled the thick, heavy curtains shut. My room became a suffocating piece of black velvet, with a rectangle of light at the far end where Jimmy stood.

"Come in and shut the door."

He did as directed, and I flipped a switch. A flashing strobe light filled the closed-in area with pulsating streaks of colour, and I shut if off, opened the curtains. Jimmy squinted his eyes at the bright sunshine. When he could see again, he stared at me.

"Dinner's done."

Jimmy's Point of View

I followed Jennifer to the kitchen, the girl behind me. It was horrible. I was eating dinner with her family, yet I knew not her name. Luckily, her mother spared any discomfort by leaving the room.

"Mom feeds Dad then eats her own food."

"Oh. Um, this may sound weird but..uh..."

"Amelia! Don't just stand there. Get Jimmy a plate."

The girl---Amelia---set two plates on the table and sat down.

"So..."

"Yep."

We looked at each other and laughed, the tension broken. "I'm sure you know my name by now, but, in case you don't, I'm Amelia Adrianne Maysen. Call me Amy. I'm sixteen, Val's best friend since birth considering she's my cousin. My parents wish I wasn't an only child, but they feel they're too old to have more kids. Oh, and I'm a sucker for coffee."

I chuckled and chose a random topic to talk about. When I finally looked at a clock, I realised it was time to go.