twelve years old ; 4 May
If Sage's mother were to to come home right now, she would freak out at the mess in the kitchen - this time a real one.
"Uh. Wow."
Sage, Jasmine, Mason, and their newfound friend, Vanessa (they met in summer camp), stared dumbfounded at their masterpiece. Well, burnt masterpiece.
They had tried their hand at making cupcakes with the recipe from the back of the cupcake mix's box. Their vanilla cupcakes had come out looking more like chocolate ones, since they were all too immersed in their game of cards. Eventually, Vanessa had smelled something burning and it didn't take long for the four of them to scramble to the kitchen. By then, their cupcakes had been hard to salvage.
"So, want one?" Mason asked. Vanessa sighed.
"I'll get Monica," Sage said before running up the stairs. Since her parents weren't home, Monica was supposed to be watching them. She was being paid to babysit them, though she wasn't necessarily the best at it, but it was last minute. Monica had a weird obsession with Sage's brother, Thorne.
Thorne, now twenty-two, has cleaned up his act compared to five years ago when he was constantly drinking, smoking, and whatnot. Now in his last year of college, he was studying to become a lawyer - go figure. With his black hair the same as Sage's and his blue eyes inherited from their father, he was quite the catch.
Sage found Monica in Thorne's old room. "Um . . . Monica? Can you come downstairs for a second."
Monica, who was shameless, was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. It was something that Sage did often when she missed her brother, but it seemed weird for a near stranger to be doing the same. Monica sat up, and looking annoyed, asked, "What is it?"
Sage knew that she wouldn't be embarrassed, but she couldn't help it under Monica's scrutinizing gaze. "We kind of burned the cupcakes."
Monica sighed but got up from the bed and followed Sage downstairs, although she sure took her sweet time.
In the kitchen they were timidly taste testing the cupcakes and when Jasmine put took a mouse-like bite from the cupcake, her face scrunched up and she quickly spit it out in the trash can after throwing the cupcake away.
"Nope. No way."
Sage laughed but threw away the rest of the batch. They had only made one thankfully.
"It looks like a massacre happened in here. But with baking ingredients," Monica said when she reached the kitchen.
Mason looked around before replying. "Pretty much."
"Well what can I do?"
"Help us clean up," Jasmine replied as if she thought that Monica was actually going to help. It was a far stretch. Just as expected, Monica turned around at those words and left the kitchen, leaving the four pretend to clean up the mess. Nobody said anything as Sage passed them each a towel.
"Wait! I have to put on music," Sage said suddenly. She ran out of the kitchen to get her phone and put on some music. From outside the kitchen she could hear Mason's chuckle. "Setting the mood." Sage grinned.
"Okay," Sage said when she returned. They got to cleaning, and it reminded Sage of the time at Kendall's sixth birthday party when her and Jasmine had also needed to clean the kitchen, although it was much easier then. Hopefully having two extra pair of hands would help this time, even if it was a bigger mess.
While baking, they had had a mini food fight, something that Sage had wanted to try for a long time. Even though the aftermath was a dirty kitchen and the consequence of cleaning, Sage thought that it was worth it in the end.
Right now "Pity Party" by Melanie Martinez was blasting from Sage's phone, and she started singing along. Soon enough, Jasmine and Vanessa joined in, and even thought Mason didn't know the lyrics, he grinned at his friends. Sure, the cleaning was slowed down a bit, but they were having fun.
Eventually though, they finished and Sage turned down the music and brushed down her clothes. "Want to play Never Have I Ever?"
They quickly agreed and Sage went to get some assorted drinks. Mason and Jasmine asked for soda and Vanessa and Sage wanted Snapple. Peach flavored of course.
Sage passed out the drinks and sat down on one of the couches in the living room with her legs crossed. Jasmine sat on Sage's right, Mason sat on Sage's left, and Vanessa took the love seat.
"So who's first?" Jasmine asked, already taking a quick sip of her soda.
"Mason?" Sage asked, looking to her left.
He shrugged, but went first anyway. "Never have I ever . . . gotten a piercing," he finished, although it took him a while to come up with one.
Everyone took a drink except for Jasmine, who didn't have any piercings. Sage and Vanessa both had ear piercings, although Sage didn't have her earrings on at the moment.
Vanessa went next since they were going clockwise. "Never have I ever gone to a haunted house."
Everyone took a drink this time, and Jasmine said, "We really have to take you sometime." Vanessa shrugged. She didn't seem that excited for the prospect of going to a haunted house, but she wasn't against the idea either.
Sage leaned back and took another sip of her peach flavored Snapple. "I wish Raph was here today. Too bad he had to go to his aunt's house," she said with a small frown. Vanessa nodded. Ever since she met Raph in summer camp they've instantly clicked; both of them were friendly and smart, and they were like siblings now. Sometimes Sage longed for the days when she and Raph were closer, but she also loved her relationship with Jasmine and Mason now.
Everyone was lost in their own thoughts until Jasmine giggled. "Oh, have we told you about Mason's first girlfriend?" she asked Vanessa. Since they had only met less than a year ago there were still many stories to tell and catch up on.
Instantly Vanessa sat up straighter and had a curious look on her face. Sage smiled at the memory of Mason's awkward encounters with Rosalie.
"We broke up months ago. Actually, we didn't even date. I just went to one yacht party," Mason said with a sigh.
Still, Jasmine and Sage took turns to tell the many stories while Mason winced and protested on the side, sometimes laughing. Soon, the day was over and Mason, Jasmine, and Vanessa's parents came to pick them up. Jasmine was last to leave, and Sage gave her a long hug.
"Bye."
"Bye wifey," Jasmine said into Sage's soft black hair.
Sage grinned as Jasmine left. When her mother's car sped away Sage closed the front door, closing the hot almost-summer air outside.
*
who else loves their cookies soft and warm? They are literally the best. anyway, while writing most of this chapter i was listening to melanie martinez which is why I put her song in the chapter.
random thoughts aside, thank you so very much for reading <3
