Somebody Else ✔

First days start with a spark.

Sam.

Edited.

When I was fifteen, I traveled to Singapore with blue hair and my family bitched about it for two weeks. Tears were shed. You'll never get a boyfriend like that, lamented my Aunty. I didn't tell her, at that time, I'd been in love with Ella Bruno. I didn't tell her cause, yeah, I would've been disowned by my Singaporean family. Or maybe I didn't tell her because the day before I left Ella slapped me across the face and I'd been walking around in a daze ever since.

But that's — that's whatever.

I was thinking about my last trip to Singapore because Mum's family had come to visit. Spring always brought the smell of soap, jasmine into my home — as well as my grandparents.

Technically it was my grandma and my great aunt, Mama Connie and Mama Mary. Mum had been fussing before they arrived, cleaning, cooking, making me cook and clean with her. The cleaning was fine, the cooking was torture. Mum liked to lecture me while we cooked. My grades, my Dad and my friends were popular topics. I learned early on how to drown her voice out, underneath the sizzling food.

When their plane landed, Dad had managed to keep himself sober and picked them up from the airport. I was waiting from them on the floor of the lounge room, Daisy at my side. As Dad shuffled in with their bags and a smile on his face I hid my head. I hadn't had the courage to confront him about the Fontaine's allegations. I didn't even know where to start with the Fontaine's allegations. I knew they weren't lying, they had no reason to — plus, they were second or third cousins to Izzy so.

I kinda just wanted to ignore it, like mum did. Ignore it and hope for the best. Hope that a miracle happened and Dad just woke up one day and decided to quit it. I scoffed at myself.

Mum was always flying out to Singapore or bringing her family to Australia. Still though, the house transformed when they came to stay. Mum was home more, Dad was sober and constantly the house was filled of scents of ginger, cinnamon and black pepper. They played music, old Australian rock mostly and whenever I heard Flame Trees it reminded me of home — to the point where I couldn't take it.

I saw in those old women myself, but they wore their wide, flat nose and slim eyes with a sense of pride I hadn't mastered yet. I'd promised to introduce them to Alex — but I couldn't hide my happiness when it kept being put off day after day. It was stupid, but not everyone could decipher their thick accents. I could still remember the other kids in primary school laughing when they came in to pick me up one time. My cheeks burned and they didn't shut up until Izzy got her cousins in the year above to threaten them all.

After school, when they'd only been staying with us for a few days, I was scrolling through makeup tutorials on YouTube. Daisy was resting her head on my knee. I ran my finger through her knotted fur and focused in on winged eyeliner tutorials.

Mama Connie and Mama Mary sashayed into the lounge room, Mum behind them — carrying bags of groceries. I didn't bother to glance up, instead wondering if I could con Mum into paying for all the makeup the YouTuber's were mentioning.

"Samantha! Put your phone down and come help us." I glanced around wantonly for Cass or Zac but they were both at their private music lessons.

So I begrudgingly got up, running my hands through my hair, and followed them through to the kitchen. Cooking with them was fine, they spoke with Mum in Mandarin and I kept a constant, painful smile on my face. When they spoke in English they talked about relatives and the drama going down in Singapore, with my hell rich Aunt who I never liked, cause she treated her maids and animals like trash.