Misplaced Trust

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 

Mia was going to make cupcakes; she checked her list, check, check and again, check. So she called over her new friend Ava, figuring that baking would be a suitable way to bond with her ballet partner. Just a little past five, Ava knocked on the door and there she was, wearing a purple shirt, a pink tutu and gold flats. The only thing missing was a crown and sceptre, to portray her majestic glamour.

"All-purpose flour," Mia announced.

"Check." Ava responded.

"Unsalted butter?"

"Check."

"Baking soda?"

"Check."

"Sugar?"

"Check."

"Cocoa powder?" And it went on and on, until they reached to the stage where they would dump in all the ingredients in hopes to create the perfect chocolate cupcakes.

"Right, so it says to preheat the oven ..." Mia muttered under her breath as she headed to the oven, pressing, clicking and turning buttons. "You could sift the dry ingredients and I'll line the cupcake pan."

Ava nodded and got to it, measuring the dry ingredients and then shimmering them with the sieve in hopes to get rid of the lumps. She then walked over to the counter nearby and nosed her way behind Mia, peeking at her efficient job of placing cupcake cases in the pan.

"So, I suppose your done sieving?" Mia chuckled, well aware that Ava was peering through the nook of her neck, staring as her busy hands lifted the polka-dot cupcake cases, lowered them in the pan and then, back again at the task of lifting, lowering, lifting, lowering, and so on.

"I just brought you a little surprise." Mia could feel Ava grinning and suddenly, snow sprinkled around the air until reality and logic kicked in, the dry ingredients, half of them anyway were now sprinkled around, wasted and now worthless as they danced their way down to the marble floor.

Mia decided that they could pause cupcake making, so she stopped lifting and lowering the cases in the pan. Instead, she twirled around to face Ava, her eyes glittering with mischief. Her heart paced against her chest, but she knew it was an up-to-no-good pace and she felt proud. She melted her eyes into Ava's and finally shot her a devilish smirk that was a sign she was certainly up to no good.

"Why do you have that smug look on your face?" Ava nonchalantly twirled her long silky hair in her finger.

"Oh nothing-" Mia's tone singsong happy, like a bird chirping melodies.

Mia finally gathered the courage, while Ava wasn't looking, she dipped her fingers in the wet ingredients that were previously measured: the milk, the cracked eggs ... and just like that, she waved her fingers so close to Ava, that the liquids sprinkled into her eyes. Mia then grabbed a whole egg, un-cracked, shell and all, held it tight in her grip and cracked it on Ava's crown, the gooey yellow yolk oozing and dropping like sludge on Ava's hair. The transparent white film clinging and wrapping her hair like spider webs.

"You are so going to pay-," she chanted and ran across the kitchen room, grabbed a half-empty carton of milk, twisted the cap and aimed for Mia, targeting her hair. She pushed the carton forward, allowing the cold white milk to spurt outwards, splashing against Mia, wetting her black eyelashes turning them snow white while messing up her lusciously combed hair.

Half an hour was spent throwing food at each other. After the milk, it was throwing the rest of the ingredients against each other. When finally, they ran out. But that didn't stop them. Mia dug around and found two water guns, one purple and the other pink. Of course, Mia chose the pink one and filling it in was boring her, the anticipation itching inside of her, desperate to get revenge at this new nemesis that was declaring war.

"Fee-figh-foh-fumb, I smell the blood of an English man." Ava growled in a heavy voice, deep and manly while stomping around with loud footsteps in attempt to emphasise her impression as the evil giant from Jack and the Beanstalk.

"Is that what the giant says? Well I Jack, will cut you just like – erm ..." she muttered under her breath nervously, she wasn't sure how threaten Ava back, so she stopped talking and simply glared at Ava as if she was a juicy bone and she was a large dog, that was willing to devour and demolish.

Ava ran away as fast as she could, swinging past the living room and straight outside to the garden. Mia followed, heavy panting, as she was not used to running. Inhale, exhale, her chest deflated as she stopped, she fisted her chest with the back of her hand, crouching while wheezing, desperate for oxygen.

"I'm winning," Ava cheered, raising her fists in the air victoriously, as if she had just ran past the finish line.

Fireworks exploded inside of Mia's tired chest. She knelt on the floor and sad sobs escaped her, she tried to withhold the tears, but they flowed like a waterfall. Ava's sense of victory disappeared, her proud smile lowered and the shimmer in her eyes dimmed. She approached her new friend and knelt next to her.

"Are you ok? I'm sorry if I pushed you too far," she whispered, trembles escaping her quivering lips. She felt guilty; she should've just left Mia to win.

"I am, I'm just not used to exercise," she replied, her eyes looked away as if they were ashamed.

"There's no need to cry about it," she reassured Mia, and even though she could not see Ava, she could hear her smiling.

"It's not just a sad cry," her voice was breaking but she had to gather the strength to utter the next words. "It was a happy cry."

Ava's eyes shone and Mia was now looking at her, they were sharing eye contact and she felt relieved. Ava held out her hand and Mia, gratefully taking it, she smiled and took a deep breath. She took several slow inhales and exhales, as if her breathing ached and was going to prepare her to speak the truth. Her cheeks were starting to burn, but she had to ignore her shyness, she had to speak up.

"I've never had a friend before, sounds silly I know, but I've always been alone. Never did I truly have a friend, someone come over or invite me to their house ... so thank you," and Ava's heart felt like it was floating. Mia never had a friend, besides her sister of course, but still.

Ava was her first friend, and once Mia was finished confessing how her life was tiring; girls at school would bully her about her freckles, or about her sister who was pretty. Ava promised her that the only reason people teased and hurt her, was because they were jealous, lowlife people who had nothing better to do. And a smile was imprinted permanently onto little Mia's face. Her chubby cheeks popped two dimples, her doll eyes shining and she beamed, because now, she had a friend.

"We should make friendship bracelets," Ava suggested as she helped Mia to steady herself on her feet.

"I'll grab the box ... 'friend'" Mia shined.

"I'll be waiting ... 'best friend'"

And after the b.f. word, Mia felt like she was on cloud nine. And since that day on, Ava and Mia were described as the inseparable duo, the two best friends, and the girls who were bonded in a way no lovers could. But the love they shared was innocent; they loved each other and cared for each other, so the b.f. words were not enough. They referred to each other as a 'sister from another mister'.

In that moment, when the spark between them ignited, they knew that their bond would be unbreakable. They would grow old and be the two old ladies sitting side by side. They would be inseparable, just like no one can remove a shadow from its owner. But who knew? Shadows could be removed, and so, Mia was removed from Ava.

Mia was now her own person, both of the girls were now ... shadow-free.