F•R•I•E•N•D•S

T•H•R•E•E

Mikayla

I wake up feeling the burden of love burning in my chest. The tingles- the excitement. It all makes me sick.

My neck pains me from the awkward position I slept in, adding to my irritable mood. The queen size bed I call my own is lovely, don't get me wrong, it's just that I had to sleep with a surprisingly heavy ten year old on my head.
Chase shuffles and rolls over, murmuring something in his sleep induced state; I would have to hope that he didn't wet my bed this time.

The stairs groan under my feet, as I head to our well kept porcelain kitchen, with intentions on making strawberry pancakes.
I was right in the process off finding the ingredients to make my batter from scratch when my mother walks into the kitchen, a scowl set deep into her face.

She scolds me in our native tongue, while I roll my slanted eyes.

"Mother, I have ample time to make it before sundown."

More scolding in Korean.

"Fine, alright! I'll just drive there on an empty stomach!" I shout, slamming the cabinets shut.

She calls after me but I ignore her, not wanting to have to deal with her any longer.
I make it to my room, closing the door with more force than necessary; thankfully my brother had already migrated to his own room.

I hate myself for that pit of love that simmers in my chest, waiting to be filled but dying out at the same time.

"Love," my mother had once told us, "is for weak, simple-minded people. It's in all of us, but you have to choose to hold it back. You go farther in life without it."

Her stupid words stir a cauldron of emotions within me, but while I take my shower, I let the cold pellets beat those feelings into submission.

In this house, we show little to no emotion; we look out for one another, but that's as far as it goes.
My brother and I defy those rules though. We hardly care for our mother when she looks at us with disgust for saying "I love you" to one another.

The lack of love in this household is what drove our dad away, and I'll be damned if I'll let the same happen with Chase. Although, I can't say that for myself, because the reason I was going to college a state over, was to escape this place.

My thoughts are interrupted by Chase's knocking on the bathroom door.

" 미카엘라 서둘러. Mom is freaking out about you being late," he informs me.

"Be right out!" I reply.

That was another rule in this house; being on time is extremely important. Her motto never fails to remind us: To be on time is to be late, but to be early is to be on time.

I quickly exit the bathroom and high tail it to my room, heading straight to the closet to find something to wear.

Normally, I would have been satisfied with a simple jeans and blouse, but Mother would definitely never let me leave the house so basic.
My hands find a soft dark pants, and a white long-sleeved cotton shirt with black stars of all sizes all over it.

I pull my favorite black pumps out the closet and prepare to exit my room, satisfied with the way I look.
As I enter the living room, Chase envelopes me in a hug, telling me how much he's going to miss me in Korean.

"I love you Ehaun," he tells me, using the Korean version of my name.

"I love you too SanJuan," I reply, hugging him once more.

"Couldn't you have found something better than that?" Mother ridicules me in English.

"You should be happy that I even decided to wear this. Let's be real, it looks like I'm going to a business meeting instead of college!"

"Good! Maybe that'll give you extra credit in your business classes," she smirks.

If I were to reply, I know that something good would be the last thing to exit my mouth. Instead, I turn around and head to the door without a second glance.

The Buick parked in front was filled with my luggage, the only thing missing being myself.
Without further interruption, I climb in and start my car, relishing in the soothing hum of the engine.

After typing in the coordinates on my iPhone, I peel off down the street, eager to get away. The further I am from my mother, the closer I'll be to rewriting my life for the next four years.

I'd just have to hope that these will be the slowest years of my life.