THE PRODIGIES

Chapter III

Here we are again.

Cruising through the streets on this not so lovely Friday evening. Mila's feelings are hurt again. Not because of me though. She's still thinking about that waiter. On top of that, we just made Bree mad. Well, mostly me.

Maybe it was the hunger talking. They do say I'm naturally mean, and I can't even help it. I try. I really do. It's just a coping mechanism.

"We can just go through the drive-thru." Mila offers.

Bree shrugs. "Doesn't matter to me, but are we going to the one downtown or to the one by the park?"

Mila sits up. "Downtown. We can see what's going on with the Angel Lux thing."

"Let's just go. I'm hungry!" I don't care which one we go to. I just wanna eat."

I let down the window slightly and put my headphones on. I pretend I'm in some extravagant music video. I feel the wind blowing across my face, and it feels so soft. It reminds me of the gentle touch of a parent. It reminds me of the relationship I had with my dad. Soft when he needed to be. Harsh when he needed to be. The perfect balance. I miss everything about him. The way he came in to check on me in the middle of the night when he thought I was sleeping. How he used to take turns cooking our favorite meals. He made sure I did more than just sleep and eat. He made sure I went out and socialized. He didn't like for me to be in my room all of the time. He put our happiness first, like any parent should. I even miss when he would scold me for talking back to the teachers. I knew he cared about the person I was becoming, and he didn't want me to be a disrespectful young woman. He wanted people to respect me. He wanted the teachers to see my potential even if I didn't see it myself. He had so much faith in my abilities. I wish he was able to see that I'm still continuing on with my education and that Bree and Mila are doing the same.

Bree snaps me out of my thoughts by throwing a balled-up napkin at me. I take out my headphones and look up.

"What do you wanna get?" Bree asks.

"Just give me a whopper jr. meal with cheese, and a hi-c."

Bree orders our food and while we wait, I go back to looking outside the window. I can see a large number of people in the distance. I can't see too much, but I can tell the Angel Lux celebration is still in progress. Strangely, something is drawing me there. I actually want to go to see what's going on. I want to feel the energy of everybody. It seems like a lot of people showed up so maybe it'll be fun. I might even see some people from class. I know that if we do show up, I'm going to be the one left by myself since I have no friends. Mila has all of her track friends and her annoying boyfriend. And everybody just likes Bree. So by default, I'll be left alone to wait for my sisters. Maybe I'll see someone I know, so that way I can hang with them until it's time to go. Maybe I'll go to every food stand and order something to pass the time. Yeah, I'll probably do the second option, honestly.

Mila hands me my food, while Bree circles around and parks in one of the empty spots. We start eating in silence. I decide to check my phone to see the time. I glanced at it right when it turns to 8:00pm. Suddenly, Bree and Mila start yelling in pain.

"Ah! My fucking head." Mila winces.

She drops her food and brings her knees up to her chest, while grabbing her head. I glance at Bree, and she is holding her head while leaning against the steering wheel.

Okay, some weird shit is going on. Why did they both start experiencing the same kind of pain at the same exact time? I'm paralyzed. I don't know how I'm supposed to help them feel better.

"Bree, you okay?" I tap her on the shoulder.

She shakes her head.

I don't feel a thing. In a crazy way, I almost feel like something is wrong with me for not hurting as well.