for your new wip ask game: bittersweet :) (ps you're writing is awesome!)
aww thank you, that’s so sweet of you to say. I appreciate it!
Another bittersweet moment ~
I’d just finished sweeping my hair into a messy bun when the intro of Lady Marmalade punctured the air.
Whipping around, I waved my hands before me. “No, no, no, we’re not—”
Before I could protest, Mira scooped two hairbrushes off my dresser, tossed me one and started lip syncing the first verse.
Crossing my arms, I looked on with the pouted face of a stubborn child as she strutted around the room, rocking her hips to the edgy beat of the music. Snapping her head toward me, she locked me in a fierce stare, curling a finger inward to reel me in by an invisible thread.
Cupping my hands around my mouth, I yelled, “You’re insane, you know that?
As embarrassed as I was by her antics, I knew my efforts to resist her were futile. After a moment’s hesitation, I cursed under my breath and clutched the hairbrush, dashing into the middle of the room.
The energy of the music overtook us. We went from uncoordinated dance moves to exaggerated singing faces, and even struck a provocative pose or two in front of the mirror. At one point Mira kept playfully backing her ass into me while I laughed and swatted her away. A warmth pervaded me at the sight of the childish gleam in our eyes. For the moment, we’d traversed back to our graceless pre-teen years, when our biggest problem was finding a way to have fun.
Following a break in the lyrics, Mira grabbed her sunglasses and a silk scarf from my closet, wrapping it around her neck with an air of dramatics. Christina Aguilera’s voice came roaring through the speakers on her phone and Mira belted out the lyrics with the pipes and the vocal control of a trained singer. I listened on in awe; the power of her voice never ceased to amaze me.
Halfway through her performance a heavy knock sounded at the door. “Yo! Could you cool it with the Coachella production? Other people live in this house, you know!”
We froze, physically shrinking in place as we exchanged a sheepish glance. Mira rushed to shut off the music. “Sorry!” we said in unison.
Once Jeremy’s footsteps fell away, Mira and I collapsed onto each other in a fit of giggles.
“Oh, man.” She dropped into a seat on my bed. “Remember ‘The One with the Christmas Performance’?”
Mira and I had started fondly referring to our life events like Friends episode titles after becoming obsessed with the show in middle school.
“Christmas 2014. We thought we’d be cute and perform this song to our parents.” Of course, neither of us had bothered to look up the meaning of the lyrics beforehand. “Was it my dad or yours that nearly had an aneurysm?”
“I think it was mine. Your dad was too busy trying to shut off the music.”
Her laughter subsiding, she regarded me endearingly. “I miss those days, you know. Our families used to be so tight.”
“Yeah.” I mindlessly tinkered with the items on my dresser. “They were." Flashes of my recent encounter with my mother teased my memory and my high spirits dimmed. Before I could sink into my thoughts, something grazed the side of my face. Grabbing the piece of fabric sliding off my shoulder, I faced Mira with furrowed brows.
I was about to go with another family moment but I figured I should let another character shine for a bit. Hope you liked it!
Send me an adjective or an emotion and I will post an excerpt from my wip that fits that feeling/word.
