Like Yesterday

2nd ♬

2nd ♬

We called it as the incident.

After the incident had occurred, everything concerning Jace and I had changed. When I said everything, I meant every single letter in it. Included on the list were those whimsical thoughts of our parents, the way they saw us as the young lovers that our town had to look out for, and even that inscrutable thought of hearing those wedding bells on that perfect day in June. Every single thing had been changed by the incident.

"Reese, can you stop breaking the plates?" my mom exclaimed all the way from the dining table.

Looking down to the shredded pieces on the floor, I sighed. That was the second plate I'd broken since I heard the news that Jace Hamilton was coming back to town. Everyone was excited about it. Thus, in a place as small as ours, I wouldn't even get the chance to miss it. It was impossible not to know.

"Are you going to bring me those plates or what?" Mom asked.

"Coming!" A seashell curtain separated the kitchen and the dining room, so I could easily see that annoyed look on her face.

After I got back from my job interview and saw those posters, it was either I was breaking dishes or spacing out of nowhere. Only two options, and both were not good. I shuddered in horror, whenever my eyes laid on those summer-themed announcements about the band's comeback. Midget Dreams was the closest thing to celebrities out here.

And no, they weren't chased around whenever spotted. The paparazzi, if our place ever had any, weren't rummaging their houses, looking over their files or going crazy on catching whom the guys were recently dating. The craziness only went wild whenever they held their instruments, up on stage and ready to start the beat.

I grabbed the dustpan, tugging the plastic broom along. I gathered all the pieces of the disaster-stricken plate and put it inside the black trash can underneath the sink. It made a clacking sound when it hit the other plate that I'd also broken a few minutes ago.

Outside our kitchen window, the sun was already setting. Its deep, vibrant colors penetrated every end it could touch. I caught a glimpse of that place again from outside our kitchen window, and it tugged a particular string in my heart. I only shrugged, hoping the feeling would go away.

It didn't.

Today was officially ending, and tomorrow was supposedly the day that Jace Hamilton was bound to be back in town. I even heard about the exact day of his arrival. I hoped and prayed that we would never run into each other for the rest of the summer, if that was even possible since we were neighbors, and I would be working at the beach starting tomorrow.

Stupid, stupid laptop, I hissed in my mind, irritated at Brittany's laptop that I had accidentally wrecked last week. Look at me breaking things all over the places. This was a premonition. If it wasn't for that laptop, I wouldn't have to work this summer and would just enjoy it to the fullest, like planned.

My mom appeared in the kitchen, peeved. "Here, let me do it for you."

"I can do it..." I tried saying, but she already grabbed the plates from my hands.

"What's going on, Reese?" Mom demanded.

"Nothing," I replied, shoving my worries aside. That was another lie, but this time, it was for a good cause. My mom was a taleteller. Okay, that was mildly putting it. She was the town's official gazette. Aside from that, she was best of friends with Jace's mother, Susan. And there was nothing I could do about that. Everything I'd say would be instantly known to the Hamiltons, broadcasted by my very own mother.