Up In Flames

The Dinner

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey, guys. Just a quick note to say that I, @xxGlitterGalxx , will be taking over the book for a while. Nasags has been really busy and hasn't been able to update. So I will be directing the story for a while. Nas has also been dealing with a family loss, so she has not been motivated to do anything. Wish her well x

Hope you all enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------------------

I followed my little brother to the table we were assigned, and whoop-dee-doo, it was right next to Marca's. Yay! Fun times... not. I glanced over at him and noticed he was already looking at me. I rolled my eyes and looked at my brother.

"James, you excited?" I asked. He was going to a boarding school in France, but came home a couple of days ago and was getting ready to go to middle school in a week. He was going to be in grade six and he was nervous about it.

"A bit. It's going to take some getting used to. Private schools are so different to public schools. But yeah, I'm excited, but mostly nervous.."

"It'll be okay. You'll make plenty of friends." I said, patting his head. He laughed.

"So, dear, what would you like for dinner?" my mother asked my little brother, who had picked up a menu.

"Hmmm... Maybe a steak? With lots of gravy." he chuckled. It was always the same. James and gravy. They were like Bonnie and Clyde. Never one without the other. It's been that way since he had mashed potato and gravy as a baby. He'd throw a tantrum if he got mashed potatoes without gravy.

My father laughed his deep, belly laugh. "Of course, son. It's your special dinner." James smiled and leaned over to hug our dad.

Our parents were quite chill. My dad, he was a middle aged man, had a bit of a beer belly, and always had stubble. My mother, on the other hand, she looked like something out of a movie. She always wore a dress that looked like it was from the 50's. Her hair was always in twin braids and she always wore a thin line of eyeliner on her top lid.

I guess you could say her style reflected my own, preppy. I always wore a flowy top, capri pants, neon colors, or a pretty dress. And James. Dear old James. He wears button-up shirts, jeans and a pair of black boots everywhere. Ever since he went to that private school in France. We all had one thing in common. Our dark hair.

I guess you could say we were quite a normal family. More or less.

We had a 10-15 minutes of casual dinner conversation until the waitress brought our dinner to the table. There were a couple of times where I glanced at Marca's table, and every time I did, he was looking at me. But it was weird. Like he was confused. Like he was trying to figure me out. Seeing as he had no interest trying to talk to me, I found it completely strange.

"Marca?" I heard a girl next to him say, who I was assuming was his little sister.

"What?" He said, turning his head towards her. He looked like he had been caught doing something he wasn't meant to be doing. I looked down at my half-eaten butter chicken dish, and furrowed my brows.

What? Why is he looking at me?

About half an hour passed before Marca left. My family and I were just finishing up our dessert of mini mud cakes.

"Right, we'll go in a few minutes, okay Dani?" My father said, covering my hand with his. I nodded and smiled. But I couldn't stop thinking about him. Marca. Why he kept staring at me, confused. Why I felt like I knew him when we first met. Why I felt like I knew him really well. I couldn't think of any reason for this mystery. No reason at all.

The rest of the night was calm, as it usually is in our family. James was watching Kung Fu Panda, Mom was cleaning the kitchen, and Dad was watching the movie with James. And I was in my room, on my laptop, trying to dig up information on Marca.

"It's like he doesn't exist." I whispered. I peered closer to the screen to hopefully reveal something, but nothing came of it. Nothing. It's like he was a ghost. A ghost with no past. Or present. It was impossible.

A knock on my door brought me out of my thoughts. "Yeah?"

"It's bedtime, Dani." James said, once he had opened the door.

"Okay." I smiled, walking over to give him a hug. I kissed him on the head. "Night."

I got changed into my purple silk pajamas, and climbed into my queen sized bed. There were still so many thoughts I had yet to comprehend. I promised myself I would confront him at school the next day, and if all went well, I would have a small insight of who he was.

I closed my eyes and yearned for sleep. But it took a long time to fall into that slumber I craved. My body eventually gave in, and dragged me under.

I dreamed. It was a strange dream. All it was, flutters of feathered wings glazing across my body as I walked through them. All different colors weaved in and out. Pastel blues, pastel pinks, slight gold and silver. Even jet black and pure white ones. It was a maze of wings. But they couldn't belong to a bird. They were too colossal to be a bird's wings. Faces I recognized, but couldn't place, danced in my vision, in between the wings.

I was walking towards a bright, burning light. It was both black and white. I don't know how. It wasn't grey. It was black. And it was white.

Then I heard it.

There it was.

In the middle of the light.

His voice.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited by nasags 31/07/21
Competition:

What did Danielle's family have for dessert?