Thursday, May 28, 2009

The next day, there was a graduation party at the twins' house.

They lived in a huge bungalow as their parents inherited it from the twins' maternal grandparents.

I remembered how it looked like that night as my sister and I went in. As we entered the huge two-story house where illuminated chandeliers on the ceiling glowed, it made a sparkling appearance as guests opened the door.

The painted walls were each decorated with graduation memorabilia congratulating the class of 2009. Old family portraits used to hang on that same wall that would always spook me, but when I attended the party, the Lewis's took them down. Music played in the background and classmates started dancing to the melody.

I wondered how they could afford all of those decorations, and put it up at the last minute. Unless Paige was hiding her ideas about the décor, I was quite impressed by their handiwork. I'm sure the twins' parents must have helped somehow, since they both have good salaries as well.

Their mother was a lawyer, while their father was a police officer. Two dignified jobs. Yet, I heard that they were a bit disappointed that their children were not following their footsteps. I assume the twins believed being a lawyer was boring and police work was dangerous and risky. What Mr. Lewis did, was by all means not my business, but I prayed that nothing bad would happen to him.

***************

There were about twenty of us who were invited to the party, but as the room filled up, I swore there were party crashers that somehow snuck in. And yes ... Owen happened to be there too, much to my annoyance. Paige knew how I resented him, but Robin must have allowed the whole baseball team to join the crowd. Well, that was his joy and pride, so I left it alone.

After we greeted the twins and had a couple of snacks, both Moira and I mingled with the crowd. Couldn't remember much of what occurred, but knew that I drank a lot of Red Bull (yes, the energy drink that's supposed to 'give you wings') to quench my thirst. Perhaps it caused me to act up, but all I could remember were the episodes that involved my sister and Owen.

I do recall that on that particular day, I had a conversation with my sister earlier that she couldn't bear to see 'him' again. That lecture kind of messed up my mind as I consumed my drunken state of mind.

That pronoun referred to the 'guy' my sister and I know is sneaky Owen, the person who broke our hearts.

But we all know the story, right? Girl meets a cute guy. They kiss. Then the 'player' has ogling eyes for his next prey, and the first victim gets struck in the back after she finds out about his new love interest. She cries endlessly and seeks a way out.

Sigh! That's why I never wanted to fall for something so asinine. But emotions cannot always be controlled.

***************

As soon as Moira and I entered the dance room, Owen saw us and waved. He walked towards us and tried to get our attention, but we ignored him.

"Hey Moira, can I speak to ..." He couldn't complete his sentence as my sister grabbed my arm and made us walk faster in the opposite direction. He followed us and kept repeating the same outburst. As if we could forgive him so easily.

"Moira, I just want to speak to you," Owen asked again with puppy dog eyes, as if he were about to cry.

Cut the gimmick Owen! That show you put on won't work.

I know men barely cry as they bottle up their emotions to prevent people from seeing their vulnerable side. But then again, I could be wrong in this case, if Owen was truly being sincere.

But that's what caught Moira's attention. She stopped in her place, and could see her lips murmuring certain numbers, as if she were trying to calm down.

I had a deep feeling she had a love/hate relationship with him, but likewise she never told me about it ... actually, I'll say no one tells me anything these days! I'm like a fly on the wall, only observing every detail, trying to read people's body language and other gestures.

As I predicted she kept ignoring him, which I would have done as well if my sister's hand wasn't on my arm. Her grasp was strong as if she was going to break it. I thought we had forgiven each other for falling for the same imbecile, but deep down I think she still kept a little piece of him in her heart. I assume sister just wants to play "hard to get" with Owen.

And there's nothing wrong with that, except that I was caught in the middle.

We kept walking through the long and tedious hallways of the house (back and forth like a maze), and still Owen kept following us.

Finally, my sister stopped, out of breath, and asked him, "What do you want Owen? And that is Lieutenant Moira to you now."

Owen smirked, noticing that he finally got a response. But his inquisitive eye started to react now, as he replied.

"I want to speak to you privately. And why should I call you Lieutenant now, babe? Your sister calls you by your first name, so why shouldn't I?"

Moira began to snap, as she was about to move her hands to her face, as if she was going to face palm herself.

He really is in big trouble this time!

"Listen you have no right to call me Babe anymore as I know what you did last summer. Marlene is family and she can call me whatever she wants."

She walked toward him and slapped his face. I don't know if this was all an act, but I couldn't keep my mouth shut as I was in awe.

"You are no longer related to me, so practically you are a stranger. And whatever you have to say, you can say in front of my sister too!"

As she said this with fury, I noticed all eyes were upon us.

I just wanted to become invisible at the moment as that pesky fly was looking for a bite to eat.

The music stopped as the couples looked interested in what was going on, since no one would ever have the courage to talk back to the summa cum laude.

I felt rather embarrassed, but couldn't do anything to stop Moira.

With a sigh, Owen replied, "Lieutenant Moira, I just want you back in my life again. I'm sorry," and got down on one knee.

I turned around to see that my sister's face was getting red. Red as the devil in disguise!

"Owen, I don't know what you are going to do, but save it before I slap your face silly again!"

And then the imaginable happened ... no not a wedding proposal !...but he had a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Well, one might think that was not out of the ordinary, but some might not know my sister's tantrums.

Once Owen opened his mouth, I knew he wasn't up to any good. The flowers in his hand were yellow carnations, not red radiant roses that almost every girl would expect to receive.

Besides that, the flowers didn't look like they were fresh. I knew that if you bought them from a florist, the bouquet of flowers would be arranged in a beautiful array, and they would be handled with care.

But instead, the ones in his hands looked like the batch was pulled out from someone's backyard, since the stems were shorter than the others!

What a cheapskate! I hope those weren't Mrs. Lewis's flowers! That would lead to even more trouble!

I guess Owen did not realize what he was getting himself into, but assumed big sis knew better. I could sense when Moira was ready to charge like a raging bull.

As soon as he showed them to her, she snatched it and tossed it right in front of his face. Trying to calm down with a straight face, she started a big scuffle.

She looked at him with her eyes wide open. My sister's rosy cheeks turned into something that looked like the colors of a flaming volcano ready to erupt! And they were similar to those of a wicked witch who was ready to point her wand toward her victim.

My vivid imagination could run wild as I read many books throughout my lifetime.

Poor Owen.

***************

"Owen, I do not need flowers to cheer me up, especially this batch. I am sorry you are disappointed in me, but our relationship has been over years ago. So, please leave me alone! I am here to enjoy the party with my friends I have not seen for ages, and if you talk to me one more time I'm leaving!"

Moira stomped her foot and walked to the other side of the house; while I was still glued to the wooden floor. I guess I was too dumbfounded, since Moira just spoke to her ex in front of a crowd who worshiped the ground Owen Thomas walked upon.

"Mae..."

"Mae ..."

Someone tapped my shoulder abruptly, so I turned around to face him. What's his strategy now?

I dread being caught in the middle of this fiasco. I'm not someone they could use as bait.

But Owen kept pestering me from my pleasant daydreams I called 'fantasy island'.

"Mae... please tell your sister I'm sorry. I just want another chance to be with her."

He was about to say something more, but I wouldn't let him. I could've punched him, but knew that wouldn't be the best solution.

I could barely control my anger, since for the first time I really felt bad for my sister.

"Owen, you know how I despise you, so like my sister you must call me by my full name. And I don't like it when one of my siblings gets hurt!"

And then I picked up what was left of the flowers and went through a rant.

I decided if Moira could do it, so could I.

I must have turned into some kind of red faced monster armed with fire and lightning. With all the energy I gained from drinking that Red Bull earlier, I definitely wasn't the 'plain Jane' anymore! That drink that was supposed to boost your stamina really worked, and felt super absorbed to do something outrageous.

I turned into some kind of mythological god, where Owen was the immortal I needed to punish.

There were three petals left, and for each one I tore them apart by the stem as hard as I could while screaming at his face.

"This petal is for the time you kissed Gretel...yes I was the one who saw you kiss her and told Moira about it, you jerk!"

I looked at his face and saw him smirk. What a typical sleazeball!

"Second petal is for following me around campus and trying to take almost every class I had! I did not like being treated as a messenger!"

He looked at me and gave me a puppy sad face look. With a grin, he asked "Didn't you enjoy it Marlene?"

"HECK NO! You're something else you know that!" Then I threw the last petal at him, hitting him in the nose.

"Ah...Achoo!"

The remnants of the petals got in his nostrils. Who would've known that he was allergic to pollen?

Now it was my time to smirk and widen my grin.

"Lastly, this is for making my sister cry and how she left for the Coast Guard five years ago; leaving me and my parents alone before the dreaded accident! After this party, she will be deployed again you dimwit. You're a major disappointment like those flowers. Next time, I suggest you do some flower research! I can't believe I fell in love with you too, but you ... you are so difficult!"

I couldn't find the right words to express my feelings, but I just blurted out anything that satisfied me. My long hair probably was now in tangles as I kept twisting them as they fell on my face.

I was infuriated and started sobbing. I ran for a shoulder to cry on and tried to find Paige and Robinaire for comfort.

I also yelled to the crowd as some faced me, and exclaimed, "Show is over you guys, so what are you looking at? TURN THE MUSIC BACK ON!"