A New Chapter (An Emotional Story)

"Hey, glad you guys could make it," Leah greeted upon opening the door. She beckoned her three friends inside her mansion before shutting the door with a gentle click. A smile graced her lips as she brought her hands together in a clap. "Why don't you all set your luggage down here, where you can retrieve it later? For now, follow me to the lounging room. We can chat from there."

"Sure thing," Micky, a boy wearing red glasses, agreed after dropping his suitcase. He smacked his lips before chewing loudly. His jawline motioned up and down.

"I know you have gum," Cerise, a girl wearing a beige sweater, stated. She quirked a black eyebrow up, hinting at something.

"Want some?" he asked, guessing correct.

"Yea-"

"Just kidding." A smirk spread across Micky's smug face. "I'm chewing the last piece." He tipped his red fedora down an inch before continuing to chew his gum, ignoring the glare Cerise shot him. Being a troll was his specialty.

"Here we are," Leah announced after guiding them to their destination. She gestured to the grand lounging room.

Dwarf bulbs cast a dim lighting over the area. The scent of lavender candles lingered in the atmosphere. Plushy sofas, ranging from a soft lime green to a sky blue, were aligned against the stark white walls, facing a lit fireplace. A rainbow rug was positioned in between the elegant furnishes and hearth. A table was sitting in a corner, presenting an abundance of refreshments. Everyone settled down on a couch after grabbing a can of their favored soda, save for Micky. After snagging a dripping wet can and spitting his gum out in a nearby trashcan, Micky sat down on the rainbow rug with crossed legs.

"This is nice," Micky remarked, smoothing the rug out with a hand. He ran his index finger over an orange line and picked at the tiny strands of fuzz.

"Don't harass it, Mick," Cerise said. "It has feelings too."

"So," Leah drawled, emphasizing the two-letter word. She leaned forward in her seat, eying all three of her friends, "what are we going to do with our lives from now on?" She asked the question like she was trying to decide over milk or orange juice for breakfast.

She turned to Richard, a boy attired in all black. His face was smeared with severe racoon-like eyeliner. Leather straps and chains adorned the belt of his skinny jeans. Diamond studs and piercings decorated both his ears. He hadn't uttered a word since he got here.

"Well Richard, why don't we start with you?" Leah inquired.

Richard leaned back against the sofa. He crossed his arms behind his back. "I think I'm going to sell drugs."

"Richard, I was being serious."

"I'm going to slay myself over college or whatever and pull so many all-nighters that I'll hallucinate. The rest will flow from there."

Leah beamed. "That's better. Who's next?"

Micky's hand, the one not holding a can of Sprite, shot up in the air. He swung it around, waving the noodle-like limb from side to side. "Oh, me! Pick me, sensei!"

"Micky, what do you plan on doing with your life?"

"I'm gonna watch anime over the summer, and then I'm gonna apply for a part-time job at some store. Then, after that, I'll suffer through four to six years of college just to earn a sheet of paper. Then I'll get a job at some company, work for fifty years as the laziest employee ever, retire, and then screw around with my grandchildren's minds." Micky slapped his hands together to high-five himself, denting both sides of his can. "Bam. That's what I'm gonna do in life."

"Okay then." Typical Micky. Leah turned to Cerise, who was sitting to her left. "Cerise?"

"Unlike you guys, I actually look forward to diving into what the future offers me." A grin tugged Cerise's lips as she crossed her arms. "Girls, I'mma be a fashion designer. I already got the steps on how to become my dream job and everything."

"That's great," Leah chirped.

"And what about you, blondie?" Blondie was the nickname Cerise always used to refer to Leah.

"Well, I plan on joining the local community college first before deciding to do anything else. Then, after that, I'll strive for a career as an architect."

"Shapes love you," Richard remarked sarcastically.

"All right, enough talk about this junk." Micky cracked open his soda can. He raised it in the air, grinning. "A toast, guys? A toast for high school

finally being over?"

"If you can reach us from your spot on the rainbow rug," Cerise teased, gesturing to the green couch everyone else was seated on.

Micky shuffled his knees across the shaggy carpet. He held his can up high, flourishing it in his friends' faces. "Now can we have a toast?"

Leah smiled. "Sure."

After shouting out their cheers in unison, everyone clinked their cans and chugged. Cerise gulped down her Orange Fanta like she hadn't drank anything in days. Micky slurped his Sprite loudly. Richard sipped his Pepsi in a laid-back fashion. Leah tasted her Mountain Dew once. She wasn't a big fan of sugary beverages, but this was a special occasion.

Sighing, Leah clutched the can tighter in her hand. Cloudy thoughts were emerging inside of her mind, accompanied with conflicting emotions. She tried to mask on a content expression, but the troubled look in her blue eyes proved otherwise. Having had a sixth sense when it came to detecting emotions, Cerise was the the first to pick up on this.

"Hey," she nudged Leah in the arm with a bony elbow, "what's wrong?" She stared at her with pleading eyes. "You can tell us if you want."

Leah sighed. She squeezed her green soda can with both hands, crushing the sides. "The future's kinda scary," she began, her gaze sliding down to her bare feet. She dangled her porcelain legs back and forth.

"Well, of course," Richard agreed. He moved aside a black strand of hair out of his eyes. "People nowadays expect for us to decide our futures so soon, which makes it all the more stressful."

"I'm not talking about that. Guys . . ." Leah sucked in a sharp breath. She reached down to place her can on the carpet before sitting up straight again. "I've been hiding something from you all about my personal life."

"What is it?" Micky asked. He, Cerise, and Richard stared at Leah. All of them wore stoic faces, with hints of concern seeping through their prepared facades.

"I met up with my long-lost twin brother a week ago." The words gushed out from Leah's mouth in an instant. "We were separated at an adoption center after our birth. His name is Austin and he lives in London. He owns a gigantic snake named Layla."

"Whoa," Micky exclaimed, his eyes bulging out of his sockets. Cerise's jaw became agape. Richard's half-empty can of Pepsi slipped from his fingers and crashed into the carpet with a thud . It leaked across the carpet like an expanding brown pool.

"Shit," he hissed.

Before he could crouch down to clean up after himself, Leah raised a hand and said, "It's okay. Just leave it. My housekeeper will fix it later."

Nodding, Richard reluctantly slumped back against the couch.

"So anyways," Leah continued, taking in another shaky inhale, "it also turns out that I'm adopted. My real parents are still alive, they live in Chicago and they are happily married to each other. My biological mother had given birth to me when she was sixteen. I'm going to meet both my twin brother Austin and my real parents over the weekend."

A moment of stiff silence, taut with tension, ensued. The only sound that could be heard was the crackles and flickers of the dancing flames in the hearth.

Cerise was the first to break it. She patted Leah on the back as an act of awkward condolence. "Good luck with meeting them," she said.

"Thank you." Leah cracked open a wide smile. She straightened her posture. "I think I feel better about this after talking it out. I should've done this sooner."

"Yeah, you tend to bottle your emotions up. Just let it out, you know," Micky said. He finished the last remaining drops of his soda before setting it down next to him on the floor.

"That's good." Cerise compressed her lips together in a thin line. She raked a hand through her mop of springy brown hair. Her brow furrowed, plastering on a solemn expression. "I have something to confess to you all too, actually."

Micky, Richard, and Leah swerved their heads around, snapping their attention onto her.

"What is it?" Micky asked, anticipating her words.

"Okay. Well, around two weeks ago, my pop figured out that my ma has been cheating on him. And my ma figured out that my pop has been cheating on her. They've both been cheating on each other. It's a mutual divorce, and they both agree to be friends after signing the separation papers, so no llama drama there. Well, it turns out my ma's not into guys after all. And my pop's not into chicks either. My pop has been hooking up with a guy behind my ma's back, and my ma has been hooking up with a woman behind my pop's back. They're both queer and out of the closet now. And both of their lovers have kids. So now I have step-siblings. I'm about to meet my step-siblings from both sides tomorrow." Cerise took a long swig from her soda, filling in the awkward silence with her loud slurps. When no one bothered to break the silence, she added, "So yeah. I support them both."

"Wow. I hope it goes well," Leah said.

" Whoa," Micky exclaimed, having nothing else to say. Richard gave a silent nod of polite acknowledgement.

"Thanks guys," Cerise said after sighing.

Micky readjusted his glasses. "So, since we're all talking about secrets, um, I think I should say something to pipe in."

"Go ahead," Leah urged gently. She folded her hands on her lap. "This is a safe place for secrets now."

Micky chortled at that. He slid off his fedora and combed through his blond hair. "So my little brother, Chip, broke his arm after skateboarding a few days ago. He was passed out on the ground in pain before being taken to the hospital. He has to wear a cast for four weeks now." Micky slid his hat back on. "And ever since I got a scholarship to go to TMCU, that university I've been talking about out of state, I've been kind of worried about my less younger sister Kooky. Kooky doesn't seem ready yet to hold responsibility for Chip. I'll be going away if I decide to go to college, which means Kooky will be by herself since our parents are always working overseas. A lot of things could go wrong with this." Micky quirked up a smile on his face, but the limp movement of his lips seemed halfhearted and forced. "Maybe I'm worrying too much."

"I'm sure he'll be in fine health," Leah assured.

"I forgot to mention that my sister Kooky is a bit of an emotional wreck right now. She's been like that ever since our favorite aunt passed away. And our uncle, also our deceased aunt's husband, had been stuck in a food coma."

No one said anything for a while. It was all so much to soak in.

Suddenly, a soft whimper broke the quiet. Slowly, everyone turned to each other, trying to figure out who had made that noise.

It was Richard.

Richard sniffled before blinking a lot. Choked sobs racked his body and tears swelled in his wide eyes, gliding down his pale cheeks. His severe raccoon-like eyeliner and mascara splattered around his eyes in dark splotches. Black ink streaked down his skin. "You have it all so hard," he sputtered, his cracked voice trembling in an uncharacteristic manner. He collected several shaky breaths before burying his make-up ruined face in his hands.

Leah, Cerise, and Micky stared at their friend, astounded by the sight of Richard, cold and pessimistic Richard, bawling like a girl who had just undergone a horrifying breakup.

"Um, yeah, I suppose so . . ." Leah trailed off. This time, she didn't know what to say. She shifted in her position, visible discomfort drawn on her face.

After moments of awkward gaping, Cerise stood to her feet and sat down next to Richard. Hesitantly, she wrapped both arms around him, even though he was still weeping and mumbling inaudible laments. She rocked him back and forth, humming a soothing melody, as if she was quelling the distress of an infant. Leah and Micky stared at her, speechless.

Then, with a deep breath heaved in, Cerise whispered, "It'll all be okay. It'll all be okay."

Richard nodded, his face still streaming with inky-black tears. He draped an arm across Cerise, an attempt to return her embrace. "I finished watching this show before coming here," he stammered, another choked sob threatening to halt his explanation, "I couldn't even - the ending was so terrible, and now these confessions are too." He rubbed his eyes with a fist. His makeup became even more smudged. "Also, my dad broke his leg after tripping up some stairs. My sister is also in the hospital with my dad because she fainted after a spider crawled up her leg. She has arachnophobia."

"Aw man, you need more than just one hug," Micky said. He rose and approached Cerise and Richard. He spread his arms out, a broad grin blossoming on his features. Before they could say anything, he engulfed them in a warm hug. Smiling, Leah joined her companions, squishing herself against everyone else. All four of then were huddled up in a long group embrace.

There was a heartwarming moment of quiet, one filled with tacit and platonic affections. Sometimes, they didn't need words or talking things out to eradicate a burden on their shoulders. Sometimes, a comforting silence helped more.

"The future . . ." Leah began. She hesitated, but then continued, "is an unpredictable road sculpted by fate. The best that we can all do to face it is to wing it, no matter how difficult the obstacles are."

Micky beamed. Tears threatened to spill through his glasses. "You guys are the greatest friends ever."

Cerise rolled her eyes, smiling. "We're not here to make this into a sob fest, you know. Don't spread the crying."

Richard frowned, giving her a mock glare. He looked like a gothic catastrophe. "I'm usually not this emotional."

"I don't know why we didn't discuss any of this sooner," Leah said. Warm laughter, free of worries, rolled out from her rosy lips.

"We didn't have the time because of graduation." Cerise shook her head, her springy curls bouncing from side to side. "No. We were all afraid to speak up. Not anymore though."

"I don't know when this turned from a small party to group therapy," Richard remarked sarcastically. He was returning back to his normal self. And with that, everyone burst out in laughter.

They were ready for the future now.

"I don't know when this turned from a small party to group therapy."