CHAPTER 3: RECOLLECTION PART 1

THE HUNTER FAMILY

My birthday was coming up, and for once,

I was genuinely excited.

After all, nobody gets to celebrate their twenty-second birthday twice.

The best part?

I would be celebrating it with my favorite cousin, Yoranda.

Fate had somehow decided we should arrive on Earth on the exact same day,

and ever since then we'd been inseparable.

Or at least...

Most of the time.

YORANDA:Hey, Mel.

MELODY:What's up, girl? Ready for our party?

YORANDA:Yeah... about that.

(Something in her tone made me suspicious.)

MELODY:What?

YORANDA:I wanted to ask you to behave today.

MELODY:Excuse me?

YORANDA:Every family gathering turns into the Melody Show.

You have a habit of creating chaos.

MELODY:Me? Create chaos? That is slander.

YORANDA:Is it? So, we're pretending now?

( She folded her arms.)

YORANDA:Fine. Let me refresh your memory.

Our twelfth birthday.

FLASHBACK

(MELODY NARRATES)

Everyone was having fun.

Meanwhile, I had been given the sacred responsibility of babysitting my little brother.

Unfortunately...

I forgot.

Completely.

One moment I was listening to music through my headphones.

The next, people were running around screaming.

For all I knew, they were being dramatic.

Apparently, they weren't.

Before I could process anything, my aunt yanked my headphones off,

and delivered a slap that nearly reset my ancestry.

Ah yes.

Talk about African parenting.

PRESENT

YORANDA:The poor boy nearly broke his hand. Because you forgot him.

MELODY:He wasn't forgotten; he was just temporarily misplaced.And in my defense,

he was trying to breakdance

after watching America's Got Talent.

YORANDA:He was four years old!

MELODY: And ambitious.

(Yoranda pinched the bridge of her nose.)

YORANDA:What about our tenth birthday?

I immediately groaned.

Not that one.

Anything but that one.

FLASHBACK

(MELODY NARRATES)

That evening, I experienced something life-changing.

Unfortunately, nobody had prepared me for it.

And instead of handling it calmly like a sensible person...

I panicked.

The entire family was gathered together.

Yoranda was opening gifts.

Everyone was smiling.

Then I burst through the doors like a character in a soap opera.

Every head turned toward me.

And before anyone could stop me, I shouted:

YOUNG~MELODY:MOM! I'M HAVING AN ABORTION!

The room went silent.

Dead silent.

Even the music seemed offended.

My mother looked ready to faint.

KATALINA:Young lady!

YOUNG~MELODY:What?

KATALINA:Come with me. Right now.

After examining me, my mother discovered the truth.

Then she committed an even greater crime.

She ran back into the living room.

And instead of protecting my dignity...

She destroyed it.

KATALINA:Everyone! Melody has become a woman! Her period just started!

Honestly.

Between me and my mother...

Who was really lacking manners?

The room erupted.

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.

Before I knew it, I was trapped in a room full of women eager to educate me.

WOMAN 1:You can use menstrual cups or tampons. They're very convenient.

WOMAN 2:Don't worry, they won't hurt if inserted properly. Our humble place enlarges.

MELODY:I'm pretty sure this conversation

is meant for adults, and I'd rather fight a lion than put anything up there.

KATALINA:Melody!

MELODY:Sorry.

WOMAN 3:Pads are perfectly fine too, dear.

The entire experience was terrifying.

The lecture continued.

For what felt like three business years.

I survived.

Barely.

PRESENT

YORANDA:You were so dramatic.

MELODY:I was terrified!

YORANDA:You already knew what periods were.

MELODY:That's not the point.

YORANDA:Then why did you announce it like breaking news?

I sighed.

Then smiled sheepishly.

MELODY:Fine. Maybe there was another reason.

YORANDA:Melody.

MELODY:The truth is Daniel asked me to distract everyone.

YORANDA:What?

MELODY:He was sneaking around with a girl and didn't want anyone noticing.

YORANDA:You're joking.

MELODY:I wish I was.

Yoranda immediately grabbed her phone and called Daniel.

Several seconds later...

DANIEL:In my defense, she blackmailed me into paying her.

MELODY:BRO!

Daniel hung up.

YORANDA:Unbelievable.

MELODY:I was providing a public service.

YORANDA:You are impossible.

Then she narrowed her eyes.

YORANDA:What about the meat incident?

I gasped.

MELODY:Must we?

FLASHBACK

(MELODY NARRATES)

I was peacefully enjoying life.

Lying on a mat.

Feeling the breeze.

Existing.

Then Yoranda appeared.

YOUNG~YORANDA:Hey, you.

YOUNG~MELODY:So it was your shadow.

YOUNG~YORANDA:What?

YOUNG~MELODY:Never mind.

She sat beside me.

YOUNG~YORANDA:We're having a party today.

YOUNG~MELODY:Wait... that's today?

YOUNG~YORANDA:Yes.

Then she asked a very dangerous question.

YOUNG~YORANDA:By the way, where's the meat Granny prepared?

I smiled.

Proudly.

MELODY:Oh.Those.

YOUNG~YORANDA:Melody...

MELODY:I gave them to the neighbor's cats and dogs.

Silence.

YOUNG~YORANDA:YOU WHAT?!

MELODY:Stop shouting. Relax. I thought it had gone bad.

YOUNG~YORANDA:Those weren't worms!Those were spices!

MELODY:Looking back now... that makes sense. But in my defense,

I'm not familiar with spices. Guess I better start paying attention in the kitchen.

The entire family nearly declared war on me that day. They spent the rest of the day hunting for replacement meat.

I spent the rest of the day hiding.

Honestly?

I deserved it.

PRESENT

MELODY:Looking back... that was bad.

YORANDA:Bad?

MELODY:Very bad.

YORANDA:We had enough meat to feed people for three days!

MELODY:The dogs were happy.

YORANDA:Melody!

MELODY:What?

YORANDA:Why didn't you give them cupcakes instead?

MELODY:Cats can't taste sweetness.

YORANDA:Were you high?

MELODY:You know I don't do drugs.

Yoranda stared at me.

Long and hard.

YORANDA:Please.Just once.Let a family event happen without drama.

MELODY:Fine.I promise.No chaos.

No disasters.

No emergencies.Nothing.

Yoranda narrowed her eyes.

YORANDA:That's exactly what scares me.

A FEW HOURS LATER

The party was perfect.

We cut the cake.

Took pictures.

Danced.

Sang songs.

We laughed.

For once, everything was peaceful.

Then fate remembered I existed.

(Youngblood by 5 Seconds of Summer plays)

A familiar voice interrupted my peace.

FREDDY:Hey, beautiful.You look stunning.

I froze.

Then slowly turned around.

MELODY:Unfortunately, I hear that a lot.

And none of it is thanks to you.

I tried to walk away.

He grabbed my wrist.

Big mistake.

Instinct took over.

SLAP!

FREDDY:Ow!

MELODY:Let go of me before I become a criminal.

Daniel suddenly appeared.

DANIEL:Sis, what's going on?

MELODY:Meet Freddy.

The reason trust issues exist.

FREDDY:I just came to apologize.

Before I could respond, Yoranda stepped forward.

YORANDA:I invited him.

I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

MELODY:You did what?

The next few minutes were... unfortunate.

Kind of blurry, really.

A slice of cake somehow landed on Freddy.

Yoranda somehow ended up in the pool.

People somehow started screaming.

And somehow...

It was all my fault.

Again.

Yoranda emerged from the water looking like vengeance itself.

At that moment...

I realized something.

Maybe.

Just maybe.

Yoranda had a point.

No matter how hard I tried...

Chaos always seemed to find me.

(Hey Mama by Nicki Minaj ft. David Guetta plays)

MELODY:Yep.

I'm doomed.

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