Melody

Emma! Alani!

What do you get a guy for his birthday?

I'm FREAKING out!

Melody Reese; 9:04pm

One word.

Mall.

Emma Murphy; 9:05pm

Tomorrow?

Melody Reese; 9:06pm

I'm there.

Alani Reynolds; 9:07pm

Me too!

Emma Murphy; 9:08pm

Thank you!

Melody Reese; 9:09pm

Pick you up at 11am?

Alani Reynolds; 9:10pm

Sounds good!

Melody Reese; 9:11pm

When eleven o'clock on Sunday morning rolled around, I was already dressed in light blue jeans that were ripped in both knees and an oversized blue knitted sweater. I threw on a pair of boots and a jacket and was outside waiting when Alani pulled up.

I ran quickly to the car, trying to avoid the cold. When I reached for the door, I could feel my heart pounding as I looked at the snowy ground around me.

***

"Melody, please get into the car!" Leslie begged. She was sitting the front seat of the car my father bought for her to drive me around in. It was a nice, black SUV; one a well-off soccer mom would probably drive. She had managed to get me outside, but I was not getting into that, no matter how many good safety reviews it had.

"No!" I yelled.

"You're going to be late for school, darling," she said. Leslie was only here once a week before... but now she was here almost every day.

"I don't care!" I whined. The icy February air stung my nose, but anything was better than going into the car. "I'll walk."

"Honey, it's too cold to do that," Leslie said. Her face softened as tears welled up in my ten-year-old eyes. She got out of the car and walked over to me. I tensed, thinking she was going to pick me up, and throw me into the car like my dad did for the funeral. Instead, she bent down and wiped a tear off my cheek. "I know, it's only been three weeks, but your dad wants you back at school."

"I can't do it," I said.

"You can. It will be okay," she said hugging me. "We'll take it slowly."

***

"Melody, are you getting in?" Alani asked, after winding down Emma's window.

"Oh, sorry," I mumbled, opening the car door. I pushed past my hammering heart and sat in the back seat. I closed the door and stared out the window watching the snow-white streets. Alani's music filled the quiet, and I played with my hands, trying to alleviate the anxiety I felt. After a little while into the drive, Emma spoke.

"Okay, so what does Carson like?" Emma asked from the front. We'd been playing twenty-questions for the past few months, but it suddenly felt like an impossible question.

"Um... basketball, music, and the colour blue?" I mumbled. "I got him a watch and some records for Christmas, but I'm kind at a loss for what to do now."

"Hmm..." Alani said dragging out the sound. "What about a jersey?"

"Or a ball?" Emma suggested.

"I got him a ball when I went to New York a while back," I said.

"Why don't you make him something?" Emma asked.

"Maybe a painting? But I don't know if I could pull that off in three days..."

"I'll Pintrest something! Don't worry!" Emma said. We were quiet for a while before she yelled out. I felt my blood run cold and my heart rate double.

"What? What happened?" Alani and I questioned in unison.

"An idea! A party!"

"Um. Okay. Well thanks for the heart attack," Alani said, sassily. Emma stuck her tongue out at her friend. I exhaled the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Could it work Melody?" Emma asked.

"I don't know... it's a school night and super last minute," I said quietly. "But it's a good idea."

"It is," Emma whispered loudly from the front.

"You could text Harvey and see what he says... if you want," Alani said.

"Okay sure!" I said.

"Texting my boo-thang!" Emma said, cheerily, making Alani flick her in the head.

"We are switching you to decaf," Alani sighed as Emma rubbed her forehead.

"I still need to find a present though," I said.

"Back to Pintrest," Emma stated.

***

I settled on making a movie kit, since Carson told me he loves movies one day at school. We first went to the store that I had gotten his record and grabbed a couple movies I thought he would like and a couple Disney ones he has been hounding me to see. We then walked over to another store that sold blankets and got him a nice blue one.

"Okay, where to next?" Alani asked.

"Somewhere that sells snacks," I said.

"To Target we go!" Emma cheered.

"There's a Target here?" Alani asked.

"Duh!" Emma said.

"You know we could have just gone there?" Alani said.

"The movies selection is better back there," Emma replied making Alani roll her eyes. Emma giggled and pulled her friend towards the department store

When we walked into Target, I lead the way to the snack section. I stood amongst the popcorn and the chips and looked around. Popcorn was a must, so I grabbed a box and kept walking towards the candy.

"These snacks are making me hungry!" Alani said.

"Same. Like white chocolate Kit-Kat? I'll take thirty please," Emma said.

"Doritos? I'll have the whole bag," Alani laughed.

I stared at the chips and candy and frowned.

***

I sat on the couch watching TV. A bag of Doritos in my hand, and my mind zoning in and out from what was on the screen in front of me. It was a stupid kid show, that most eleven-year-olds didn't watch, but I was just looking for anything to distract me.

I pushed a chip into my mouth, my eyes glued to the television.

"Are you really eating that garbage?" Margot's harsh voice surprised me, and I looked up at her.

"It's just a snack," I said softly.

"Every time I see you, you're snacking!" Margot sneered. "Go for a fruit instead. No more chips and chocolate. It'll go straight to your hips."

"Okay," I said. She snatched the bag from me and marched out of the room.

"Leslie! Get this child an apple please!" Margot hollered from down the hallway.

***

"You guys can go eat if you want," I said suddenly. "I'll be five minutes."

"Are you sure?" Emma asked.

"Yeah. I'll just buy some snacks and find a little box for everything to go in," I said. "I'll meet you in the food court."

"Okay," Alani said. She smiled. "I can't stop thinking about fries."

"Let's feed her before she bites the locals," Emma laughed. "We'll see you soon."

When they left, I grabbed some candy and chocolate that I'd seen Carson have at his house, so I assumed they were his favourites. As I walked to get the box for everything, I felt a pull towards the pharmacy aisle.

I ignored it, the way I ignored my stomach when it rumbled. It was rumbling now, but I pretended it didn't exist. I pretended that it didn't crave the fries that Alani couldn't stop thinking about. That it didn't want the chips, the popcorn or the candy. That it didn't rumble.

I found a red box that I could decorate and headed towards the cashiers.

As I walked, my stomach rumbled once again, and I found myself in the pharmacy aisle. I stared at the health section of it, seeing diet pills, appetite suppressants, and metabolism boosters.

Decisions, decisions...

Suddenly my phone rang, and I quickly picked it up.

"Hey! Are you near? Harvey texted and it looks like the party could be a thing!" Emma said excitedly.

"Oh, um, yeah! Heading to cash out right now," I said, leaving the pharmacy aisle as if I'd been caught stealing. I pushed the temptation out of my mind and hurried to go plan my boyfriend's birthday party.

____________

Author's Note: No one fight me! I took a day longer! I'm sorry! At least its a long one! Yay! Melody's indecisiveness is brought to you by me an also very indecisive person. Ahaha! I hope you liked this chapter! Tell me your thoughts.... I'm obsessed with reading the comments lol

Special shoutouts go to: Livy04x, The_Invalids , catherine-gore, evifriendly, Anne226, and LoveeToDream for commenting and voting! You're all awesome!

Thank you to each and everyone one of your for reading, voting, and commenting! You are the best readers anyone could ask for! Paper Thin is at 248K reads and over 10K votes! The amount it has grown since January is unbelievable! So thank you!

Melody's outfit: