EARLIER…

Mia, Reggie, and I have been best friends for quite some time now. 15+ years to be exact. Ever since 1st grade really. Our bond is truly one that continues to withstand the test of time and circumstance.

(Honestly, I can’t tell you the amount of times we’ve went out and were spotted by somebody from our primary, middle, or high school past and their response to seeing us is always around the lines of “All y’all still together?!”)

And our mirroring reactions always portray a shared sense of “DUH! And I’ll kill them both if they try to leave me.” (I know, our love sounds a bit hostile.)

But over the decade and a half, we basically became siblings. Mia is the sarcastic, idealistic, middle sibling who has a thirst for adventure and always encourages us to bring out the best in ourselves. Her impulsivity always keeps things… interesting.

Reggie is the youngest sibling – the kind, impressionable, resourceful, animal-lover. Her wardrobe is probably 25% anime costumes and her clever puns always hit home! Plus her adorable charm and hugs momentarily numbs you from life’s cruelty.

And I guess that makes me the distant, witty, analytical older brother. I always spend most of my time focusing on some goal in mind and oftentimes forget to let loose and have fun. Yet whenever I reconnect with these two, it’s like we were never apart.

But although our bond is made of reinforced stainless steel, there are times when we come for each others’ throats. Dark and ugly times that truly bring out the absolute worst in us.

For instance, when we’re hungry.

The middle of the week always seemed to be pretty hectic for all three of us. It was the halfway point, the time for us to fully convince our bodies that we could make it to the weekend.

As the evening breeze began to lure it’s head into the atmosphere, the sun prepared to bite the dust. I was found in the confines of my bedroom, mentally recovering from another posting session and flipping through YouTube videos.

I kept gradually increasing the volume of the videos to tune-out the pesky whaling of my gut. I’m sure any content creator would agree that being creative surely takes a lot of you.

Luckily, my phone starts vibrating and my epic ringtone sounds off amidst my famished state. “What is this tape? This is my favorite tape. BA-DA-BA-DA-BA-DA-DA-DADDA-DADDA!” Like always, I answer after this point and begin talking to Mia.

She speaks expectantly, “Hey, You home?”

I answer with the affirmative as she responds “Okay, I coming.”

And to you it may seem like a pretty vague communication. But for me, those few words profoundly translate to “throw on some clothes and be quick about it because we’re going somewhere to do something.”

In no time she pulls up in the front yard, giving the occasional two long pomps with her horn. I dash inside her car 2-3 minutes later. (Lol, I’m always getting ragged on for being the “girl” of the trio in the sense that I always take the longest to get ready.)

Once safely inside, (after being glared at) I pull out my cellphone and call Reggie who’s also free. We swing for her in a moment’s glance and take off into the cosmic uncertainty of the night.

After driving for what seemed to be half an hour, checking out random stores for a specific hair product, we concluded that we needed something to eat. The problem was where.

Coming from the Village Road area, we opted against the usual burgers and beers run. We knew that snacks from the supermarket wouldn’t have satisfied our insatiable appetites.

We were desperate and looking for something within our collective budget of $20. Like I’ve made mention of before, we’re a persnickety, penny-pinching bunch. So with our goals made implicitly aware, now was time to throw suggestions into the wind.

Reggie made mention of subs, but Marv wanted more fill and less bread. Marv suggested Chinese, but I had it earlier in the week. It was my turn to place my cards on the table.  Any suggestion is better than no suggestion, right?

WRONG!

With all ears attentively pitched, I began. “Owww, Popeye’s has this special going on! For $9.99 you get two pieces of chicken, a biscuit, drink, and it comes with 2 tender strips.”

Silence.

I’m now in the passenger seat questioning the quietude, which was beginning to feel a lot like a building hostility.

“2 STRIPS?!?!?!”, Reggie screeched from the back seat. “Are you serious?? GET OUT THIS CAR MAN!!!”

Mia now chiming in with the same vicious animosity, “Like, who’s that suppose to full Terran? There are 3 of us here! How big are the strips even?”

Feeling very attacked as if I said something about their ma, I stammered and began illustrating with my hands. “Like… this big.”

Trying to justify my suggestion only made things worst as the outraged outbursts kept coming full-force.

“AND THAT’S SUPPOSED TO FULL US?!!!”

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!”

“Bout any ‘iT CoMeS wItH tWo StRiPs’!”

“WHO YOU TRYING TO FEED!!!?”

“YA HEAD CAN’T BE RIGHT!!!”

“JUST SHUT UP.”

I swear, it was like having two pterodactyls bite my head off at the same time. I was literally being slaughtered by these rowdy, Jurassic birds! All because I made mention of a decent special.

Eventually, the verbal assault got to the point where I apologized and we all ended up fueling a combustion of laughter. The moment was too hilariously intense.

But I swear, that’s the last time I open up my mouth in regards to food suggestions for such an UNGRATEFUL bunch. From now on, we’ll just photosynthesize and starve.

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