Chapter Six

Warning: this chapter contains references to homosexuality. If this offends you, please do not read. Thanks.

Right before Christmas, after her fourteenth birthday came and went, Melody came up with an idea. "Come with me to my place for the holiday."

"No, you can't be serious!" Sarah exclaimed. "I'd just get in the way."

"No, you wouldn't," Melody insisted. "There's no way you can stay in the dorm. Besides, my parents would be thrilled to have you."

At Melody's insistence, Sarah accompanied her to Bluewater Village. There, Sarah saw a side of life she'd never seen before. Through her friend's bedroom window, she could see the mansion of Malcolm Landgraab IV, the wealthy businessman and playboy whose escapades frequently made the gossip column of the Sim City Times. "You ever wonder what goes on in there?" Sarah asked.

"No," Melody replied succinctly.

"C'mon, Mel, I know you have to wonder at some point. I mean, you have a view of the guy's house from your bedroom window. Is that cool or what?"

"I -- I guess I never paid attention." Melody had to admit that she'd taken her family's privilege for granted.

"My gosh, your room is so cool!" Sarah exclaimed. "It's like a mini-Soho up here! Did you decorate it yourself?"

Melody shyly admitted she had. "You have awesome taste." Sarah fixed her eyes on Melody. "You know, Mel, I really like you -- a lot," she began.

Blushing profusely even through her dark skin, Melody turned away. Sarah then grabbed her hand. "I've felt this way ever since the day we met."

Sarah moved closer, now situated close enough to see the pupils of Melody's eyes. Melody tried to turn away, but Sarah grabbed her face. Before Melody even knew what was happening, she was locking lips with her best friend.

Melody's heart beat about a million times a second. After turning away, she forced herself to glance back at Sarah. "This is way too much."

"I'm sorry." Sarah stepped aside.

"Sarah, I didn't realize you felt that way."

Sarah sighed. "I don't know what came over me. It's just --"

"Hormones, I guess." Melody managed to crack a smile. "Biology class, remember?"

Chuckling, Sarah snapped, "You are so gullible, Mel. There isn't a single moment where you don't think about school, is there?"

"When I'm painting," Melody replied, a gleam evident in her eye. "When I'm at my canvas I think of nothing else."

Melody walked away, shaking her head. She couldn't mentally process what had just happened. She'd kissed a girl. Willingly, emotionally, whole-heartedly kissed a girl. And it wasn't just any girl -- it was Sarah, who up to a few seconds ago was her best friend in the world. In her desire to know everything, had she known desire in that one brief, flickering moment when all common sense seemed to leave her? And how would she form her mouth to tell her parents?

Melody was as confused as she could possibly be. For a girl who had dedicated her life to the pursuit of knowledge, she sure didn't know very much.

The awkwardness continued for the rest of the holiday. Melody couldn't talk to Sarah, at least not about what had just happened, and she most certainly couldn't talk to her parents. A confession of this magnitude would fracture what was left of the Tinker family unit, just in time for the birth of the baby -- and Melody knew it. There was a certain unspoken detente between the four of them that was striking. Her now very pregnant mother slept most of the day, and her father was at work most of the time. She was as she'd always been, alone. There was only one alternative, and she clung to it like a baby does its bottle. She walked to her canvas. You cannot not paint, Melody. It is as much a part of you as your brown eyes. You have to enter that art contest. The realization hit Melody like a ton of bricks. But, what do I paint? The answer would come swiftly and suddenly -- and would change her life.