Song 19

The walls of the house shook as Meloria let out a blood-curdling scream. The tiles of the bathroom wall echoed the scream, making it so that the whole household could hear. Instinctively, Edward and Evelyn ran from the kitchen, up the stairs, and straight to the bathroom, seeing Meloria sitting on her knees, looking defeated.

Meloria stood up in front of the mirror, her favourite pink button-up shirt barely hanging around her chest as the buttons struggled to hook together. “Wh-what happened?” She stammered, crossing her arms over her chest. “My shirt,” she said, looking towards Evelyn. “D-do you think it shrank in the wash?” Evelyn held her cheek, her face scrunching up as she tried to think of what to say. “Mama, please say something!”

Edward put a hand on Evelyn’s shoulder, giving her a gentle push towards Meloria. “This one is all yours,” he whispered before dashing off to make his quick exit.

Evelyn turned back, growling as she witnessed Edward running away, gathering the boys together to go downstairs. Coward, she growled under her breath. She took a couple of deep breaths, softening her face and curling her lips into a soft smile. Her movements were small as she walked over to Meloria, placing her hands on her shoulders, looking at Meloria in the mirror as she put their faces cheek to cheek. “Honey,” she spoke gently. “It’s okay; every woman goes through this.”

“G-go through what?” Meloria gulped, but she knew. She put her hands on her chest, giving it a slight squeeze. They had certainly gotten bigger, but when did it happen? When did she start becoming a woman? She bit her lip, her eyes watering, thinking back to the memories of her later auditions in her previous life.

They were soul-crushing.

“You’ve just not got the look we’re going for.”

“We need someone a little… younger looking.”

“Shame, you’re just not that cute anymore.”

“I’m not cute anymore,” Meloria wailed, her hands under her eyes as she let the tears run freely.

Meloria’s reaction took Evelyn back. Most girls her age would appreciate having such a blessed asset, but here was her daughter, crying about not being ‘cute’. Meloria deeply sniffed, wiping her eyes as her hands grabbed the shirt, ripping it off her, buttons flying with a ping into the bathroom tiles. “Meloria,” Evelyn gasped, watching in horror.

Like a flash, Meloria ran to her bedroom, ignoring Evelyn’s calls. Grunting, Meloria entered her room, slamming the door behind her, making the boys in the kitchen jump. “Sounds like it went well,” Edward commented, handing Lucan his toast.

“What’s up with her?” Lucan mumbled, taking a bite of his toast.

“You’ll understand when you’re older,” Edward explained without really explaining anything at all as he returned to drink his morning coffee.

The younger boys shrugged it off as ‘girl-stuff,’ but when Lucan, upon Meloria's arrival at the breakfast table, wearing an oversized jumper with cheeks red raw from crying, this went deeper than simply ‘girl-stuff.’ As they ate, Lucan’s eyes would drift in Meloria’s direction, noticing the plate in front of her had remained empty as she nursed a glass of juice. “Sis, are you not going to eat-”

“Well, would you look at the time,” Meloria proclaimed loudly enough to drown out Lucan’s questions, pushing her chair out, the legs straining against the floor in her haste. Throwing her backpack over her shoulder, Meloria ran off, forcing a smile as she bid goodbye.

With a heavy heart, Lucan shoved the remainder of his toast into his mouth before washing it down with his juice. “Caelen, Ren, come on, you guys,” he beckoned as he stood up. “Let’s get going too.”

“Aw man,” the twins groaned, throwing food down their throats as they stood, grabbing their book bags.

“Come on,” Lucan repeated, waving his hand to usher them in front of him.

“See you later,” Finn laughed from his chair, waving his hand with the milk-soaked spoon, spitting some onto Edward’s newspaper.

The walk to school was awkward, the tension in the air thick enough that even a hacksaw wouldn’t be strong enough to cut it. A twin holding each hand, Lucan kept them a few steps behind Meloria, trying not to trigger another outburst while also trying to observe for any unusual behaviour. “Hey sis,” he called out, noticing that her backpack seemed lighter than usual. “Did you pick up your lunch?”

Meloria turned around, her face unreadable, opening her bag to check when really, she knew, she didn’t pick it up—putting on a smile, “Oh silly me. Seems I forgot. I’ll ask the cafeteria for lunch today.”

Turning back around, Meloria’s face immediately dropped, her hand gripping onto the strap of her bag tighter. If I want to be cute, I can’t be eating the high-carb lunches mama makes anymore, she thought to herself, trying to think of any alternatives she could have from the school cafeteria.

Lucan sighed heavily, his grip on the twins’ hands tightening. This wasn’t like Meloria; her routine since being under Jonny’s lineage was tight, and Meloria kept to it down to the second. Though Lucan thought maybe whatever happened this morning had thrown her off, and everyone was allowed a day where they slipped. Or did she intentionally leave her lunch behind, Lucan mused.

At school, Lucan couldn’t keep an eye on Meloria, being several grades below, and her training with Jonny, making it nearly impossible to meet up. Lunch would be the only time he would be able to see her and make sure she was okay. Entering the cafeteria, he scoured the students already seated, trying to find that familiar mop of orange hair.

Smiling, he found Meloria hidden in the corner, idly chatting to some of her classmates. Not wanting to interrupt, Lucan casually navigated to the tables, glancing over to Meloria’s plate. His smile faded as he noticed a single apple, with a bite taken out of it, and a few grapes.

Lucan grumbled under his breath as he sat with his friends, pulling out his lunch. Whatever happened in the bathroom this morning had clearly affected Meloria mentally, making her not want to eat. I can’t let that happen, he promised himself. I needed to find something to help; otherwise, the younger ones are going to start copying her, and Mama and Papa will begin to worry. In the corner of his eyes, he watched Meloria stumble as she stood, trying to laugh it off to her friends, joking that Jonny must have been working her too hard. No, I can’t let sis ruin herself.

After lunch, Lucan had an unusual class that didn’t usually have any boys in it; in fact, Lucan was the only boy in home economics. He sat in the back, his head swirling from the gossip and giggles of pre-teen girls sounding like nails on a chalkboard to his ears. This was his punishment for skipping homeroom that day. Luckily, the best part of the class was Mrs. Andrews, who was an angel with a commanding tone. She just had to get the girls to calm down while also being informative and thoughtful to her students' needs. “Alright then, class,” Mrs Andrews smiled softly, pulling down the whiteboard and began to draw a triangle on it. She turned around to face the class, using the pen to point towards the triangle. “As you all get older, it’s essential to understand that our bodies will be changing. To help with those changes, today we will be talking about diets and the meals we can prepare using this food pyramid.”

Lucan’s brow rose, his interest piqued as he heard about bodies changing. Thinking back to Meloria’s tantrum this morning and how she changed into an oversized jumper, Lucan deduced that must be what was happening to Meloria. Her body was changing, and as someone who had proclaimed a desire to be an idol, Meloria always emphasized the importance of maintaining a proper appearance. Lucan smiled, for the first time in this class, grabbing a pen and notebook and started to take down notes.

During the class, he would even raise his hand, asking questions about how best to cook certain foods, how much food from each layer should be included in a meal. With each answer, Lucan found himself enjoying the class. He wrote a list of ingredients and how best to balance them on the plate to create a nutritious and filling meal.

After school, as soon as he arrived home, Lucan ran to the kitchen, opening his notebook on the counter, showing Evelyn an idea he had for dinner tonight. “Well, well,” Evelyn chuckled, looking over at the notes. “I think we have all this. How about you help me prepare it all?”

“Really?” Lucan asked, "Usually, Meloria would be the one to help with dinner, being the oldest, and he would clean up afterward." He looked over to the living room, seeing Meloria slumped over on the sofa, clearly exhausted from today, the food that she may have eaten wouldn’t have given her enough energy to get through the day. “Yeah, I’d love to help mama.”

Meloria lay on the sofa, curled up in a ball, her arms wrapped around her growling stomach. The cafeteria didn’t have anything low-carb or nutritious she could eat, so all she had eaten all day was a couple of pieces of fruit. Even then, they were crammed with sugar. As she lay, feeling sorry for herself, she could smell the gentle aroma of baked fish and potatoes. She licked her lips, her stomach growling louder. “Kids, dinner,” Evelyn called out from the entrance way of the kitchen.

Begrudgingly yet curious, Meloria pushed herself off the sofa, dragging herself to the kitchen. Her eyes widened seeing the beautiful fish dish laid out on the table. Each member of the family had a piece of fish in front of them and in the centre of the table, a bowl of baked potatoes, a variety of vegetables, and a jug filled wth a creamy sauce. “This looked amazing, Mama,” Meloria awed, taking a seat.

“Actually,” Evelyn put a hand on Lucas's shoulder, wearing a proud smile. “This dinner was Lucan’s idea.”

“Lucan?” Meloria questioned, turning to face him. “This looked amazing.”

“It’s also low carb, high in fiber, and tasty,” Lucan grinned with his cheeks tinted a slight pink. “Dig in sis.”

Lucan watched with a large grin as Meloria excitedly took her first bite, praising him highly as she went to reach for the potatoes. He felt content knowing that now, he wouldn’t need to worry about Meloria starving anymore to try to maintain her image.