MOMO, JOJO AND A DAY GONE AWRY

"We okay?" Kimberly asked, glancing up at me.

The way she said 'we' made my heart flutter.

I sighed, "Well, my dumb cousins are at the park, and I have to go pick them up. Not exactly thrilled about it."

"Just go," Kimberly said, sounding almost relieved.

"Isn't there something you wanted to talk to me about, Kevin?"I frowned, confused. "You were so set on talking about Kevin, and now it seems like you're backing out. What’s going on?"

Kimberly forced a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. "No, it's fine. It's been sorted out."

I could tell something was off.

Before I could press her further, my phone buzzed again. I quickly answered it, trying to stay calm.

"Mom, I'm on my way. I promise."

"Chester," my mom’s voice cut through the line, her tone firm but hurried.

"Mom, I promise. I'll be right there. I'm already on my way," I said, trying to reassure her as I shoved my phone into my pocket.

Kimberly glanced at me, her gaze softening. "Just go. It’s okay."

I gave her one last look, feeling a pang of disappointment.

"Okay, talk to you later," I said, and quickly exited the coffee shop.

As I headed to the park, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. When I arrived, Momo and Jojo were already there, waving and smiling at me.

I managed a forced smile in return, masking my irritation with the world's biggest fake grin. The park was bustling with kids and families enjoying the sunny day, a stark contrast to my mood.

As I approached the them, Momo and Jojo spotted me and raced over, their faces lighting up with matching grins.

Momo, who was already as tall as I was despite being only twelve, looked like a miniature version of me.

Momo wrapped me in a bear hug, almost lifting me off the ground.

"Chester! Finally! We were waiting forever!"Jojo, her braids swaying in the air as she moved, joined in the hug.

Her eyes twinkled as she said, "Yeah, we’ve been here for ages. Momo almost got us kicked out for trying to start a water fight."

I rolled my eyes, trying to suppress my frustration. "You guys are a real piece of work, you know that? Mom said Aunt Marlo had to run an errand, and now I’m stuck babysitting you two."

Momo shrugged nonchalantly. "Not our fault if mom leaves us here. We were just having fun."

"Fun? Last time you two had 'fun,' you nearly flooded the living room,"

I replied, my irritation showing. "Anyway, let’s get going."

We started walking towards the park exit. Momo’s long legs made his strides more purposeful, while Jojo’s shorter steps kept her closer to me. Jojo nudged me playfully. "So, what’s up with you today? Why the long face?"

I sighed, trying to stay patient. "Just had some stuff to take care of, but it got cut short. And to top it off, Kimberly was supposed to tell me something important, but now I’ve got to deal with you two."

Momo smirked. "Kimberly, huh? She cute. Does she have a thing for you?"

I shot him a sharp look. "Don’t even start. You know I don’t want to talk about it."

Jojo tugged on my sleeve. "Come on, Chester. You can tell us. We’re like, experts in this stuff."

I chuckled despite myself. "Experts, huh? You two are barely old enough to understand what a crush is."

"We understand more than you think," Jojo said confidently. "Anyway, we’ve been pretty good today. Momo only made one mess, and it was an accident!"

"An accident? You mean just like when he tried to climb that tree and broke a branch?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

Momo laughed. "That wasn’t a mess; it was just a minor slip. And anyway, we’re going to be on our best behavior. Promise."

As we walked, Momo and Jojo chatted animatedly about a new video game Jojo wanted to try and a prank Momo planned for school. Their excitement was contagious, and despite my earlier frustration, I found myself smiling.

Before heading home, they wanted to make a quick detour to get some snacks at a nearby convenience store. We spent a bit of time browsing the aisles, with Jojo picking out a few candy bars and Momo grabbing a pack of chips.

The sun was already beginning its descent, casting a warm, golden light over everything as we made our way back.

By the time we got home, the day was winding down. I unlocked the door and ushered them inside. "Alright, you two. No more trouble for today. Let’s get settled, and you can tell me all about your plans for the next few days."

They exchanged glances and giggled, clearly plotting their next crazy stunt.

I shook my head with a reluctant smile as we headed into the house.

“Home alone,” Momo said as he sunk into the couch, casually throwing his legs on the table.

Jojo, as usual, headed straight for the kitchen, opening cabinets like she hadn’t eaten in days.

“Yeah, they’re out. Anniversary,” I replied, letting out a sigh as I sat down and pulled out my phone. I tried hard not to think about Kimberly, but she was stuck in my head, like a song you couldn’t turn off.

Suddenly, Jojo rushed out of the kitchen, her face lit up with excitement. “Aww,” the twins said in unison, their voices dripping with exaggerated adoration. I glanced up to see them both giving me this ridiculous look—eyebrows raised in the creepiest way possible.

Jojo practically bounced over to me, her eyes wide like a cartoon character. “Aunt and Uncle are literally Romeo and Juliet!” she declared, like it was some kind of life revelation.

I shifted a bit and scoffed, trying to hide my grin. “Tell me about it.”

She moved even closer, her face way too close to mine. “Jo, personal space,” I muttered, speaking slowly, like I was explaining it to a toddler.

“Yeah, whatever, man,” she said, rolling her eyes dramatically, then flopping onto the couch next to me. She sighed with all the weight of the world on her shoulders. “I want to be like them when I grow up.”

I couldn’t help it—I laughed. “Yeah, sure you do.”

Momo, who had been quiet up until now, chuckled too, shaking his head. “Chester, back me up. Aunt and Uncle are, like, way too old for all this lovey-dovey stuff.”

Jojo shot him a look. “You’re impossible, Momo.” She turned back to me, her big brown eyes searching mine.

“But seriously, they’re, like, the perfect couple, right?”

I let out a breath. “Yeah, they are.”

For a moment, I thought about my parents—how different their relationship was from Aunt Marlo’s disaster of a marriage. But before I could dwell on it, Momo interrupted.

"Enough about them," Momo said, waving a hand. "Can we talk about something more interesting? Like, why you’re staring at your phone like it’s about to explode?"

I shook my head, brushing him off. “Nah, it’s nothing.”

The room fell quiet for a second, and I could feel the shift in the air. I hated when it got like this, but I couldn’t help it. The twins always went on and on about my parents, and I knew why.

Their dad had been the opposite of mine. Abusive. A drunk. Their house had been a war zone until Aunt Marlo finally left him. But even now, things were rough for them. Aunt Marlo worked whatever jobs she could find, barely holding things together.

The twins—Momo and Jojo—they were left to figure things out on their own most of the time. I glanced over at Momo. He was already as tall as me, even though he was only twelve.

His curly hair flopped over his eyes, giving him that ‘I-don’t-care’ look. Jojo was shorter, a bit more put together with her neat braids, but you could tell they were twins. They had the same big eyes, the same wide grins.

I sighed. “You guys want to do something before heading back?”

Momo perked up. “Actually, can we hit the arcade? We haven’t been in ages.”Jojo spun around, her face lighting up.

“Yeah! Can we, Chester?”

I stared at them for a second. "I don't think that's a good idea."

I wasn’t really in the mood, "I know my parents are getting back any second."

"Chester!" They whined, "it won't be long."

I couldn’t say no to those faces. "Fine, but only for a bit.”

“Yesss!” Jojo shouted, already grabbing her stuff.

The sun was starting to dip lower in the sky as we stepped outside, casting long shadows on the street. It was crazy how fast the day had gone. And as we walked, I tried—really tried—to push all my thoughts about Kimberly, Kevin, and everything else to the back of my mind.

But something told me it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.