But then something in Melody changed. She thought about how the ranch could be a good thing for the kids. She’ll be attending college soon, so she couldn't possibly bring Aaron and Kimmi with her. She didn't really want to be close enough to suggest that it would be easier for her to stay with her shitty sister and boyfriend. If things get too bad around here and the ranch proves to be good for Aaron and Kimmi, they could just stay with their grandparents for a while. Then they would be safe, they would be alright.

Melody sat up, wiped her face and looked out of the window by her bed. It was clear sunny skies, perfect for her fake succulent that stood on the windows ledge. She had checked the weather on the weather app on her phone while she got her brush from the dresser. It was going to be warm outside. It was spring. And so, Melody quickly got ready, and rushed out the door. Not even looking at Hana still on the couch as she passed her and walked around for a bit. The warm air touching her skin. The air was slightly cool. She gently enjoyed herself on the short walk she took. As long as the weather was nice, she could manage by herself. When she was done, she sat on the steps leading up to her apartment, and pulled out her phone. After scrolling through articles, she paged through her contacts, stopping at Mateo’s number. She paused. But before she could do anything, a message pops up in her notification tab. It was Emilico, asking her if she had watched the latest episode of Thunder World. Melody instantly jumped up, and rushed to unlock the door. If anything she had a show to watch. And someone to talk to about it. Anything that brought her away from her life at home was good enough for her. 

The next tutoring session came by, and whilst Melody and Mateo were deep into work and studying, what had happened last weekend still bothered Melody a little. She wanted to talk to somebody about it, at least get it off her chest about how she felt about it all. She thought, if anyone she felt comfortable talking to, it was at least Mateo. 

“How was your weekend,” Melody said, not really knowing how to start the conversation. She kept her eyes on the book that she was reading, but she kept her ears open for his input.

“It was alright,” he said, glaring at her for a moment before going back to his work. “How was your weekend?”

“It was kinda rough,” Melody signed. “My niece and nephew’s grandparents came by and said that they wanted to take them for the weekends. I guess I wasn't ready for that news.”

“That’s great, right?” Mateo leaned in, adjusting in his seat. “More free time for you, to do whatever.”

“Yeah, I wish I had a heads up or something. By the time I woke up they were practically leaving. Like, my sister doesnt even talk to me about stuff like this. I just hate not knowing what’s going on.”

“I’m sorry Mel, I’m sure they’ll be alright with their grandparents. It’ll take time to get used to it.”

“I know,” Melody said, glaring at him before looking off to the ground. “They’ll be at a farm. They seemed to have fun when they came back on Sunday. It’ll just take time for me to find something to do.”

“Hey, I’m mostly free on the weekend. If you get bored or whatever, we could hang out.”

“And do what?” Melody said, looking up and leaning towards him.

“Anything really. Go to the movies or a park or whatever. Anything to just take you out of the house for a while and interact with people other than your family.” Mateo said, leaning back and resting his hands behind his head.

“If I brought my laptop,” Melody said, pausing to collect her thoughts. “Would you like to watch tv shows or something with me?”

“What kind of shows are we talking about?” Mateo chuckled.

“You know, there’s this one show that’s coming out, I think it's called Kill Day. It's about a preacher getting revenge on a group of people who killed his daughter all without getting caught by authorities. I thought that looked good. Or maybe Thunder World, it's kinda a post-apocalyptic thriller anime that’s really good.”

“Maybe we could watch Kill Day. I tried to watch an anime Emilio recommended but it was kinda weird and cringe so I stopped halfway into the first episode.”

“I can understand that,” Melody said, shrinking in her chair, burying her face in her book. “There are a lot of weird anime shows out there, it's hard finding good shows without it being pervy or something like that. Hopefully Kill Day is good.”
“I’ll guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Mateo said, sitting straight, bringing his hands back on the table.

“Sounds good,” Melody mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers.

“Any plans for Spring Break?” he said, glaring at him as he intertwined his fingers together.

“What? Oh… not really,” Melody said, sitting straight. “I’ll figure out something.”

“It’s like next week. I’m planning on going to the beach with a couple of people. Would you like to join?” Mateo said, smirking.

“Oh, no. I don’t really like going out to beaches or anything like that. I don't even remember the last time I wore a swimsuit,” Melody said, shaking her head.

“You can just come and chill. Play volleyball or something.”

“Do I look like someone who plays volleyball?” Melody chuckled.

“Don’t know. You shouldn’t underestimate yourself. You might enjoy yourself.”

“I’ll think about it,” Melody said, shifting her eyes and cracked a smile. She knows herself. She really never really cared to be in crowds, especially if they’re going to be half naked. Even though she knew Mateo and probably Emilio would be there, she couldn’t deal with meeting new people. No, she needed a way to actually be productive during such a crucial time. She needed money for college. She could wait for the bulk applying for scholarships in senior year. But it was never too early to invest in her future. She just needed a way to do it.

And when spring break did come, Melody couldn’t predict the outcome any better. The grandparents gathered the children on the final day of school before spring break started, all with the intent to bring them back the day before school started again. That only left Melody with Hana and Paul, setting up the place to be a crashing pad for junkies the moment Aaron and Kimmi left the apartment. When that happened, Melody left that drab place to scour the neighborhood for anything to do. Help wanted posters, the occasional elderly person needing their garden prepped for the prime growing season. She knew a couple of elderly people with an actual plot of land in front of their house, not little rectangles of dirt where grass used to be that surrounded Hana’s apartment and those like hers. They enjoyed Aaron and Kimmi during their walks to the park, their youthfulness unlocking a piece of theirs just by looking at them. But they seem to not be at their houses when Melody strolled by. So she continued walking along the uneven, littered sidewalk, before she finally reached hope. A small cafe on the corner of the street by the park Melody always frequented with the kids. A help wanted sign. By the end of the week, that job was hers. Minimum wage, sure. But her boss seemed reasonable enough, so Melody didn't care about being stuck washing dishes and serving customers pastries, she was getting paid. She was one step closer to moving on.

She did manage though, to stay in contact with her friends while they were away during spring break. They did beg and plead with her to come, but Melody knew that she wouldn’t feel happy going, so she made up the excuse of being unwell until she got word from the cafe owner about the job. It especially got worse at night, where she contemplated taking herself out of the house for a moment, even if it meant hanging out with strangers. But she would eventually back out, residing while wearing her headphones, facing her barricaded bedroom door while she watched her shows. She knew that the people Hana surrounded herself with had no sense of boundaries, so it was just an extra measure she had to do in case she woke up in the middle of the night with a weirdo standing above her. She thought that at least with Aaron and Kimmi away, she could at least defend herself properly. It was one less headache for her. And with the new job, at least she could keep busy on the weekends that the kids are away. Eventually, things would work out, and she would never have to deal with any of this nonsense anymore. She could finally live the life she wanted in a few years.