At his home, we cook pasta,
the one I make for my parents, who crane their necks
to make sure I don’t burn burn myself.
Blue fire fogs the pan.
Steam slivers into the air.
Bunches of bubbles gurgle over
the heap of wheat penne pasta.
As you’re reading this,
imagine me with him.
After observing the pile of black tubes,
the stench burning into my nose,
he dares me to taste a piece.
My tongue dries up as it sticks against the leather cylinder.
You shouldn’t have turned the fire
on that high, I laugh.
You should’ve stopped me, he laughs.
His ha ha ha’s carol into my ears.
He listens to my worries.
The ones I’ve told my parents,
who waft their hands at me and say,
Stop worrying all the time.
But I always tell him that I’m afraid of
being The World’s Worst Author,
and sleeping, cooking, reading
alone forever because
everyone loves someone else.
He understands, admits that he
has the same fears, and tells me
that for now, we’ll laugh,
lemon slices curving across our mouths.
When he hugs me, telling me he’s afraid of
eternally working at Subway,
folding Black Forest Ham on Flatbread
just to support anyone, or failing to save
his loved ones, I tell him that
we’ll fail and succeed together.
I hold him
the same way he holds my lemon hips.
Trish Caragan is currently a second-year MFA student at The New School’s Writing for Children and Young Adults program. She graduated from the University of California, Riverside, where she earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in creative writing. She enjoys reading and writing romantic teen stories. Trish knew she wanted to write romance novels after reading This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen, her favorite author and biggest influence. Her other favorite authors are Jenny Han, Morgan Matson, Siobhan Vivian John Green, Stephanie Perkins, Huntley Fitzpatrick, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jennifer E. Smith, and many, many more. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s either talking to friends or listening to K-pop music. One day, Trish hopes to write books that will give Filipina girls their voices and impact people the same way that Sarah Dessen’s novels have impacted her.
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