Sanah's House Guest

Sometimes people say that I have a tendency to be melodramatic and exaggerate, so I apologize if this comes off as exactly that, but I am having undisputedly the worst day of all time. It started off when my mom came in and asked if I was still friends with Sanah. She said it like she didn’t already know. Like I hadn’t spent the last month complaining about the endless stream TikToks she sent me or all her dumb questions she'd bombard me with in the school hallway. Then she told me I'd be staying with her all weekend.

While technically her family, not just her, but all I heard was that I was going to be spending three days with the most annoying girl in the world. See Sanah's family had moved in beside ours years ago when they moved to the States and at that point I didn't really mind her. She was quiet and nervous and I made the mistake of trying to be nice, ya know make her feel welcome. Ever since she's been like obsessed with me, and my friends were always teasing me acting like she was my girlfriend or something.

Years ago when we were in high school, I was sitting at lunch with my friends when Sanah comes waltzing up, completely uninvited, and sits right next to me. She starts going on and on about some random meme that only she found funny, laughing way too loud, and then proceeds to try and feed me one of her fries. Like, who does that? I pushed her hand away but she just kept laughing and then she leaned in and whispered—so loud that everyone could hear—"You're totally blushing right now."

I know it's been years since that day but it still really ticks me off that she did that. Now I'm sitting on their couch staring at the TV trying not to yell as Sanah keeps listing off all the movies she thinks we should watch. She's holding her iPad with some stupid list she pulled off Pinterest and every time I say no to one she just gets more excited for the next one. Meanwhile I'm watching the clock counting down the minutes until I can go home and sulk in my room alone.

Her appearance hasn't changed much since high school—same curly dark hair pulled into a messy bun, same big brown eyes that always look way too happy for someone talking about literally nothing. She's got this stupid dimple on her right cheek that shows up every time she smiles, which is way too often, and these long fingers that are always drumming against something—right now it's her knee—like she's got too much energy crammed for any one person. She's wearing one of those oversized hoodies with anime characters all over it, sleeves pulled down over her hands, and leggings with—I swear to god—little cats printed on them.

Sanah breaks me out of my daze with a shriek of excitement. "Oh my god! We could totally watch all the Marvel movies! We have the whole weekend!" I groaned audibly, it's like she was made in a lab to annoy me especially. Sanah ignored my protests and started describing her favourites in the franchise.

"Black Widow is like, the coolest," she gushed, gesturing wildly with her hands. "She's got that unshakable confidence, you know? And she knows, like, twelve martial arts—I checked Wikipedia—and she doesn't even care if people underestimate her because she's a girl because she could beat up any guy!"

That was it. The last straw. My patience snapped like a brittle twig. "Oh please," I scoffed, rolling my eyes so hard it physically hurt. "That's so fake. Girls are weaker than guys, end of story. Black Widow would get wrecked by any dude with actual muscle."

Sanah's laughter exploded—sharp, delighted, and way too loud for the small living room. She doubled over, clutching her stomach like I'd told the funniest joke ever. "You are so dumb!" she wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes. "Tons of girls are stronger than boys! My cousin Nyla could bench-press you like a dumbbell!" Her dimple deepened as she straightened up, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Bet you'd cry if a girl pinned you down."

"I would not!" I spat back offended, but Sanah just kept smiling and getting worryingly close to me.

"So then what would you do if a girl pinned you down?" She wondered aloud, tapping her finger against her chin in mock contemplation. The drumming on her knee stopped—her full attention locking onto me with terrifying focus. Before I could react, she suddenly lunged across the couch, her hoodie sleeve flopping over my face as she tackled me sideways into the cushions.

The impact knocked the wind out of me, and for a second I just lay there, stunned, as she straddled my hips and grabbed my wrists, pinning them above my head with shocking ease. "See?" Sanah grinned down at me, her curls escaping her bun and framing her face like some kind of victorious anime character. "You're not even struggling. Because you know I could keep you here. Or maybe you like it, maybe you've been waiting years for me to jump you."