Walking home from school, my eyes caught the posters on the wall. I went closer, observing the date and time. The beauty contest was going to hold in three days’ time.

“I don’t even have a cloth to wear. Maybe I shouldn’t take part.” I said to myself and sadly walked home.

I got home to meet the door open. Thinking it was Collins, it disappointed me to meet Brim. Collins’ long-time girlfriend. She comes to spend the night every once in a while. Also super mean. After undressing, I changed into a simple silky dress and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, but they heaped the dishes with flies dancing around. I had to wash the dishes and clean the entire house. Later that night, Collins came back home, drunk as usual. Brim welcomed him. I guess it was a surprise visit.

After dinner, I left the both of them in the livingroom and walked into my room to study. I was going through one of my favorite novels, with Northie at hand, when I suddenly heard a bottle smashed against the wall.

I guess they're at it again. Collins and Brim always have an argument. I’m always at peace when these two aren’t around. Hearing them argue made me wonder why they can’t, for once, come to an agreement.

“No! I’m fucking keeping this, baby! It’s the fifth time I’m making an abortion for you just this year, motherfucker! I can’t keep doing this! I’m not a baby making machine, Collins! If you love me, let’s keep this child!”

“This is impossible, baby doll!” He pressed.

In anger, brim grabbed the flower vase and threw it at him. Collins ducked immediately, making the ceramic vase make a violent clash against the wall.

“I’m going to involve the police if you try to harm me this time!” She yelled, with all the veins in her neck bursting out. “I’m keeping this pregnancy, okay? I just wanted you to know!” She wiped her tears that won’t stop pouring and grabbed her handbag.

“Maybe I should leave.” Her voice went down. Low and emotional. “I should just leave you, Collins. It’s three years already than I’m so fucking sick of this relationship!”

“No, brim! You can’t leave me!” He begged.

She pushed him violently as he staggered on the sofa.

“This is the last time you’re ever going to see me. My parents were right about you. You’re a fucking loser!” Brim grabbed her handbag and left.

Watching from behind, I watched Collins run after her as if she’s his everything. It’s no doubt. Every relationship he’s been with, ever since he’d lost his family, hasn’t been successful. That is because he isn’t able to love himself yet. I wonder why girls like brim with putting up everything and go against everyone to be with Collins. A jobless and hopeless jerk. Well, he’s my uncle, but that is the bitter truth.

It was cold and dark. Collins tried to hold her back, but she left. Heartbroken, I watched him cry at the doorstep. As if he hadn’t been through enough, he walked to the fridge to take more bottles of beer. With the MP3 player, he tuned on his favorite modern rock — ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.

It felt so hard, but I tried to read with my door locked. For some reasons, I was grateful that the two split. At least, it was for the better. Their so-called relationship was heading nowhere, anyway. I hope Brim would love a better life and hopefully, find someone better than my uncle to settle down with.

I completed my housework and read two chapters I slept off. Well, Collins slept outside that night. Drunk and wasted.

***

Sleeping peacefully in my bed, I hugged my pillow to my face as a loud buzz that won’t stop ringing. As usual, it was the sound of my alarm cry that woke me up at 5:30 a.m on the dot. Picking up my alarm clock on the nightstand, I looked.

“Ugh, it’s already morning?” I gently placed my clock back on the surface and slowly sat up. Placing my hand to her head, I noticed it the unusual throbbing with sticking pain. “Unh! Not again... Nothing a little Ecuadorian can’t handle.” I quickly crawled out of bed and took out two pills from the tablet in I’m drawer. I walked to the kitchen, poured tap water to rinse my cup before gulping it down my throat.

Just then, my eyes that were still sticky went wide opened. As if I got lost in the middle of everything. “Now, where am I?”

I remembered what happened yesternight with my uncle and his long-time girlfriend. Thinking about my uncle, I must have left him outside. I rushed to the door and met him in an unconscious position. His snore was life threatening, but I grabbed him up and help him inside.

Now, to my morning chores. Feeding the geese and pigeons, washing, cleaning the dishes and preparing breakfast and then preparing for school. I put on a yellow oversized sweater and jean leggings that might or might not fit. I don’t care about my dressing or look. As dull-green as my dark, shoulder-length hair gets brushed and my skin gets oiled, I’ve got no problem.

Getting to school, I walked straight to my locker to pick out some books. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang on my face. Noah closed my locker as I jerked back in fear. The next second, he grabbed my face against the locker and he was staring deep into my eyes while I tried to look down at my feet but couldn’t.

“Y_you’re hurting me.” I said, controlling my breath. That suddenly went heavy.

“Noah! You know that this arrogant attitude of yours could actually lead to your suspension, right? In no time... I’d make sure the school board hears about this even if your dad, the headteacher, and everyone else is turning a blind eye.” Amber rolled her eyes at him like a disgusting fly before opening her locker.

“You dare not!” Noah replied her angrily and turned to his agents. “Come on guys, let’s go!”

Amber brought out a big mathematics text book before locking her locker.

“Thanks, Amber.” A smiled formed on my lips, Speechlessly. I couldn’t understand why she just did that.

“Did you even brush today?” She rolled her eyes at me the same way before turning away. I just watched her speechlessly. Now, what is the difference between these two? I couldn’t comprehend.

Back in the class, everyone took their seats. Based on our arrangement, each desk has two seats for it. About to seat with Noah, he looked at me with a torturing stare. The way he digs the insignificant life at his nail-cutter into the desk made goose pimples crawl on my skin. As if he would stab me at any moment. I couldn’t still understand why Amber defended me. My eyes looked up at him once again. His dark eyes looked life threatening. I just had to look away.

“Get a seat, Morrison!” The teacher muttered.

My eyes searched around the room. There was no other empty seat except with Amber. Looking at her alone scares me. It scares everyone. That is why she’s sitting alone. You can share a seat, Feldman!" Mr Brown wore an awkward smile before starting the lecture. English In Literature.

“You’re ugly, Morrison! You aren’t even welcome here.”

“Yeah... I got it. You’re also mean.” I took a seat right next to her and took off my bag. My eyes focused as Mr Brown wrote on the board. Fictional Books and Authors.

“Okay, so... A fictional book is a text created specifically for a work in an imaginary narrative that is referred to, depicted, or excerpted in a story, book, film, or other fictional work, and which exists only in one or more fictional works.” He explained. “A fictional book may add realism or depth to a larger fictional work. For example, George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four has excerpts from a book by Emmanuel Goldstein entitled The Theory and Practices of Oligarchical Collectivism which provides background on concepts explored in the novel (both the named author (Goldstein) and the text on collectivism are made up by Orwell).”

A smile formed on my face as Mr. Brown turned to the class. I haven’t read so many books but I’m a novel lover. Another good thing again is, my mum was a writer so, I felt proud.

Somehow.

Lost in thought of my mother, Amber blew and burst her bubblegum to my face. I woke into reality, immediately and just looked away. My eyes caught Noah staring at me with angry bug eyes. I fought hard and swallowed the hysteria welling inside of me. My heart was beating fast as I glanced at my palms, that suddenly went shaky and sweaty. As if a serpent was sitting right next to me.
‘All I need to do is to avoid his evil gaze.’ I said to myself repeatedly. Holding my hands as I focused my pupils on the chalkboard.

“However, a fictional book may provide the basis of the plot of a story, a common thread in a series of books or other works, or the works of a particular writer or canon of work. Fiction refers to literature created from the imagination. Mysteries, science fiction, romance, fantasy, chick lit, crime thrillers are all fiction genres. Examples of classic fiction include To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, 1984 by George Orwell and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Some Fiction Departments also have an extensive selection of popular movies and television shows on DVD. In my class, you’ll be working in pairs. I’m sure you all have read a lot of books so far. On the sheet right in front of you, you are, to name correctly, the authors of the books listed.” Hearing him say this, a smile formed on my face as my eyes scanned through.

I took my pencil, scrolling through the sheet and of paper sitting in front of us.

1. Lord of the Rings by... J.R.R Tolkien.
2. Middlemarch by... George Eliot.

Writing out the names, I felt Amber’s two satellite hazel eyes staring at mine. I tried smiling, but my slow smile that spread nervously suddenly sank in.

3. Lolita by... Vladimir Nabokov- I mistakenly applied pressure on the pencil and it broke.

As if I got confused about something. I just couldn’t understand. Invisible doodling clouded my vision. A weird breeze blew through the window where I was sitting.

With these, Amber noticed me.

“Are you under a fucking panic attack or what? Just give me the pen, loser!” She grabbed it from me and filled out the next line.

4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
5. War and Peace by James Joyce.

“This isn’t James Joyce’s book.” I corrected.

“And what did you know?” She eyed me narrowly.

“S-sorry to say, Amber, but you’re quite wrong.” I confessed with a little stammer. “Leo Tolstoy actually written war and Peace.”

“And how do you spell Tolstoy?”

I collected the pencil from her and put down... “T-O-L-S-T-O-Y”

“So who wrote ‘Dubliners’ then?” She asked, pointing to the next question.

“James Joyce wrote it.”

“You’re quite intelligent...Have you read the book?”

“Which book?”

“Any of these books?”

“No, not really. I’ve only read a couple, but I’ve seen all of them.” I admitted.

“Wow! That’s interesting. Do your parents work in the state library?” She asked with a little excitement.

“No, not really. Ummm.. my mum was a writer, you see.” I said, realising it was the first time I’m actually telling someone about myself. I swallowed hard in my throat, trying to end the mental torture of sitting with Amber Feldman.

“Oh, sorry about that. What about your dad?”

“He’s also late. They died two years ago in a car accident.” I stopped in between the words, feeling so emotional. I couldn’t help but to remember what had happened that night.

“I lost my parents too, Sylvia.” She confessed, faking a small smile that dropped immediately.

They said they were druggies and criminals. I wanted to tell her this, but I decided not to talk. I didn’t get the courage to even ask. Knowing how mean she is. What if she actually uses this against me, somehow? I’d be done for. Thinking about how dangerous my new partner is, I filled out the remaining questions.

9. Emma by James Austen
10. Ulysses by James Joyce
11. 1984 by George Orwell
12. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I completed the questions with a little smile. She smiled back at me with one surprising word. “Let’s be friends.”

***

Good thing, Sylvia got a friend, right? Do you think Amber would help her boast her self confidence?

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