Chapter 1
“I can’t seem to find anything in this shitty house. Who came into my room and took my red ballet shoes. Tony you had better not be playing with me, where are my ballet shoes?” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Debbie I don’t have your shoes, Mom can you take a look at her accusing me falsely again? Get a grip of yourself and stop blaming others for your mistakes” Tony replied, pouring cornflakes into his bowl of milk and hitting the table in annoyance with his fist.
“Where did you put your shoes last time you had your ballet practice?”
“I had them cleaned and placed under the shoe rack in my white sac and now it’s nowhere to be found. I am so tired of Tony coming into my room and messing things up”
Susan walked over to the shoe rack in Debbie’s room and searched a bit, clearing some shoes out, and then in a few minutes, she found the white sac.
“You need to stop instigating trouble when you can’t find your things, these are your shoes and I need you to stop accusing your brother. You also have to go downstairs and apologize for accusing him when it was all you not taking your time out to search properly”
“I am sorry Mom. It’s frustrating searching for things in the place I put them and not finding them”
“Yeah, I am not the one you need to be apologizing to, that will be Tony”
Susan and Debbie went downstairs to join the rest of the family at the dining table. “Hey Tony, I am sorry I accused you wrongly, I found the shoes”
“Yeah right, you always do that. I am sick of you accusing me all the time especially when you lose something” he rolled his eyes and walked over to the fridge to take some fruits. Debbie sat down and had a bowl of cornflakes herself. Grandpa was unusually quiet this morning drinking his tea and reading a book.
“Hey Grandpa, you have been quiet all morning. Are you alright?”
“Oh yes dear, it’s just one of those slow mornings for your old pa”
“It’s time to leave now, I am going to be late for the second time in a week” Susan (Debbie’s mom) carried her handbag and lunch bag and dashed outside while Tony followed suit. Debbie forgot her phone upstairs and ran upstairs to take it. As she ran outside, she saw a sleek car driving by playing loud music with two guys in it. “Must be one of the neighbourhood's rich kids," she said. She wondered how her old pa had secured their home in their estate when most of their neighbours were wealthy. Nobody told her about a time when old Pa was wealthy. The boys who just drove past did not look like the boys in school or the ones she saw driving by in the estate.
She shook her head as she walked into the car, hearing her mom complain about how she makes them late. The ride was fast and cold. Everyone in the car seemed to be angry at her for one reason or the other. The day was boring as usual.
Debbie was a loner in school and never really associated with others or joined in club activities except hanging out with her best friend or reading at the library. She was a bookworm, and she was the best in class.
“Hey four eyes, what are you looking at?” sounds of laughter erupted behind her. She knew they were the mean wannabee queens and she was not in the mood for their cruelty today.
"I’m looking at how stupid and empty your future is” she replied and the whole class started laughing. One of the bee queens got angry and before she could utter another word, the next teacher walked in.
The clique looked at her with an evil look before they got settled in. They knew better than to try anything funny with her. She could be a nerd but she was not an easygoing nerd. Classes finished and she noticed five bee queen girls close in on her. She was getting her mind and fist prepared for any nasty hit. Just as one of the girls raised her hand and was about to slap her, Debbie punched her nose and she fell.
Debbie looked at the other girls still standing with daggers piercing through her eyes, as they backed down to help their fifth friend who was bleeding through her nose. The only thing Debbie hated about all of these was the fact that she would get punished by the principal.
Vanessa- Debbie’s best friend was outside waiting for her wearing a grey sweatshirt, her face looked pale and it was obvious she was not feeling too good. She had been absent from school for a week.
“Hi V” Debbie called out to her running towards Vanessa’s direction.
“Hey careful Debbie, every inch of my body hurts, I just had to leave the house and take fresh air”
“I am sorry V, what did the doctor say? Is it just fever or something else?”
"I caught an infection, and I have pneumonia as well, so I have had IV and all sorts of injections in me, it’s been hell”
"How did that happen? Where could you have caught that?"
"Micheal and I had a secret all-night camp date last weekend, I think that’s where it happened but I couldn’t tell my parents or the doctor”
“Oh, I get you now. All-night date hmm, what happened? Was there touching and did it happen? Common you need to give me some juice V”
Vanessa blushed and then coughed. They both looked for somewhere comfortable and warm to sit down.
"There was a whole lot of kissing and touching and it was heavenly but it didn’t go further than that. It was beautiful and I wanted more but Micheal said we should wait a little longer. When we graduate in a year and we are both in College”
“He is such a gentleman, I love the way he treats you” Debbie looked at Vanessa affectionately for a few seconds.
“Oh, stop with the look. Can’t wait for the day you have someone sweet in your life that makes you feel good”
"I don’t have time for that V, I need to ace my grades and get into Cambridge. I got so many plans”
"I know and your grades are fantastic already, but having someone sweet wouldn’t stop you from being the best. When you meet him, you wouldn’t be able to say no”
"Then let us wait till he comes and sweeps me off my feet Miss Romantic but for now, it’s all about my grades darling”
Vanessa flinched, still feeling sore. “I am sorry babes, let’s get you into a taxi and back home”
Debbie dropped Vanessa home with the help of a taxi and got back home. Later that evening, Debbie saw her mom cooling off with a glass of wine outside the porch.
“Hey Mom, what are you up to?”
“Nothing, today was a very long day. Everyone got on my nerves and now I just need to calm my nerves”
“Yikes, don’t want to be you right now”
“Yeah, let’s order pizza for dinner, not in the mood to cook no damn food”
“Okay, boss lady, I’ll do just that”
The same sleek car she saw in the morning passed again but time around slowly, the boys looked towards their direction and her eyes met with theirs. She looked away feeling intimidated.
“Hmm seems we have new neighbours in our estate”
“Maybe” She tried keeping her composure and didn’t want her mom to see her flushed.
“That’s a really expensive car, they must be rich kids with rich parents. If only your father was a responsible one, you would have been acting like one of them rich kids”
“No Mom, let’s not talk about him today”
Debbie walked inside and got on the phone to order pizza for dinner. She wondered why the boys affected her like that. It wasn’t the first time she saw rich boys play loud music and drive through. Her mom had spoiled the mood with the mention of her father who was a junkie and a total crappy father.
After dinner, everyone went to sleep. The house was quiet, nobody was chatty or happy. Grandpa was usually the happy chatty one but he had been in his own space, which bothered her but she was too tired to engage him.
The next morning, Debbie tried her best to get ready quickly knowing the crappy mood her mother was in last night. Tony was ready as usual waiting for Mom, like most brothers and sisters, Debbie and Tony didn’t have a close relationship. They couldn’t stand each other and tried as much as possible not to cross paths.
Oh this is nice, we have Debbie downstairs early today, it’s going to be a good day” Susan smiled at the kids as she opened the door of the car and climbed in. Debbie rolled her eyes and sat in as well. Tony was never one to get involved in chit chats, he had his headphones on listening to music.
