Violet stood in the field wearing her cardigan, watching the other kids as their parents hovered around them, gushing over them as they took pictures together, smiling from ear to ear.
Their joyful laughter started to annoy her. She was there, standing alone. Her friends were with their parents or loved ones. There she was, standing alone in the middle of the field, with no flowers, no one to take pictures with her or happy that she had finished college and become a certified doctor.
"Phew!" She heaved a sigh, fanning her face with her hand so as not to cry, but the tears welled up in her eyes, striving to come out. She couldn't help it anymore. She allowed the tears to flow freely down her face. It was hot and it was also burning her eyes. She noticed some of the students were staring at her. Her face turned red in embarrassment. It was supposed to be a happy day. She was supposed to be happy, but she was sad because no one cared about her, not even her uncle.
"Hey! Violet! Why are you standing over there? Come take pictures with us!" Her friend Anna's voice echoed throughout the field. She turned her gaze to where the sound was coming from and wiped her tears with the back of her palm.
Anna was squatting in the middle of their classmates, who were gathered to take pictures together.
At least I can take some photos with them. She thought and started running to them, putting on her cap in the process, forcing a smile. She caught up to them and squatted beside Anna, and they all smiled at the cameraman, who snapped them with his blinding lights getting into their eyes.
After a series of photos, Violet and Anna were the only ones standing there in front of the cameraman. Anna moved closer to her and wrapped her hand around her, pressing her face against hers.
"Take a photo of us together; I want to hang it on my wall," Anna told the cameraman.
"Say cheese," he beamed.
"Cheeeese!" they both chorused, grinning as they took the picture together.
"Good, let me see the pictures." Anna said, running over to him. He lowered his camera, showing her the pictures. Violet wanted to look at the pictures too. When her phone started ringing in her jeans pocket, she lifted the cardigan a little and pulled it out. It was a call from her uncle. She rolled her eyes and picked up the call.
"Hello, Uncle," she muttered.
"Where are you!" he half yelled. She removed the phone from her ear a little.
"You are too loud. What do you mean by that? I am at college. It's my graduation, remember?" she muttered.
"I don't care about your graduation; my kids are starving; there is no food for them to eat. You didn't prepare breakfast for them before you left for your so-called graduation. Come home in a jiffy or you won't get the chance to eat lunch." he snapped.
"But Uncle I..." She couldn't finish her sentence because he cut her off. She blinked back the tears that were striving to come out of her eyes. She was always treated like a maid in her uncle's house. Now she had to ditch her graduation to make her uncle happy. She was being exploited, she looked down with her eyebrows lowered and pulled together and started ambling to the entrance of the college, trying her best not to look at other students who were having a great time.
"Vi..." Anna paused and looked around, but Violet was already gone.
"Why didn't she tell me she was leaving? That's strange," she thought.
Violet made her way into the teacher's lounge and scanned the place looking for her class teacher, who was talking to a male teacher with a wine glass in her hand.
"Hey look, your student has come looking for you." the male teacher said, pointing at Violet with his face. The teacher smiled and turned to look at Violet. She was a woman in her thirties, with long wavy hair and an oval face shape.
"Hi Violet, I didn't think you would remember me. Are you here to give me a gift?" she asked.
"No, I am here to return my gown. I will be going home a little earlier." Violet said with a sad expression.
"Oh, you can drop your gown over there at that counter," she said, pointing at a counter that was behind Violet. Violet turned around and placed her gown on the counter, rubbing her hands against it. She didn't even get to wear it for an hour. She thought and frowned before turning to the teacher.
"You look pale? Is anything the matter? Or did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed because you are going into the real world now?" She said in a cheerful tone. Violet pouted her lips and rolled her eyes.
"Bye Mrs. Flora, see you when I see you," she said, and waved her teacher goodbye before making her way out of the room.
"Why is she so moody?" The teacher remarked, staring at the other teacher, who shrugged. "Who knows?" he replied.
Minutes later,
Violet arrived at her uncle's mansion. She opened the black gate and stepped inside. Her uncle was not that rich, but he was in the middle class. He had a lot of shops that sold wine and beverages all over the city of New York. But he was greedy. He loved money so much that she had to pay for everything she used in his house in the future.
He had a book where he calculated all the money she owed him. She was a debtor in his house. Her parents gave her to him because he was the only family they had left. Her parents were richer than her uncle, but they went bankrupt the day they died in a car accident.
She heard the slamming sound of the main door. It was accompanied by crunching footsteps that were making a clacking sound as they hit the ground. The person was walking in her direction. She saw a pair of blue heels followed by a white dress. It was her uncle's wife, the lady of the house. Her hair was tied in a ponytail. She was about to greet her aunt when she gave her a death stare, with her hand on her waist standing akimbo.
"So you have finally decided to come home?" she asked, glaring at her.
"I told you it was my graduation today." Violet said. Her uncle's wife snorted, "You have the guts to talk back to me, you wench!" She yelled, and sauntered over to Violet, grabbing her blonde hair tightly and yanking it back, hauling her in the direction of the door.