I walked home after a few tutoring sessions at the local library. I could feel my heavy eyelids pushing me to fall on a bench and pass out, but I refrained from doing so. That wouldn't be very smart. Besides, autumns here in Los Angeles are deadly in many ways.
"You're late back tonight, Sherry."
There is only one person in this whole planet who would call me that, and that's Phil. Phil is homeless (I think, I was scared that I'd offend him if I asked), and despite my numerous attempts at correcting him calling me Sherry, the name has stuck.
"I had to tutor some kids from my school again." I explained, slipping my hand into my pocket to find the apartment key. I heard him rustling in his coat behind me. I stopped what I was doing and turned around, only to find him holding a deck of cards.
Homeless or not, Phil is amazing with cards. Poker, Old Maid, Concentration, you name it, he is unbeatable. I've made a vow to never stop playing with him until I win, and considering that I'm sacrificing an hour rest to play with him should give you a proper indication of where I currently am.
We moved to the park across the street and stopped on a bench, where he began handling the cards. I immediately asked the daunting question: what game were we going to play today.
"It's a game of my own invention. Now, close your eyes." I did what I was told and not before long, he handed me a deck of cards with my eyes still shut.
"16 of those cards are face up and the other 36 are face down. Now, sort these into two piles so that each pile contains the same number of face-up cards. Without looking."
What? How was I supposed to do- "Think, Sherry. Think."
I was thinking. This isn't a game, it's a riddle. However, I couldn't seem to figure it out. I opened my eyes and handed the cards back to Phil.
"I'll mull over it tonight." He looked at me, and I could see the disappointment in his eyes. I might be smart, but I'm not a genius.
I said goodbye to Phil and rushed home, mulling over the problem he had given me. 'Each pile contains the same number of face-up cards'... 'Without looking'...
Come on, there has to be a solution.
The riddle kept me busy most of the evening. While I finished up my homework, I was thinking about how I could do it. I tried getting a deck for myself, trying to find a way to do it with ,y eyes open but even then, I couldn't find a solution to his riddle.
As I was playing with my cards, the doorbell suddenly rang and my head turned. I bit my lip nervously. No one ever comes to my place at this hour, not even the neighbour's kid. Suddenly, the lock turned and a woman burst into the room, a suitcase by her hip.
"Juliette! My darling daughter!"
I froze in utter shock as my mother, who I haven't seen or contacted in four years, walked in and hugged me tightly in her arms. I didn't even know what to say at this point. Was I supposed to smile and welcome her back? After she abandoned me for a so-called 'better life in Las Vegas with her rich boyfriend', leaving me here with $20 and a bottle of beer in the fridge?
"What are you doing here?" I asked, stepping back from her embrace. She looked at me, scoffing in disbelief.
"What do you mean?" she declared, throwing her curled hair over her shoulder. "This is my house, and you are my daughter."
I can't believe that she has the nerve to call this her place. I've been the one who has been paying rent for the past four years. It is her name on the lease, and I couldn't get it changed since I was 17. However, tomorrow, that changes. I'll be able to get my name on that lease and finally, this will be my place, not hers.
"My, how you've blossomed!" she declared, admiring my outward appearance. "I bet that you get drinks bought for you all the time!"
Drinks? How old did she think I was? I frowned as I watched her throw her jacket across the old couch, propping her dusty boots on the clean wooden table. She gave out a great big sigh while I cautiously walked back to the dining table and continued with my homework.
"What are you doing, fooling around with cards like that? Don't tell me that you're gambling at this age as well..."
Since when has she cared about my education? Since when has she cared for me as a mother should? She then went snooping in the fridge and proceeded to take out the cake I had bought for my birthday. Before I could stop her, she grabbed the single slice and ate it, grinning the whole time.
"Wow, this is delicious stuff! I'll need more of that, thank you." she declared. I looked in complete horror as she finished the last bite. "What? Why are you looking at me like you've seen a ghost? It's just cake."
Just... cake? I rose up and crossed my arms, finally having enough of her. I don't care if her name is on this lease, I can't stand her. I point towards the door.
"You abandon me for four years. Not a call, not a text, nothing. Four years later, you come back and you don't ask me how I've been or what I've been doing. You steal my birthday cake, you bring your dirty boots into the apartment and you dirty my wood table."
I point towards the door and snarled. "I've worked tirelessly ever since you abandoned me, and you know what? Next year, I'm going to university with all of the money I've saved up, and you can't stop me or bring me down."
She froze, shocked, as if she didn't expect this from me. Right, she remembers me as the crying child who she locked in her room if she was annoying. Well, I wasn't that little girl anymore.
She grabbed her purse, pointing her bony finger at me, shaking with anger.
"You're going to regret talking to me like that, young lady-"
"Get out." There. I finally said it. "Get out, and don't come back."