February 2005...
Hearing footsteps, Savannah woke up. Upon seeing no one around, she was about to go to bed but realized that her mom wasn't in the room she felt a bit worried and scared, 'why would mom leave the room in the middle of the night without informing me?' Shaking off those thoughts, Savannah decided to look for her in the bathroom. Though she felt a bit tired, she scratched her eyes and stretched her arms a bit before getting up from the duvet- bed. She knocked on the door a few times, "Mom? Are you in there?" She said as she knocked a few times. When no one answered after a while, Savannah decided to open the door and checked inside. No one was there.
Savannah didn't know what to expect, she didn't know whether to just let it be, or go have a look. As soon as creepin thoughts decided to come in.
After taking a deep breath, Savannah decided to go have a look in the living room. She tiptoed her way out of the room and without making a sound walked slowly through the hallway. She was at the end of the corridor when she saw Amanda.
Amanda was standing at the center of the living room and it looked like she was on the phone with someone. Savannah wasn't sure who she was talking to or what she was talking to the person about but she was sure of what she heard, ' actually I'm in need of money, I need to pay for the children's school fees, buy furniture, and other things...'
Savannah wasn't sure why Amanda would be asking someone for money. This all seemed so confusing. Maybe what she said was somewhat true. They did need money...badly. Savannah didn't know what happened but it seemed as though Amanda was coming back to their room. Without a second thought, Savannah quickly rushed into the kitchen which was right next to where she was standing.
With balls of sweat dripping from her forehead, Savannah stood firmly behind the door, praying Amanda won't see her if not she'll have to explain why she's not in bed and this time no excuses would work because since childhood, she's always been terrible at lying.
As soon as Amanda went into their room, Savannah quietly made her way back to the room.
Savannah was about to tuck herself in bed when she heard a voice call out her name, "Savannah?" Amanda said as she walked towards her, "Why are you just coming to the room, where were you?" At that moment, Savannah's mind went blank. She couldn't think of any excuse to tell her and she obviously couldn't tell her the truth.
Imagine telling someone that you left your room in the middle of the night to go look for your mom because you thought the worst. There was no chance of Amanda believing her, so she decided to tell her the first thing she could think of.
"I wasn't feeling sleepy so I thought of going to the kitchen to get some water". Savannah tried hard to avoid Amanda's strong gaze, it felt like Amanda suspected her, but before she could suspect her the more, Amanda smiled and patted Savannah's head slightly before turning around and bending over to arrange the pillow's.
"Okay then. Let's get ready to go to bed, it's already late". Amanda said before lying down on the duvet-bed. She then turned over, leaving room for Savannah.
Amanda knew Savannah was lying. She saw her hiding in by the kitchen door before coming back to the room. Amanda knew that the only reason Savannah might lie to her is if she overheard her conversation with Trisha. But there's still a slight possibility that Savannah might have said the truth.
With a heavy heart and a slight headache, Amanda slowly fell asleep...
....
The next day was a Monday and also Amanda's first day at work. Naturally she'd be nervous and worried. She knew almost nothing about how they work there, 'What if I make a mistake? What if something goes wrong and I end up being fired on the spot?' Where the thoughts that floated around in Amanda's head. She couldn't help calm down her nerves even though she knew she had to put up a serious look.
Amanda was lost in her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. She turned around and met eyes with Savannah. She had a smile on her face and looked pretty excited for some reason.
"Can I come in?" She said softly as she stood by the doorframe. Amanda woke up earlier than usual and was already done taking her bath and was in the process of changing when Savannah woke up.
"Of course, come in". Amanda said as she struggled to put on her necklace while staring at the little compact mirror infront of her.
"Oh, can I help you with that?" Savannah asked as she walked up to Amanda and sat behind her, trying to fix the two links of the necklace.
"Thanks". Amanda said softly after Savannah had fixed the two links. She turned slightly to have a quick glance at Savannah before looking away.
She picked up the compact mirror and stared at her reflection. She saw a woman in her mid 30s with her hair packed in a bun wearing light makeup and a necklace with a small bow and arrow pendant that was shaped like a capital letter 'D' split in half.
Amanda closed the mirror and put it in her purse before standing up and putting on her heels. From that, Savannah already knew Amanda was going to work.
Today was the first day of work and all three of them were overjoyed. They each had their reasons for being so happy. Amanda was happy because she now has a source of income which would make it less difficult to live here. Then Adam and Savannah won't have to live in such conditions.
Savannah was happy, mainly because she'd be able to have a fresh start in this new environment. Once Amanda starts work there, it would feel like her old home and things won't feel so different.
Adam was happy because it won't be long before school starts and so he'd be able to come back from school and go to the Café with friends, just like before.
Even though the three of them each have their different views on life, they all celebrate the same things...