Gradually, the sun began to rise in the sky, illuminating the world and straining through the curtains of people, urging them to get up and prepare for a wonderful day.
Feeling the light on my face, I sat up on my bed and stretched, a yawn always escaped my mouth. I covered my mouth, pushing the blanket aside and placing my feet on the soft rug. Just then, the memories of yesterday started sinking back. My dad had yet again been a great disappointment to the whole of manhood. My arms still hurt from the beating yesterday but I could manage with it, mom's own is worse than this.
My feet padded all the way across the room towards the bathroom where I caught sight of my reflection as I passed by the mirror. I took my toothbrush and lazily started working it around my mouth. I splashed a couple of water across my face and tied my hair up to a ponytail.
I made my way to the sitting room and that was when I saw my brother Axel sitting on the kitchen stool and biting into a sandwich. "Good morning sunshine" He greeted.
I responded with the same enthusiasm. "Good morning"
What I loved about this family was that, even when something bad has happened, It never weighed us down the next day. It was as if, we slept through it in the night and had completely forgotten about it the next day.
The kitchen was connected to the sitting room, although there was a large amount of space separating them and in the middle was our small dining area. We never sat together in there anyway. I always took my food to my room. Axel sits in the sitting room while my mom uses the dining. My dad... he was never at home to eat breakfast with us.
After making a mess in the night, he would be the first one to leave before day broke. As if he didn't want to see us when he was sober. I really don't care at all. I just wanted us to be happy, together and safe in our own little way.
I sat beside my brother on another kitchen stool, and he pushed towards me a sandwich on a plate.
"Thank you" I offered an appreciative smile.
"It's not as good as Mom's but... edible" He muttered.
That's right. It was not as good, but edible. I had no choice but to eat it, for he prepared them with love and with his hands.
While biting into the sandwich, I was scrolling through my phone on the other. I didn't online yesterday but today that I was, there were a lot of notifications on my phone. It vibrated and dinged at the same time. Hold up! I'm not a celebrity of some kind but this is getting out of hand.
Of all the messages, a particular one caught my attention. I tapped on the screen and an envelope emerged. I waited in anticipation as the envelope unfolded itself.
It read;
CONGRATULATIONS!
Dear, Carol Davis. It is to our delight as well as yours that you've been selected amongst the many candidates to be one of Crown's admirable students. You passed the entrance examination, and is now eligible to study Accounting Education in Crown.
Oh my God! I thought to myself, as I dropped the phone on the counter top.
"What is it?" Axel seemed to have noticed, he had his body turned towards me and eyes peering.
I covered my mouth with my hand, surprise clearly evident in my eyes. "I got in" I said to my brother, my eyes darting towards him.
"You what?" Axel inquired, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion as he hadn't heard my word clearly. He grabbed hold of the phone on the counter top and stared at it, his mouth gradually curled into a smile as he looked at me the next second. "This is great news Carol, congratulations" He said.
Axel even clicked Accept admission before handing back to me. "We should tell mom. Luckily, the doctor said she can be discharged today"
My eyes lit up at the news. Mom is coming back home. Yesterday that she hadn't spent the night in the house, I felt it and couldn't help but feel happy that she would soon get discharged.
"So..." I trailed off, "Anything I need to know before going to crown?"
Axel lowered his sandwich to the plate, "Just be yourself. Stay out of trouble and don't get too involved in what you shouldn't" He informed.
Although I had no idea what some of his words meant, I only nodded and appreciated the fact that he said those things to me. He mentioned a few about Crown having curfews and stuffs like that... I guess I'll just have to find out for myself when school resumes. I guess that's like some weeks from now. I couldn't help but be excited, my heart is reeling from sheer exhilaration as I began to count down the days I would resume school and begin studying. Preparing for my future.
My brother took my hand in his. "I want you to know you're not alone Carol. Both me, mom... and Dad will always be there to support you. Whenever you need any help, don't forget to call"
Dad? Seriously? Dad has never contributed to anything in this family. The only thing his presence did was wreck havoc and I am not ready to believe that I could call on somebody like that.
"Speaking of dad, he isn't coming back, is he?"
I asked in a low voice, my heart dreading the response that Axel was going to give me. I wished that the police held him in custody for a long time, but that wasn't possible. After a few days, he would be released and allowed to walk around like a sane man.
"There's no doubt that he would" Axel said, and further explained. "At the back of my mind, I can already tell that he's coming back to exact his revenge... which is why we will leave before he comes back"
"Huh, where to?"
"Grandma's place. I already called her and told her everything and she's willing to let us stay until everything returns to normal. Besides, she complained of being alone so with us by her side, the loneliness would amount to nothing"
This was a better plan than what I had in mind, I initially thought that we should keep the door locked before Dad comes back and if he does bang the door, we wouldn't open the door until morning. Of course, he wouldn't be in sight in the morning so we would be safe. But what if he decides to show up the next morning and start a pandemonium. It would be a show for our neighbors... no, this idea was better left thrashed. For now, Axel's idea is the best one yet.
I watched my brother with admiration in his eyes as he cleared the plates and went to the sink to start washing them. He's so thoughtful, hardworking, intelligent and smart. Whoever that got married to him had nothing to fear. He's unlike every other man that I've ever met.
It's amazing how he was even better behaved despite coming from a man like Flynn Davis.
Soon enough, we started to pack our things and into the car, Along the way, we picked up mom from the hospital and was heading towards Gramdma's house. It seems like after landing in the hospital, mom was finally able to see clearly that my dad did not love her anymore and she was better alive, for us all. She didn't have any trouble in going to her mom's place. I sat by her side in the backseat, keeping her company and sharing the good news to her. She was happy.
We got to Granny's house in the night. Axel knocked on the door and stepped back. We waited a while before the door was unlocked and a familiar face popped outside to look at us.
She widened the door. "Oh dear. Welcome everyone, please come in" She ushered us into her small shelter.
My mom sat on the chair. Once her gaze landed on her mother, she started to cry. "Mom. You were right" She admitted to the bitter truth. "I'm sorry, I didn't listen to you"
Grandma sighed. "It's fine Doris. people make mistakes and I'm glad it's not too late before you realized it" She said, and handed her a cup of water to drink.
Grandma and Mom had some kind of beef in the past. It was about my dad, where Granny had told Mom not to get involved with him but she proved stubborn. She claimed that they loved each other and then went ahead to get married to my dad at the expense of breaking ties with Granny. But here she was again, in front of her own mother, crying and apologizing at the same time.
I felt sorry for her. I understood that people did stupid things when they were young and in love. Mom did and now she regretted it.
****
Days went by quickly and our lives had become better in the absence of my dad. We were happy, safe and together just like I had always wanted. Today, Axel was graduating. He had left for school some hours ago while we were at home, waiting for the stipulated hour to go and join him.
"We're going to be late if you don't hurry up, Carol" Mom yelled from across the room. She was moving around and fixing things that I had tossed around.
I picked up a purple dress. The material was made of satin and it was a maxi gown that reached my ankles, there was a high slit that reached my thigh. I paired it with a simple silver necklace and studs. I wore silver heel and left my hair to cascade behind me in their beautiful waves. I applied some powder, highlighted my brows and slid in lip gloss because there wasn't much time and my mom was yelling.
Finally, I was done and we all left the house, including Grandma.
The journey to me, seemed like forever. I was anxiously waiting in my seat, stretching my neck out of the window as I watched the cars racing past us.
I wonder if this driver can get any faster. I wanted to see Crown, wanted to see my brother. When I looked to the side, my mom was on maximum composure unlike me. She too was looking out the window but she wasn't jumping every second to see if we had reached there or not.
Momentarily, we arrived at Crown. There were a lot of cars in queue to get into the school and we just had to join them and stay behind until everyone moved. I could the flag of the school ahead. It was a white one with a golden crown printed boldly on it. It was beautiful.
The cars moved slowly, into the school until it was finally our turn to get checked. The security officer glanced at us for a briefmoment and then tapped on the button in his hand.
"Enjoy your day" He said to us and we drove into the school.
As I had imagined, large was an understatement for the school space. It stretched wide and as far as my eyes could see. Palm trees graced the center, providing shade against the sun. And they were lined in a straight manner. They divided the road into two, the one we were going through while the other was for the cars that were coming. The environment was filled with livelihood, people were coming together and taking photographs to remember this day. Our car made a swivel to the left side. There was a fountain in the center thrusting clear water into the sky while some were pouring out of the mouths of statues. Flowers were lined around it, with sweet fragrance exuding from them.
We parked in a corner, just like the other drivers. As we stepped out of the car, we stood to the side while my mom called Axel to ask where he was, and also tell him that we had gotten here.
I leaned against the car, watching the school structure with awe. From time to time, my head would rotate when I hear squeals of some individuals. I smiled unconsciously while looking at them.
"Oh." My attention was grabbed by bubbles that were filling the air. I loved bubbles, and the temptation to start catching them gnawed at me. I couldn't help it but started to catch them while smiling like a fool.
Mom rolled her eyes in the corner while Grandma shook her head at me. I didn't know of course. They weren't me, so they wouldn't understand.
The bubbles started to reduce and a frown etched upon my face, I strained my eyes to see where they were coming from, and they landed on a young girl. She was across the road, holding a bazooka.
She gazed at me with disapproval in her eyes. I sensed that she even 'Hmmped' at me.
What the hell!
I cannot have fun anymore?
Then she turned around and started to head towards someone. I watched. He was intimidatingly tall as he leaned against his car. But that wasn't what grabbed my attention. It was the way he was looking at me. He had his arms folded across his chest and his gaze was hard.
Was he looking at something else?
I looked around, wondering if I was the one holding his attention but when I looked back, he had straightened up and turned his back at me.