The John Hughes Club

Chapter Thirty Two

"Thank you so much for the humiliation tonight, Mum. I'll certainly return the favour when you eventually have the guts to introduce me to shower guy." That's not a threat, that's most certainly a promise. Never, have I felt so embarrassed and ashamed of my mother. For the half an hour that Chas, Ella and Zigs had to remain here, my mum did everything in her power to make it as awkward and as uncomfortable as she possibly could. In an unfriendly and intimidating way, she kept making her presence known as we watched the ending of the film. She put the light on, made us all sit apart, started noisily tidying around us, and then finally plonked herself down in an armchair, sticking in the knife of humiliation even deeper into me until Ella's dad arrived. Yup, I'm done with my mum. I can't deal with her tonight. As I turn my back on the person she has been this evening, I'm just wanting to retreat to my room.

"Get back here, Mindy! You don't get to sulk this out in your bedroom." Mum barks, instigating the argument that I know is about to ensue.

With my foot paused on the first step of the stairs, I loudly huff. "I have nothing to say to you. You were nothing but embarrassing tonight. You embarrassed yourself. You embarrassed me...and you embarrassed my friends."

"You don't get to speak to me like that, Mindy. I'm your mother and you will speak to me with respect," Mum dictates, a tightness in her expression.

Removing my foot from the bottom of the stair, I turn to face her square on. "Did you speak to Chas with respect? No, you didn't! You were rude and you were out of order with him. Well, I'll do exactly the same with your boyfriend when I finally meet him...see how you like it!" I don't care if I sound petty, I'm too angry to care about that. Mum was out of order. I saw a side to her that I didn't know existed. She looked at Chas with disgust. With scorn. Just thinking about it, makes me angry all over again. "I'm going to bed," I sulkily say, unprepared to be a part of this heated conversation with my mum.

"I mean it, Mindy. We need to talk. I'm not liking your attitude." Crossing her arms, mum stands stiffly in the hallway, very much wanting me to still be a part of this argument.

Arming myself with sarcasm, I gladly answer, "I can't say I'm a big fan of yours, either." Sneering, I turn my back on her and this argument.

Rushing towards me, mum grabs my wrist, stopping me from climbing the stairs to my room. "You're not going anywhere! We have things to discuss and we're going to discuss them now!" Mum yells, her face full of even more anger.

"If you want to have a moan, why don't you ring shower guy?" Snatching my arm away from her, I'm beginning to lose patience. I mean, she's had the cheek to be rude to my boyfriend, when she hasn't even given me the chance to be rude to hers. "Why haven't you ever introduced us? Are things between you just based on sex? Is that why you won't let me meet him? Seriously, what's up with that?"

Mum's anger falls away from her face, obviously taken aback by my spiteful outburst. "It's not like that, Mindy. We just had to be sure about one another," her voice is now quiet, kind of shaky.

"Well, whilst you're still deciding how you feel about your boyfriend, I am 100% sure about my feelings for mine. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone." Stomping up the stairs, angered breaths accompany every single step I take. Hurrying into my room, I slam the door behind me. Mum has really got to me. Her actions tonight, have bothered me so much. She was just so horrible. So mean.

Without even knocking, mum enters my room. I choose not to acknowledge her presence. Instead, I ignore her. "Mindy, we seriously need to talk. What I walked in on in the garden, scared me."

My head turns, locking my confused eyes on her. "Scared?" I mumble, sitting on my bed with a curious grimace.

Deciding to sit beside me, mum seems less angry and more tense. "Yes, scared," she quietly admits. "If you're becoming interested in boys, I think it's time that you see a doctor. You need to look into contraception. If you're sexually active, I need to make sure that you're taking precautions." Stressed, mum sighs, scraping her hand through her hair.