Isolation (Book #1 of the Taylor Series)

Eighteen

"What has gotten into you? Do you have any idea how much trouble you've gotten into?" Mom asks, following me into the kitchen after we arrive home from the parent-teacher conference in the principal's office.

I roll my eyes and grab a water bottle from the fridge. "No," I shake my head sarcastically, "It was only you in that room when they told me my punishment. I was just out canoodling with every single guy on the college football team." I sip some water and Mom glares at me. "Oh, wait, that was you." I snicker to myself, and she lets out a huff. 

Grabbing some more water from the fridge, my mom stands in front of me with a tired look in her eyes. After taking at least five long gulps, she breathes heavily, as if drinking water took a lot out of her.

"You clearly are too young to see the extravagant damage you've done to your future. This is going on your permanent record, Eve, your damn permanent record. Colleges will see it, and when they do, you can bet your as--butt that they aren't going to be too impressed by it." She corrects herself. I narrow my eyes.

Before I get into any more trouble, I shrug her off. I mean, as much as I hate to admit it, she's right. Colleges aren't going to like that I have one slip-up of violence, but I'm very hopeful that they'll be impressed by my GPA. A stunning 4.0 isn't something that is easy to obtain, and maybe if they recognize that, everything will be okay. Hell, maybe they'll come up with a weird excuse for why I have this slip-up.

Like, maybe I was just under so much pressure to keep a high grade point average, that I simply snapped under it. Or maybe I'm a girl with a dangerous side. Perhaps they could even think about the truth: I threw something at a guy because he kept getting on my nerves. He said things that were offensive, and I was sick of it. Of course, the real reason isn't going to be something that the colleges will be happy about reading about, but it's too late to consider that. 

I'm officially Eve Nicholson, the straight A student who just so happens to throw things at people whenever they piss her off. Luckily, I can prevent that from happening again. Whenever I move far, far away from Utah, I'm sure my nerves will return back to their usual spot, unscathed and loose. Only two years. Just two years, and I can avoid another altercation.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm a dumb kid. Everybody makes mistakes, that's how I got here." I murmur the last part, and thankfully she doesn't hear it. She rolls her eyes at me and pulls her auburn hair up into a tight pony tail.

"Good lord, I don't know how I'm going to deal with two juvenile kids in this house. What with you being an Atheist acting on your violent tendencies, and Julie turning gay just before she goes off to a school in the state of sin for two months. I just don't know if I can handle all of this." I clench my fists.

"She didn't turn gay. Besides, California is not the state of sin. Grandpa and Grandma live out there, and they're perfectly fine." She sighs at my tone and sits down at the table. 

Picking up where she left off in Genesis. Mom has officially taken it upon herself to read the entire Bible this year, and I'm just happy that she actually has a goal for herself. Usually, she just sits around waiting for Wednesday night and Sunday to come so she can hang around people she actually likes.

"That woman is not your grandma, and I'd appreciate if you'd stop calling her that. She's your step-grandma and is nothing but a hippie. She doesn't even go to church weekly." She licks her finger to turn the page, and I try to hide my cringe. 

I sit in the chair in front of her, waiting for her to make eye contact with me, and once I realize she isn't taking her eyes off of her precious book, I take a sip of water. I sigh contently as the cold water travels down my sore throat.