All By Myself

Truth

Don't pressure a child too much, lower your expectations.

Charmaine played some soft music and we got on with our work. If I worked on the essay with Maya and Maxine, we wouldn't probably get it done, we'll obviously lose focus but working with Charmaine was different. We worked on it in deep silence all I could hear was the sound of keyboard clicking. About half an hour later, we finished it.

"Well, we have to show it to your father, right?" I asked Charmaine while we printed the essays. I looked at hers and it was perfect. Her vocabulary was high standard and the amount of information that was in it was efficient.

"Yeah, let's hope he likes it the first time or we'll have to rewrite"

What? Rewrite? I am not going to do that. We spent almost an hour on this! I shot a confused look at Charmaine.

We walked down the stairs quietly. This Manor is too big, do they even have maids?

We reached the study and Charmaine knocked on the door.

"Enter." Came a cold voice.

We creaked opened the door and the first thing that caught my eyes were the number of books in there. There were so many books that you could probably fill a whole library with it. I saw her father sitting at his long silver desk that had more certificates over it. The office was cold and depressing. There were just books and papers on his desk, no source of entertainment at all. The office is maybe bigger than our classroom at school.

"We are done with our essays Father." Charmaine told him in a voice softer than normal.

I handed him the essay with respect and we stood there awkwardly.

He examined the essay closely.

"Estella, your essay is tolerable, pretty good but there could be some improvements with your wording choices." He explained.

My hands were as cold as ice. Oh no, does this mean I have to rewrite?

"Yes, sir thank you Sir." was my only response. He handed me my essay and I left the room before Charmaine.

I stood by the door frame and I could hear him saying some stuff to Charmaine.

"Charmaine, yours is also tolerable but not good for my standards" he scolded his daughter. "Can't you do anything right? I want to see an improvement Charmaine Aldric Rowena Elizabeth Alphelion."

I was cut when I heard footsteps walking up the stairs. They were light foot steps and I ran back to Charmaine's room, trying not to press my feet too hard on the black marble floor. It was her mother walking into the office.

Charmaine came running from the office, her eyes thick with tears.

"Are you ok?" I asked, having nothing else to say.

"Yeah, I am fine, I guess we have to go do the essay again.", She said.

"You can talk about its Charmaine." I reassured her.

"I don't want to, besides who cares? I am a disgrace."

"I care."

"Forget it Estella Jessalyn Davids, let's just do the essay." She said wiping her tears.

Suddenly I heard yelling from the office. They were yelling things in French and I understood what they were talking about. They were sounds of Charmaine's parents fighting. Charmaine looked deeply hurt. My parents never argued so it must be hard for Charmaine to deal with it.

"Estella, you speak French, what are they saying?" she asked, her grey eyes wide with tears.

I didn't think I should tell her what it means, it might hurt her more.

"You sure you want to know?" I asked.

"Yes, I've been waiting for a translation for years of my life."

"Tu ne devrais pas être trop dur avec notre fille'' I heard her mother say.

''Elle ne répond à aucune de mes attentes" her father said

"Um, your mother is telling your father not to be too hard on you and your father is frustrated about you not meeting his expectations." I translated.

I knew I made the wrong move. Charmaine looked like she has been stabbed by a sword through her chest. She looked like a girl who lived all of her life with misery. She was devastated. I felt guilty for translating it.

"Oh" she whispered. "Tell me the rest."

"No, you don't want to hear it, it'll hurt your mental health more."

"Estella, you don't understand just tell me what they are saying!" she yelled out, tears streaming down her eyes.

I didn't know what to do and the only thing that I could think of what hugging her. I grabbed her and hugged her tightly. She hugged back.

"Please tell me Estella." She pleaded.

I decided to lie to her instead. "Your father said he'll try to be softer on you."

"Nonsense, I've never seen his soft side since I was born, he was never soft, he was cold, I don't even know what a reassuring hug from a father felt like, maybe it's because I am such a disgrace" she cried.

"You're not aa disgrace, Charmaine, don't let that sink into you, understand?"

"You say it but Father doesn't, he's an Alphelion and you aren't and he knows what disgrace means. It means I am not behaved enough, punctual enough, polite enough, and most of all smart enough." She finally argued back. Finally, she opened up about herself. I want to just murder her dad for ruining her mental health. He's making her believe all of these things that she shouldn't believe.

"Nonsense, that's not true, you're the smartest person I know!"

"Don't force yourself Estella, we need to re do the essay." She quietly said.