~Reality~

Chapter 20 Convincing my Mom

Dedicated to the three people reading the story, thank you, it really means a lot :)

I reach home.
"Hey mom!" I say.
"Hey Ava, did you have fun?" She asks me. "Yeah" I reply, " I did. Oh and by the way, can I go to Parvati's house on Saturday?" I ask her.
"Sure, why though? Another project?" She says without looking up from her book.
"Uh..no, we've become friends" I say. (Now before you assume I'm lying, I'm not, she really is my friend.)
"Ah, ok" She says.
I guess it's now or never isn't it?
"Um....hey mom?" I ask her nervously, "I wanted to ask you something....."
She finally closes her book and looks at me with concern in her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Oh it's nothing big," oh it's big alright "it's just that... I still don't get why you won't let me play soccer.."
Her eyes widen and she's about to say something when I cut her off. "Look mom, I'm not accusing you or anything, nor am I trying to convince you to let me play soccer" (well the first part isn't a lie.......)
" I just want to know....what's so bad about soccer?"

She sighs deeply.
"Honey, it's just that... it's always better if boys stick to sports and everything while you can stick to cheerleading or other things like...fashion maybe.....I mean... God, I meant to have this conversation somewhere in the future, I didn't expect I'd have to talk about this so soon..." she takes a deep breath, "In the future...someday...you'll get married, at that time you'll have to leave all your dreams behind and go with your life partner on every step of the way, then, all of this...won't matter. You'll just have to go with the flow. You'll see for yourself the way all the other females act and of course you'll have to act in a similar fashion..."

I was speechless..

"How can this be right mom?" I start in a calm voice not wanting to fight again, "how can I just throw away my dreams for someone? How can someone else decide that for me? Isn't this MY life? Why do the other people get a say in it?"

"But that's the thing darling! People around you have that affect on you, they control you through some indirect way! We don't let you play soccer because we can't let you get your hopes high! While boys have to earn when they grow up, you don't have that pressure on you! You'll need to work in the household because that's what the world calls for! That's why we are made!" She says looking at me with a sad gaze.

My eyes widen, I knew mom was raised by a conservative mother ( aka my grand mom ) but to teach her that she was born to serve someone else?!
"Mom! Listen to yourself! You are saying we'll have to be under someone else's shadow for the rest of our lives by FORGETTING your own dreams!" I say, her words ringing in my head, "Why can't we form our own story? Are we not people too?"
She pulls me into an embrace.

"We don't have a choice! It's been that way for centuries..I know women are in jobs today, I know men have been homeworkers though very rare...I know that I wanted to follow my dreams too.. but we can't......Our life revolves around the people around us and receiving judgements from them all the damn time..only few want this change to happen and I can't let you be on the bad side of those who don't. I love you too much..We need to move with the popular opinion of the world around us." She says.

It all leads back to the society doesn't it......how we have to live the way the society WANTS us to live. I pull out of the embrace and look mom in the eye.
"I don't care about the others. You have to let me take that risk. What if I want to create my own story? What if I want each girl and boy to create their own story? What if I say, I want to change the world....?"
She puts a hand on my cheek, "Ava, those are big words, everyone wants to do that, but in the end it just ends up in vain...not everything can be changed, change needs to be brought slowly." She says.

"Mom, women have waited centuries but still don't have the same rights, what makes you think it'll change in the few next centuries? I WANT to make life better for all the disadvantaged communities, and you know me, once I set my mind on something, I won't stop till I achieve it. I just need you to trust me and support me, and you know why? Because I don't care if the entire world is against me if you guys are with me, and I know I will change the rest of the worlds mindset eventually, I will bring change mom...." I say, she smiles at me.
"I know you will Ava"
I grin and find myself the happiest I've been since our fight.

The next day

"Guys you won't BELIEVE what happened!" I say.
"Good for you" Cody says.
"Awesome" Sarah says.
I give them an unamused look.
"Okay, I'll bite, what happened?" Kate says
I hadn't told them that I was allowed to play soccer now. I wanted to give them a surprise, but apparently they were in their 'annoying phase' right now. I decide to tease them further.
"Eh you know what, who cares." I say with a smirk because I knew it would only make them more curious. But apparently, they were in their 'very very annoying phase' today.
"Okie-dokie" they say and talk as if nothing happened. I clench my first under the table but put a calm look as soon as I see Sarah looking at me from the corner of her eyes gauging my expression.

I turn to Kate, "Well, to the only person who wanted to know!" I say loud enough for those two to hear, they roll their eyes, "I got permission for the soccer team" I say, this time so that only Kate can hear me.
She jumps out of her seat, "YOUR KIDDING!!?" She says with a large grin. People in the cafeteria start staring. "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS PEOPLE!" Kate says.
"Calm down" I hiss at her with a smile mirroring her own.

"Okay spill" Sarah says narrowing her eyes.
"Oh I thought you didn't wanna know..." I say innocently.
"We don't! Now spill!" Cody says. I shake my head disbelievingly smiling nonetheless.
"Oh it's no big deal... I don't know.. maybe I just got permission to join the soccer team.." I say nonchalantly.
Their eyes widen comically. "Wow you should see the look on your faces!" I say teasingly.
"Why didn't you tell us before!?" Sarah says.
"You're the one who didn't wanna know" I say shrugging.
"When we said 'okie dokie' we MEANT that you had to tell us!!" Cody says.
"Suure, that's what you meant..." I say nodding my head sarcastically. The bell rings and we get up. "Well then see ya after class guys" I say to them still raising my eyebrows at the two tauntingly.
"Yeah," they grumble, "see ya, congratulations by the way, tell us all about it when meet"
I smile, "you got it."

I start walking to class when I suddenly stop.
Oh schist! I just realized Cody's coming over today for a new song! And I still haven't DECIDED my song...
What am I going to sing.......? Unsurprisingly, I got no answer....

Sorry for the late updateee! Was super busy the last two weeks... anyways, any ideas for a song? I'd love ideas.... ->

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*stands blankly trying to think of something to do*
Stay tuned!