Mortified

chapter 2

Reaching home after a two hour drive and explaining my surprise visit to mum I go and lie down on my bed. It was just the way I had left it. I am woken up by Rose after an hour. After a hug and seeing her beaming smile, she starts talking. She is two years younger than i am and has always trusted me. When we were younger I took care of her while mom was away at work. I knew everything about her, from her first word to her first heartbreak- everything. She is aiming towards a major in interior designing, and that makes me proud.  

“Why are you staring at me like that?” she fixes her hair and looks in the mirror.

“Nothing, I was seeing how perfect you are!” I smile and wink at her.

 “Oh my god, that is the cheesiest thing I have ever heard” and then we both burst out laughing. Mother comes up and tells us that dinner is ready. As she walks down the stairs arm in arm with my sister I realise that my mother is not very old. She has a lively face and an authentic smile with hundreds of sorrows beneath them. My mother had me when she was only 18, owing it all to my stupid drunk father. I feel angry sometimes about the fact that he left us when I was born.

 At dinner we talk about my mum’s job, my sister's coming examination and the fact that she wanted to get her belly pierced and about Robert's new girlfriend. We hug each other after dinner. Rose calls me to her room. It’s still pink from the time we had painted it together when she was 10. But the walls are now covered with posters of all her favourite stars.

 “I need to talk to you about something really important. But first you have to promise me you won’t be mad.” I frown and then give her a nod,telling her to continue with her confession. “I kissed Albert!” she says and then looks away.

“What!” I scream so loud, sure that somebody would have heard me next door. Albert was her crush in junior grade. They had been going out since high school and i had known all about it all along. This kiss had been their first though. I only prayed that she wouldn't ask my advice on that. No! I have to stop this. Note to self- talk to Albert.

 “Wow, that’s nice. How did it feel? Did you like it or did you want to puke after it?" , I ask sarcastically.

 “Actually I liked it, but then I ran away!” Proud of you my sister. But this means I have to talk to her about sex.

 “Listen, I don’t think you are ready for it. Let’s take it slow. Maybe you can talk to him and tell him that you don’t want anything further now or…”

 She stops me there, “Listen, I am 16 years old. All of my friends have had sex at least once in their lives and I ran away after a kiss. Stop treating me like a child now and just… Anyway, I was not asking for your permission, I was just telling you.” And then she rolls her eyes at me. I hate it when she does that.

 Not wanting to fight about all of this I leave her room, go to bed and send a message to Emily. I get a quick reply saying that George came to surprise her at the hostel, so they were going out for a romantic dinner.

 It is 4 in the morning. I couldn’t sleep earlier, so decided on catching up with my pending work. Just as I was about to finish my history project on Mahatma Gandhi I heard someone scream, and it sounded like it was from somewhere around in the neighbourhood. I look through my window but see nothing. I was about to draw the curtains and get back to trying to sleep when i see a figure standing in the street, blood gushing from his hand. I tied my robe, ran down the stairs and flung the door open. I headed to the street but there no one there. Shaking my head I go back to my room. I had seen someone. I was sure.

 I get up the next morning and after a nice hot long shower, one you can’t get in a hostel, I go downstairs for breakfast. Mom is there making egg while Rose is doing her work. I have to leave tomorrow, again.  

 “Hey, did either of you go out yesterday in the middle of the night? The door was not bolted when I went out to get the newspaper in the morning", mom asks Rose and I. Rose shakes her head for a no and so do I. I know that if I say yes, I would be put up for interrogation. So I just bite into an apple and continue to act normal.