My Beautiful Liar

CHAPTER 2 Cassie

HER
(Flashback)

"CASSIE, WAKE UP! You'll be late in school!" I felt my mom tapping me on my shoulder. I already heard my alarm a while ago but snoozed it. I feel lazy going to school today.

Mondays are tough for me. I am a working student and just did a full shift yesterday. Even though my mom insisted that she wants to support me all throughout college, I still want to help her out with daily expenses. I know how hard it is to send a child to college. Tuition fees start to climb every year and if you're just a regular employee in a company, it will be difficult to send your children to a good school.

I have been taking care of my school allowance for the past two years since I started working in a fast-food chain. I even buy my own books and things I need in school, so my mom doesn't get short with my tuition. She initially encouraged me to apply for a scholarship since I was on the Dean's List when I started as a freshman, but I decided against it. I am a slacker at times, and I don't want to disappoint myself if I suddenly lose the scholarship because of my own doing. She didn't push me though when I said no. She knows how stubborn I can be. I got that from her, so she cannot complain! She supports me all the way. After all, it's just the two of us in this world.

My mom had me when she was in her early twenties. I am a love child. The moment she got pregnant; her parents turned her away. My grandfather was devastated when he learned that her only daughter had an illegitimate child. Nobody knew who my father was, she kept it to herself. As stubborn as she was, she left and went through her pregnancy on her own. But the moment I came out in this world, they eventually patched things up.

My mom used to tell me how my grandparents went crazy over me as soon as I was born. They loved me to pieces. However, they were taken away from us too soon due to a tragic illness. At the tender age of four, I experienced death in our family. They passed away just a few months from each other. My mom said they probably want to be together in the afterlife. She always tells me how she envies their love story, and she hopes she'll also find somebody as wonderful as my grandfather. Since then, my mom raised me single-handedly on her own.

When I was in grade school, I started asking her about my dad and why I look different compared to the rest of my classmates. She said that she had a one-night stand with an American man, and she hasn't seen him after that. Once in a while, I would try to open the topic about him but she always dismisses it, so I didn't press anymore. But I am hoping that in the future, I will get to see my dad. When that happens, we will make up for all the lost times we missed. It will erase all the bad memories I had in school when I was growing up.

I am the "odd girl out." I was taller than regular girls my age. I was skinny, fair complexion, with light brown hair and light brown eyes. Almost all kids in school call me "G.I. Jane" and I get bullied a lot. I learned to be tough because other than my physical features being different, I am the only one in my class who has no father. Whenever there are school events, it's just my mom and her friend Rosie who will attend.

I remembered one time when the bullying got worse, I wished I hadn't been born. But my mom continued to encourage me to be strong and never let anybody put me down. She showered me with lots of love and affection. I could not ask for more. Our motto is "You and Me against the world." She taught me to become independent and self-reliant. She raised me well.

Eventually, when I went to high school, we became closer. She acted like an older sister. She taught me how to dress, how-to put-on makeup. She's a cool mom and has a good fashion sense. She looks younger than her age. We love to go out and whenever we shop in the mall, we get confused as sisters. She likes it when people don't think she is my mom. Well, I just let her be. I try not to take that small joy away from her. Whatever makes her happy.