Short stories

Wonderful family

She began to frantically pounding on the door, summing Sally to get out of the bathroom. Her sister was there for a long time. She was tired of waiting for her every day. The story repeated itself all the time! With her charming sister, she would have to hurry to get ready before going to school. The last time she had discussed it with her mother, she simply told her she had to wait until college. For now, she just knocked on the door. Her father went by at this moment, spiky hair on his head and eyes still puffy with sleep. He nudged her with his newspaper.

“Leave your sister alone, Nina.”

The girl turned to her father, exasperated by what he was asking her. It was always the same thing with her parents. They always had preferred her younger sister and they didn’t even dare to hide it. She furiously crossed her arms over her thin chest, looking away. She heaved a deep sigh before rushing to her room to get dressed. She closed the door behind her. She pumped the volume of her music to annoy everyone. It was the only way she had to get their attention. Before the small mirror she had, she quickly donned her hair in a simple quilt. Then she went down to take a quick breakfast. Her mother was in the kitchen. She drank her coffee and ate toasts while finishing reading a section of the newspaper her husband had taken. Without looking up from her paper, she bowed her eldest daughter.

“Bread is in the refrigerator,” her mother told her, continuing her reading. “Try not to be late for school.”

“Lovely.”

Her mother didn’t comment on what her daughter had told her. Her younger sister went into the kitchen, a huge smile on her lips.

“Hello!” she shouted happily.

“Honey!” her mother replied, straightening up. “I’ll prepare your breakfast: half a grapefruit with some sugar. Is that okay?”

She went to the refrigerator, pushing Nina who was searching for something to eat. The girl banged hard her hip against the counter. She moaned, looking at her younger sister.

“Stop complaining,” her mother told her, closing the door. “Hurry before being late.”

Nina opened her mouth, but closed it immediately. It wasn’t worth the trouble to replicate the slightest thing. Her mother always took for her sister. Sighing, she went to the lobby to take her backpack. Her appetite had disappeared. She opened her bag to be sure that all her books were there. Without greeting anyone, she left the house. As she walked down the aisle, she could hear her mother opened the door and asked her to wait until Sally finished her breakfast before going to school. Please! Someone tells me this isn’t happening. She may well walk alone. She dug her hands into the pockets of her jeans and quickened her pace, doing a deaf ear. Time passed. If she arrived late again this week, she’ll get detention after school. Her best friend covered her sometimes, but she couldn’t always count on him. At midway, a car passed by her, honking. She gasped in surprise: it was her father’s car! He was driving her younger sister to school without even proposing her a lift! Why hadn’t he stopped to offer her? They had seen her… Still raging, she continued her path as quickly as she could. Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t fast enough. Neil was unable to cover this time. She found herself once again in the principal’s office. Mr. Thomas seemed discouraged to see her again after so little time. He folded his hands on his desk.

“What am I going to do with you?”

She said nothing, merely gazing upon her bag placed at her feet. She preferred to be in her math class rather than facing the principal again. And the discussion wasn’t worth the trouble to take place. He was going to say the same thing: he was very sorry to do it, but he had no choice. He took a sheet in the third drawer of his imposing oak desk. He quickly wrote a few notes on it, used to write that kind of note. Then he handed her the paper with a sigh.