CWRC Anthology

I HAVE FOUND FREEDOM.

© 2022 by Kyeng Aquila F.

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Christian Writers and readers club.

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"Oh my God!  Did you see her shoes?" Claudia says excitedly, eying her teacher's shoe through the window as she walks past their classroom to the one next to it. All her friends, including Rachael, gathers around to see what's making her so excited.

"Tuissp, it's not that nice, did you see what madam Jada, and the literature teacher wore today? Gosh! I can die for it!" Petra says, returning to her seat.

"I must tell my mum to buy it for me, I can't resist that beauty and luxury" Claudia claps her hands excitedly.

Rachael, who has been quiet all this while, begins to revisit the image of the shoes in her head and what she will do to get them at all cost. She knew very well that her mum or dad who had enough money would not spare her such luxury, for according to them, she had enough for her level. However, Rachel needed to measure up; yes, she needed to match her friends. Throughout their walk home, she was not mentally present in their discussions.

"Rachael? Don't you like the food?" her doting father asks once he notices her unusual silence.

"I do, dad, the food is nice," she murmurs, her dad has to stretch his ears to hear her.

"Then eat the food," her mum shouts out of frustration. Rachel is definitely up to something and she knows what the high School teenager is getting at, it has always been like that each time Rachel's mood abruptly changes, and it is one of her daughters characters that she detested. She and her husband had pampered their only child too much, now it is coming back to haunt them, her attitude is becoming atrocious and disgusting.

"Honey, please?" her father says, lifting up his hand, "Rachael, darling, can you tell us what the problem is?"

Rachel remains mute and blank faced, not showing any single sign that her mother's shouts have troubled her. Her father, with a troubled expression on his face, continues to ask what the problem is: but Rachel is still not talking. After a lot of persuasion from him, she decides that she had made her point, now it is time to talk.

She now has her father where she wants him, and she knows that anything she asks him, her father will not hesitate to give it to her and even more. Emotional blackmail still works.

She smiles in her heart and physically puts on her game face.

She pretends to  think hard before saying "We have this project in school that I need money to buy some materials." She says, mentally analyzing her deception, hoping that it didn't sound too lame, her time didn't afford her the luxury of concocting the lie of the century.

Besides, she is not planning to permanently take on this profession, she just has to lie for today, for only today to get these shoes that everyone was talking about in school, she would be the odd one among her squad of friends if she doesn't buy it.

"Rachael, is there anything you have ever needed in school and we didn't get it for you?" Her father asks confusedly as he wonders about his daughter's uncanny behavior.

Her mother, who has been vibrating in anger and frustration at her husband for the trajectory he was taking this senseless conversation with their daughter, and Rachel for acting like the spoilt brat that she has always been, wanted to end the conversation with a slap to her daughter's face, abruptly stops cold with Rachel's answer.

She isn't expecting this, her husband's confused expression mirrores her own. Is her daughter only worried about school money

Something tells her that there is more to this, but she decides to ignore her woman's intuition and listen to the ongoing conversation.