Alison Harold

Chapter 3

Alison could think of many reasons as to why her mother could be provoked right now and instead of being frightened of the possibility of getting slapped again, she felt proud of herself for having struck a nerve. Her lips curled up into a sly smile.

"You're finding this funny?" Her mum asked, a mixture of irate and disbelief written all over her face.

"Why? Did I instigate a global disaster that might ruin your reputation?" Alison asked impassively.

Mrs. Harold took a deep breath and then walked to sit on the edge of Alison's bed. She crossed her legs so gracefully that she almost appeared unaffected by Alison's insolence.

"Do you know what happens to kids who rebel against their parents?" She asked in her lecture like tone. "Sabotage. You will end up sabotaging your entire life without even knowing, Alison. Do you know how many children will give anything to be in your position? To go to such a prestigious institution. To have money, a house like this one. To have everything you have. Do you know there are people out there who wish to be you? I totally understand your resentment toward me but retaliating by aiming to embarrass me, to destroy me or whatever mischievous plans you've got up your sleeves is only going to end up destroying you too. You may not know it but if I fall, you fall too. If I end up losing everything I've worked for, you will end up with nothing to look forward to. I was able to hire the best tutors I could find to teach you everything you needed to learn. I accepted your decision to be homeschooled since you couldn't learn in the same space with others. You live in a big mansion where you have every meal prepared and served elegantly for you. I let you have all the finest things; clothes, shoes, bags and what not. But still, you showed up looking like a housekeeper to dinner yesterday. When it comes to helping me out, you never do it right. Why, Alison?"

Alison looked down in defeat. At that moment, all the retorts she had in mind were non-existent. She just stood there, staring into nothing. Her mom was partially right about her not being appreciative of the things she had, this was because she was more focused on the things she didn't have, the things she never had; loving parents, attention and a happy family. Whatever her parents did for her, it was never done with the intention of satisfying her, instead everything was done to satisfy their own benefits. That was how it had always been.

"I don't suppose you have an explanation at all," Mrs. Harold went on. "You broke my favorite mug," she suddenly said, changing the subject.

Alison's head swiped up to look at her. "That was an accident."

"We both know it wasn't," Mrs. Harold got up with a smile. "And guess what?"

Alison held her breath. Now what?

"Mrs. Stewart said she did it. Since she likes to be a heroine who takes the fall for others, she's getting fired today."

"Mom!" Alison exclaimed in horror. "You already know I did it, just leave her alone."

"Since everyone's doing whatever they want, I might as well join the party."

"Please!" Alison cried. "She shouldn't get punished for what I did."

"You should have thought twice before acting then, don't you think so? Just yesterday you made a promise to me, right in that very dining and on your knees. You promised to be a good girl and to not cause trouble but you did the exact opposite of that in less than twelve hours."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Alison said sincerely. "I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."

"Sorry is not enough. You'll need to make reparations for what you've done."

Alison studied her mother's expression and immediately knew what she was thinking. She knew what she wanted from her and this made her scoff. "You want me to quietly go to that school without being a nuisance, is that it?"