The Antagonist (Unedited First Draft)

16

I placed the bags of clothes on the floor in the back seat. Then I wrapped the clothes I was wearing previously in newspaper and put them in a trash can on the street. The only jeans they had in my size were a lot tighter than I was used to. I wish I could have kept the pants from the submarine, but they were too conspicuous.

"Here honey, this ones your bag." I handed the canvas tote to Ani.

As I closed the door Klara woke from her sleep with a start. She looked completely dazed and confused as she looked around the vehicle. "What happened, what did you drug me with?"

I put a bundle of folded clothes on her lap. "You fell asleep. Here's some clothes, you can put them on in the shop if you want."

As I said that she had already peeled off her shirt and replaced it with the one I picked up at the thrift store, attracting the stares of a group of teenaged boys down the street. I saw her back, it was almost completely mottled and scarred. She made a face at the black and blue baseball tee and jeans. I wasn't an expert on women's clothes, but I thought I made an okay choice.

She looked around outside. "Where are we?" She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. I was glad the colour was back in her face.

"Sainte Fortunade. It's a small village on the way to Lyon."

"I know where it is, but why are we here? What time is it?"

I looked at my wrist. I forgot I didn't pick up a watch.

"Nearly 6:00 local time." Ani piped up.

"What?! We should have been there by now! We're not even halfway."

"I was talking to the woman in the shop and said we were going to visit your sister in Lyon. She told me that there were roadblocks up ahead and it was going to be backed up for hours. I figured that we would stay the night here and figure out a way around in the morning. Theres a B&B just up the road a bit that looked nice."

"This is why I wanted to get to Lyon."

With an exasperated sigh Klara slipped on the pair of sneakers I bought and got out of the car. She sauntered over to the group of teenagers and started chatting with them. The one with the bright sweatshirt seemed to be the most confident in the group. I could see them laughing together as she spoke. Soon they were all digging in their pockets and each of them handed her several euro bills. She shook hands with bright sweatshirt and walked back to the car, counting the bills in one hand.

"Here, I got 90 Euro from them. I could have sold this for 200 in Paris. It should be enough for a night."

Ani looked at the bills in my hand. "I thought you were super rich?"

"I am...I just can't access my accounts at the moment. It's inconvenient, but I can always find ways to make money."

I eyed her suspiciously. "And what are those ways?"

"After the accident Norman and I used our combined efforts to manufacture various illegal substances. That's how we got our start. Those boys are going to be flying later."

"You just sold them drugs?!" Ani squealed.

Klara turned around to look at her. "Yea. LSD. Don't give me that look, I know you did marijuana two months ago, I tested your hair, remember?"

I couldn't believe it. I stared at Ani with a look of parental concern. "You did what?" I looked to Klara. "And you did what? First though, you can't sell drugs to teenagers! What's going to happen to them if they get addicted? Once they enter the spiral they probably won't be able to get out."

"Please. It's not even considered an addictive drug. And at least I didn't sell them the meth or cocaine." She didn't look concerned.

"You have meth and cocaine?!"

She took two small bags out of her seemingly bottomless pockets and held them between two fingers. I snatched them away and stuffed them in my pocket.

"Hey!"

"That could ruin families and I won't let you do that again, do you understand me? You will not sell drugs to get us a little more cash."

She was not used to being told what to do, that was obvious from the look on her face. I could go on forever on why it's a bad idea to sell drugs to teens, but I had another teen to take care of. I turned around to face Ani.

"You, where did you get the pot? Was it Kim?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked at Klara with contempt for ratting her out. "No, it wasn't from her..."

"Then who?"

"Just a guy from school."

"I want a name."

"Martin."

"Oh, Martin, great." I took a few calming breaths. "When we get home, you are grounded for a year. I was going to cut down Jackie's hours to give you more independence but you are obviously not responsible enough to handle that. I am also cancelling our internet until you can prove to me that I can trust you, how long that is depends on you. I don't want you to ever see Martin ever again."

She looked from me to Klara. "That's not fair! It was once! Mom, tell him that's not fair!"

Klara furrowed her eyebrows. "Since when am I a parental figure? Personally though, only weak people allow themselves to impair their minds."

"It was one time and I didn't even like it! Please dad, I really like him!"

"It doesn't matter if you liked it or not. Just the fact that you did it tells me, one, that you obviously aren't responsible enough for a relationship yet; and two, the fact that he was the one who gave it to you shows that he is definitely not the kind of guy you should be involved with."

"What do you even care?! It's not like you're ever home to actually parent me. At least Martin's there for me when I need him!"

"That's enough!" I roared. At that moment we pulled up in front of the B&B, the sun setting behind its stone walls. I took a few deep breaths. "We will discuss this later." I said as I left the car.