Beginnings

A little time for me

There isn't any time, people say you have all the time in the world, what they don't realise is that that notion is just a fairytale. I barely get time for myself, I don't have the luxury of an off day, a sick day, a me day. My mother shoved this life into my hands and she took off. Leaving us, with nothing, no money, no food, only a rundown house with broken pipes, dripping roofs, and faulty electricity.

I have dreams or at least I did, now, all I have is this run-down house, two brothers and three sisters and a newborn and suddenly I am their mother at 18. I was supposed to go to college, make friends, go to parties, have boyfriends, and make stupid life decisions before I did something big. Instead, I worked as a part-time waitress in 2 restaurants, as a dog walker and at night I worked at a gas station. The managers had been understanding enough to let me bring my baby brother to work with me.

A bunch of college boys entered the gas station all talking excitedly, except for one, he was tall, muscular and withdrawn, not sharing the same excitement as his fellow companions. They approached the counter, and as I checked out their items, I heard them talk about a car race.

"You guys drag race?" my stupid mouth could not keep shut.

They all looked at me sceptically. I lifted my hands in surrender, "Just curious". I said and went back to check out their items.

The tall and withdrawn boy lingered behind the rest, studying me with an intensity that made me uncomfortable. I tried to ignore him, but he stepped forward and leaned on the counter.

"Why do you ask about the race?" he asked, his voice low and rough.

I shrugged. "Just curious, I guess. I've never been to one before."

"You should come to this one," he said, surprising me. Pulling out a flyer from his pocket he said "It's tonight. Bring your friends."

I hesitated, glancing at the clock. I had to head back home to put my siblings to bed.

"Thanks, but I don't think I can make it," I said, handing back the flyer.

He didn't seem deterred. "You sure?"

"Ya," I said firmly. "I have to work."

The rest of the group had already left, and I let out a sigh of relief as he finally followed them out. But his words stuck with me. A car race. It sounded thrilling, exciting, and completely out of my reach.

As I finished my shift at the gas station, I couldn't shake the feeling of restlessness. I had always been responsible, and always put my siblings first, but for once, I wanted something for myself. Something exciting, something different. Something about me.

I knew I couldn't go, but I couldn't stop thinking about it either. The next day, as I walked to work after dropping my siblings home from school, I saw a group of boys huddled around a car in the parking lot. As I got closer, I recognized the tall boy who invited me to the race, from the gas station. He smiled when he saw me I guess he was not that detached after all. He motioned for me to come over.

"We're just getting the car ready for the race tonight," he said, introducing himself as Prem.

I hesitated, knowing I had a million things to do at home, but something about him made me want to stay.

"Can I help?" I asked, surprising even myself.

Prem grinned. "Sure. We could use the help."

Forgetting about my job, I helped them work on the car for the afternoon, feeling a sense of excitement and belonging that I had never experienced before. When it was time for me to leave, Prem handed me a flyer for the race that night.

"Hope to see you there," he said, before turning back to the car.

As I walked home, I realized that maybe there was still a little bit of time left for me. Time to chase my dreams and find my adventures. And maybe, just maybe, Prem and the car race could be the start of something new and just like that I knew things would never be the same again"