Halfway Through the Scale

Talk Punishment

Chapter Thirteen

Talk Punishment

There's something peculiar about this night. It's not dark, it's a shade of fake blue. White clouds try to hover it. Stars aren't even visible. If I can't touch those dots of light stuck on the sheet of dark, i can still feel the tusks of the warm grass. It's astonishing though. It's calm, relaxing, and soothing. Jasmine always requires a massage or yoga to become fully relaxed. I don't see how that's possible. There's no need to feel anything physically. Rather gaze at darkness with given light, because it is precisely this vivid image that will give one the sensation of a massage. The way the grass finds a way to tingle inside me. My arms, my legs, my feet, my neck, my hair. If I close my eyes and ust feel the grass, I feel like I'm spinning. Not a dizzy spin but on those carousels with no horses. Just to lay on the floor of it, and allow it to spin. It feels exhilarating, I'm out of my ozone, I am-

"Dot come inside, you'll get sick!" The screech of my mother's yells hit the spinning carousel like a damn break. I dispatch myself from the grass and had back inside. She continues to talk through the phone as usual. I head over to the dining room and see her laptop. I stop myself from taking another step. I'm grounded and am prohibited from using any electronic device. However, mother is too busy to give a damn. What shall Dotty Brooks do? I allow my body to decide for itself. I head over to the end of the table and open her laptop. I sit myself, making sure I be comfortably. Mom is said to have a big client, meaning she will be made unavailable for me. I press the skype icon, and log into my own account. I go into my contacts in search for Jasmine, even though it's a sure deal that she too is out of reach from technology these days. I scroll through the contact and see dad's. My heart begins to squeeze itself shut. I feel sick, a typical stomach ache but one that make you cry. I try to look away, distract me of some sort but looking at the table, or the rest of chairs, the ceiling, the carpet, the chandelier, it doesn't matter. It's all closing in on me. The thought of my father, the concern for his safety is getting to me, and in any second I'm going to cry. I grab the top of the laptop, ready to shut it closed, when suddenly I hear a notification. With my eyes on my thighs, my heart hopes it's Jasmine. I look up at the screen but it's not Jasmine. I frown wondering what the notification was for. I'm about to minimize the skype page when the screen turns black. it asks me if I accept the caller ID, but it's all numbers. Jasmine could be using another account, but it's not like her. I have no one else i can think of. I only fear that some hacker wants me to accept to somehow have access to my mother's laptop. She is a lawyer, so she does have enemies. Maybe it's a good thing if she gets hacked. I will gladly accept the invitation. I accept the video chat and static is all I see for a brief moment. I frown, but it comes to me that the hacking is on it's way. I pull back my chair far enough to place my feet on the corner of the table. The static continues, and I simply cross my arms. I can hear mom in the other room. She's going through the stressful phase, where her hairs fly in the air, her outfit wrinkles, her high heels ache her feet, and worst of all no answers have been found to the mysterious questions.  It's been a little over five minutes. I decided to talk tp the static, the coward behind it.

"Hey, if you're done hacking I got another list of others who would love to bring my mother down. So I'm going to disconnect. Unless  you give me a sign you want more time." I say uninterested. I look over at the screen,a nd the static continues.

"Dotty?" A soft voice, a warm whisper over the webcam. I stop cleaning off my nails. My heart feels something.

"Dotty?" It said my name. I immediately pull my feet back to the ground, and get closer to the table.

"Listen here you little fucker, don't you even repeat my name again. You can fuck my mother over all you want, but don't mess with me or my father!" I yell in a whisper. I ought to be discreet with this. The static continues to sizzle. Then I can hear it now, the static.