The Malik Teenagers

Chapter 7: Won't Quit

Kyra's P.O.V

I sat on the benches, waiting for Letty to be done with track practice. Vexi also had a afterschool practice for the Drama Night happening soon. Since they were both busy, I had told them I'd wait behind. I didn't exactly want to be in a car by myself with either of our parents or trapped in my room whilst they fought.

My English class had been given for homework a few extracts from the well-known novel Pride and Prejudice to read. I sat a little hunched over on the bench, the thickened novel resting on my lap. I began to mentally debate whether I would have preferred to live in a time like that. I love the music, the dancing, the formal style of language but I wasn't fan of the lack of feminism and the politics and ethics that came with that period of time. I doubt that adoption was accepted in those time too.

"Bo!" someone jumped onto the bench I was seated on and made me quiver with fright.

"Jesus Brooklyn" I slapped him with my heavy, almost 400 paged book. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to be nice to girls?"

He just laughed, hard. Eventually he took the seat next to me and I hunched over to start reading again. I could feel his eye on me as if mentally persuading me to look up at him.

"Letty's a good runner" he observed and turned his head to watch my sister run a certain length of the football field, in competition with other team members for training.

I didn't quite understand why they were the 'track team' when they only ran together for practice. Each student within that 'team' would run separate races and verse other schools but they were never truly united, other than when they celebrated a particular win together or cheered each other on.

"She's always been the sporty one" I nod but keep my head down and began to reread the sentence I had just read but didn't absorb.

"So Letty's artistic and into sports, Vexi's the designer and dramatic one and what are you?" he asked and closed my book on my lap as if that would force me to talk to him.

"I'm the musical one. Singing, play instruments and composing. I'm that one"

It was kind of weird to label myself or anyone in general. It was like you became a distinctive person when you are labelled and suddenly, you're a stereotype. The geek, the jock, the snobbish popular girl, the emo - high school was full of labels and I realised the world was also.

"I bet your parents are pretty happy about that" Brooklyn's lighter than usual eyes gazed around the field.

"I don't think they care what we are or what talents we have. I think they're just happy, maybe in an illusion-like state but happy...at least with us" I drew my bottom lip between my teeth.

"Everything alright at home?" this kid never quits.

"Everything's crazy, especially with the lifestyle we have. People make up stories and then the whole world thinks they're true" I sighed.

"I know what you mean. I live in the same world as you. Is it true about the affair or the biological mother scandal? If that's ok for me to ask..." He trailed off.

"I don't know" I squeezed my eyes shut. "Dad says he didn't do anything, but mum won't listen. I don't think he would have, he loves her...us too much. And as for Scarlet..."

"You don't think it's true" Brooklyn nodded in understanding.

"Honestly, I couldn't care less if she was or wasn't. At the end of the day Perrie is my mum and Zayn is my dad. They love me and I love them. There's nothing that could change that"