Odessa's Choice

The Beginning

Odessa

“All things bright and beautiful all creatures great and small, all things bright and wonderful the Lord God made them all.”

“Can I change the station?” I couldn’t listen to that song without tearing up. It reminded me too much of the past, my unanswered questions, the fat that I was in this car leaving everything behind. “Sure hun.” Hun? Was he feeling alright? We were nowhere near pet names. I didn’t even want to be travelling in the same car as him. “So you’ll love Spring Valley. It’s a little quiet, nothing like sunny Florida but our young folk always find something to do. I’ve enrolled you into school as well.” I grunted a response. “Come on hun please don’t be like this.” Like what? Distant, vacant, silent, anti-social? “Ok, dad.” That soon shut him up. Like I said, we were far from pet names.

I was only sitting in the car because no one else wanted me. Everyone was happily loved up, with their 2.5 children. Who wanted a seventeen year old with a whole lot of attitude? Not my Mom or my dad, or any other relative for that matter.

“There’s the school.” He pointed out as we passed it. “The Church, the mini mall, the bakers, the old miller farm-”                                                                                                                                           “The town drunk, stampe the clown, the sun, the grass, I get it. I’ll figure it out.”                                     “I just want you to be happy here, this is your home now.” Ha. My home. I scoffed and bit my tongue. This would never be my home. Al smiled at me and patted my shoulder. “I am really glad you’re here kid.” I smiled back. “Well make the most of it.” Because by tomorrow night. I’d be dead, stone cold dead.

I let him lug my suitcase out of the car and into the house then I pulled it upstairs. It’s funny how my whole life can be put in one suitcase. It’s even funnier to think you lose everything when your house goes up in flames. I opened my backpack and pulled out my baggie. Albert opened the door and I covered it with my pillow. “Gosh don’t you knock? I’m a girl, you need to knock.”                                “I’m sorry hun, I’m just going to see a few friends, maybe have a drink.” Again with the hun.  “Do you want anything?” Yeah, you to get out so I can smoke. On second thoughts a drink wouldn’t be too bad either. “No, bye.” I looked to my suitcase waiting for him to leave. He took the hint and disappeared.

As soon as I heard the door shut I lit the place up. Nothing like a bit of marijuana to make you forget all your problems, temporarily of course. “Poor little Odessa. Mommy’s gone and daddy’s an alcoholic.” I exhaled before taking another hit, letting the smoke settle in my lungs. “There’s only one thing to do.” I sat up and made my way downstairs. Alcoholics always had drink in their house, they had to. It was the first rule of being an alcoholic. Never run out.

“Jackpot.” Our course daddio had a stash of booze. I popped the cap off his bottle and begun to swig. How dare he have a place like this, how dare he seem happy, how dare he leave me here. “Arrrrgh!” I smacked everything off the counter and the kitchen table. “I hate you and I hate it here. I hate it all.” I backed the rest of the wine and grabbed my sweatshirt and two spliffs for the road.

An hour later I was trailing through the streets of Spring Valley. I’d never seen so much green in my life. How did people live here? It was like house, house, house, greenery, house, house, house, surprise surprise, more greenery. “Somebody save me before I die of boredom.”