The next day, I was awakened by the piercing sound of my alarm clock. I've always been a morning person; everyone seems to have trouble with them, but I don't for some reason.
I sat up and stared at the wall opposite my bed for a few minutes. I had to feel physically and mentally ready for the day I was about to witness. When I felt ready, I managed to stumble out of bed. I put on my superman themed dressing gown and headed downstairs. When I reached the kitchen, I went over to the toaster and made some toast ( luckily, my mum hadn't eaten all the bread) with a thick pâté-thick-like layer of jam with a glass of apple juice. Mum wasn't up yet, of course. I guess her hangover was stronger than usual. By the time I finished breakfast and cleared everything away, Mum still hadn't left her room. So I went back upstairs to get ready for work.
I first went to the bathroom, showered, and brushed my teeth. When I had finished, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Once again, I saw my dull, lifeless skin. 'No wonder no one likes you; no one likes ugly people like you, Iris', my doubt told me. I left the bathroom and went into my bedroom to prepare for work. This job was my second job. I had KFC on a Saturday; on Sunday, I had the little toy shop in town; on Wednesdays, I worked at Tesco. As it was a Sunday, I would work at the toy shop.
I left my room with my phone and remembered leaving my purse in the living room. I headed downstairs again and opened the living room door. To my surprise, my mother was there, slumped on the living room chair, still in her pyjamas, hair looking like a bird's nest, makeup smudged all over her face and holding a plate of four pieces of peanut butter toast and a cup of whiskey filled coffee and watching the latest episode of Made In Chelsea.
"Had a nice night?" I asked while looking for my purse.
"Of course", she said, eyes still fixed on the screen.
I started looking behind the sofa, "so, did you meet any guys last night, or did he run away like the rest of them"?
"No", she said, "it was ladies' night, so I..."
"Spent all your money at the bar on alcopops", I finished.
"Oh shut up, Iris", she said, raising her voice.
At this point in my search, I realised that the last place I saw my purse was the chair. The same chair that my mother stretched all over.
"Please, can you stand up for a second"?
"What"?
"Please, can you move"?
"Why"?
"Because I think I left my purse on that chair you're sitting on."
"So you think I'm sitting on it."
"Yes, I do".
"No. Wait till I've finished my breakfast".
"No, I'm leaving now. Mum, just get up, please".
She slowly put down her plate next to her coffee mug and slowly rose from her seat. I looked around her to see if it was there. It was.
I grabbed it and headed for the door.
"Bye. I'll bring home the shopping after work, okay."
"Wait for a second, Iris. We need to talk," she said abruptly. I turned around, wondering what else she desperately needed to say.
"What"?
"Well, I realised this morning when I woke up that men never stay around me for longer than a night. The only one who didn't was you're dad, and that's only because we had your sister. And after he left, she ran off too."
Stating the obvious, I see.
"Mum, just get to the point; I'll be late" if I wasn't annoyed already, I was now.
"Okay. Well, I've realised that the reason why they never stay is because of you."
"You've only just realised that", I sneered
"Yes. That is why I want you to move out sometime this year."
"What?" I was so confused as to why she would say that. The solution to her problem was to give up finding another guy, not kick out her daughter. " Mum", I began, "you can't do that. You could've given me more notice."
"Oh, grow up, Iris. Girls like you leave all the time. You're sister did." She was nearly shouting.
"No, mum, you grow up. Dad and Kerry left because they hated living here, living with you," I was shouting now. "Give me more time to find somewhere at least. It could take ages to find a cheap enough flat".
"I've given you at least a year, haven't I"?
"Yes, but what if takes me two" I replied.
"Then that will be your problem, not mine."
"I can't believe you" I really couldn't.
Why was she doing this? Yes, she was right when she said girls my age always move out. But A) those girls moved out to the university, and I decided a long time ago that would not be me, B) whether I had a year or not, this still felt rushed.
