Accidentally Tasha

Chapter 7

Quote

We are all either fools or undiscovered geniuses. (Bonnie Lin)

**Make this girl smile by voting.**

Kisses, Elsie.

A knock on the door wakes me up.

"Tasha! Breakfast is ready." Mom says.

I say nothing and get out of bed. I head downstairs in my pajamas and head to the kitchen where the others are. Dad looks at my sleepy face and breaks into a grin. I am too tired to return the grin. I pour myself a cup of coffee and pop two slices of bread into the toaster.

I cannot help but think about my real mother. Her boyfriend left her when she told him that she was pregnant with me. I have grown up hating the man without a face yet still wishing I could see him for just a moment so that I could punch him in the face. Could Paul be my father? This entire situation sounds like something out of a Mexican soap opera. If he is indeed my father, that would explain why I look exactly like Tasha who looks exactly like him.

The toast pops up and catches me by surprise. I jump in shock and spill my coffee.

"Is everything okay?" mom asks.

"Yes, I'm just a little bit sleepy." I smile.

I refill my coffee, spread butter on my toast and sit down. Mom is dressed officially so I guess that she is going to work. Dad is in his usual dress shirt and jeans. There is a silence that none of us knows how to break. I notice that everyone is lost in their thoughts today. There is a sadness in mom's eyes that tells me she is thinking of Jake. Dad must have told her about what happened yesterday. I feel sorry for her. Watching your son go down the wrong path must be a hard thing for any parent. Dad is angry; I can feel it from across the table. Eventually, mom breaks the silence.

"By the way," she says "we forgot to give you something yesterday."

She takes out a box from her handbag and hands it to me. It is a brand new Samsung Note 7 phone.

"Thank you!" I grin at both of them.

"Told you she'd still hate iphones." Mom says to dad.

"By the way," I say "Kate told me that school starts on Monday."

I don't know why I brought this up. I should be putting this subject off until I'm confident enough to be Tasha.

"We didn't know if you'd want to go so soon after your injury." Mom says.

I almost laugh at that. These people are so laidback. My mamma Annabelle wouldn't let me miss school unless I was staring at death in the face.

"I think I want to go." I say. "It might help me recover my memories."

She nods and then stands up, taking hers and dad's dirty dishes to the sink. She is about to clean them when I say,

"Don't worry about that. I'll do it myself."

"Thank you sweetie!" she says.

I continue eating my breakfast and watch the two clean up before they go. As mom is heading out, she gives me a bear hug. I can smell her sweet flowery scent.

"I'm so glad you're back," she says.

"Mom," I groan.

"Alright, I'll go now." She chuckles.

"Have a good day," dad says as he walks past me.

"You too dad."

I walk to the door and watch them kiss goodbye and then walk to their respective cars. After they're gone, I grin for no apparent reason. I feel like a kid in a Home Alone movie. I turn on the TV and flip the channels until I find something that interests me. I settle on a Scream Queens rerun on Fox. I am halfway done with the episode when the door opens to reveal a disheveled Jake.