The Unfair Life of Mady Barker (A One Direction fanfic)

Chapter 3

A Week Later.......

"....and I can't believe you all are just two years away from moving on to college!" my homeroom teacher teared up, taking off her glasses to wipe away the little tears running down her wrinkled cheeks. A bunch of the students surrounding me were silent, quietly hoping she didn't sob and some where sobbing along with her. Me? I didn't really know what to feel. Right after school, it would be summer, where freedom is the key and the sun is the only thing that tells time. Right after school, I go over to the shop and work till six, even if today was where freedom did take a toll.

Right after school, Reggie would be home soon. My mom guessed around seven-thirty, and she wants the house to be perfect for her return. That night before, she even suggested having me put up posters all over her room.

I snorted. "Yeah, why I go right ahead and put up streamers too? Want me to call in a performer? I heard Jeff the Clown is good this time of year."

My mom had ignored my sarcasm, shooting me a look that dared me to talk like that to her again. So I just put a bunch of posters saying 'Welcome Home!" around her room, decorating them in her favorite color green. It wasn't like some dark blob of green. It was more like a light green, kind of like the fields you saw if you watched the opening song for 'The Sound of Music' movie. I thought that if she was gonna be staying here for a while, might as well make it feel like she didn't ditch her sister and never talk to her sister for four years at least. A part of me nagged at my thoughts, telling me that I was being really harsh on her and that I should stop. But another part cheered me on, assuring me that I had all the right to be mad at Reggie. She left for another place and hadn't looked back, after all.

"Don't forget where you belong." I mumbled to myself, remembering as I staring up at the clock high above the chalkboard. The last day of school at Kelly High School seemed to drag on and on, like summer was testing all of our patience. So far, I was loosing. I wanted to get out of here, but I wanted the hours after school ended to drag on. I wanted seven-thirty to seem like it was days away, not hours away.

"Mady Barker?" my teacher's voice rang, forcing me to look from the clock towards her. Mrs. Jelly, yes that's her name, was looking at me with a smile on her face. Mrs. Jelly wasn't one to get mad at a student, but when a student did make her mad and she'd get mad, it was always you who felt bad. She rarely ever got mad at students and she was fair to all, so we behaved out of respect to her. Besides, her husband owned the local ice cream shop. We kinda had to be nice or we could kiss delicious summer treats goodbye.

She still had a smile on her face when asking, "So what are your plans for the summer?" I felt a million pair of eyes staring at me, Hampton looking at me from the seat next to me.

I shrugged. "Oh, the usual. Go swimming, sleep in, all that good stuff." I couldn't stop the words that flew out of my mouth next, and I wish I hadn't allowed myself to say it once I did. "My sister's coming back in town this summer."

Mrs. Jelly clapped her hands and grinned. "Oh, Reggie's coming home!" she exclaimed, a bunch of murmuring rushing through the students around me. "I hadn't seen her in forever! Not to mention she's so busy that she hasn't been home in years! Is this her first summer home?"

I nodded, placing a false smile on my face. "Yeah, she couldn't come home over the past summers due to summer courses. Only my mom was able to go to her graduation."

"You couldn't go, dear?"

I shrugged, remembering the day I was suppose to go but was overcome with the flu. "I got sick the night before we were to leave." I may not have been taking a liking to going to Reggie's graduation, but I would have loved to have gone instead of staying home and placing a trash can in my face every minute.