The Cheerleader

Chapter Thirteen: Into the Woods

Today is one of those rare occasions, where both my parents are in town. One of the few days they find enough time to even notice my existence. Excuse my bitterness but the circumstances with everything at school are putting me in this sour mood.

My father is barely here in Florida for half a day, by Sunday he'll be in another conference in New York. And my mother will probably find someway to not spend the weekend with me. She'll conveniently meet up with one of her co-stars.

It's always been like this, ever since I was little. My nanny was more of a mother than my actual mum is. They're not bad people and I wouldn't change all the money and big houses for anything but I would be thankful for their care.

I pull up outside the restaurant where I'm meeting my parents, the sort of place majority of the kids at school only dream of. Oh the perks of being a rich girl.

But back to my ramble, you're probably thinking what do I have to complain about? I can get anything I want due to my fathers bank account, I'm beautiful and I basically rule Rosewood High. But it's not exactly fun when you feel like no one ever truly gets you or loves you. Sure I have all those followers at school but I know they're just there for my money and looks. Not for me. As cliche as it sounds, they don't know the real me.

I step into the restaurant while adjusting my newest gucci dress. Straight away I get greeted by a waiter who escorts me to my parents table. As I expected my father is on his laptop probably doing something work related and my mother is expecting her already flawless nails. I swear they don't even communicate, for years I always thought they were on the verge of divorce. I wish, double the presents.

"Hello mother, father," I say, trying to grab their attention.
They both look and my mum greets me with a hug and a hello, I settle down.
To be honest I feel like I barely know them sometimes because I barely seem them year round. They might as well be strangers.

"So how has school be going darling?" My mother beams, I can clearly tell she's not interested.
"Good," I answer back, simply so I spare her from boredom.
I give them a forced smile but they're too wrapped up in their own lives to see that their daughter is crumbling inside.

"Well I hope it is, to get into Princeton, Harvard or Yale you'll have to be on top of things," my father announces. The thought of those colleges make me wince, so much work makes my brain hurt. I'm capable of getting in but I don't think it's what I really want.

"I won't let you down," I say in a sugar coated voice.
"That's my girl because you know I expect you to follow in your siblings footsteps," he instructs.

The Goldberg name is known for being perfect, all of us are meant to be impeccable with a bright future ahead of us. We're the family that people just people look up to and they expect none of us to fail because no of us ever had.
You have my mother and father both successful millionaires and I have two siblings graduated from Yale and Harvard. Both co partners in the families multi-billion dollar company and another sibling going through Princeton.

I'm the last child and nothings meant to change, there shouldn't be an anomaly in this family. This just makes the pressure mount up.

"And how has that little hobby you do going?" My father asks, completely uninterested. The only thing he cares about is his families success.
"I'm guess your talking about cheer, it's going really well, we're expected to win the championship again," I smile hopefully.

"That's nice dear and what about that boy of yours," my mother says with a wink.
"Yeh Grays fine, he's basically been given that place at that sports college," I inform them as the waiter comes to take the order.