Black Raven | Wattys 2018

Chapter Nine

Most of the time, how we are raised defines us as a person. Is in our childhoods that we learn everything there is to know about surviving/living in this world. We learn to walk; we learn to talk; we learn to think; we learn to love; we learn to fight, and we learn to hate. At the end, we become the person life forced us to be.

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I had a big test the next morning; one that I couldn't miss, so I took Lucas with me to school. I wasn't ready to leave him alone after what had happened. I needed to keep an eye on him. Mr. Bledsoe didn't mind me bringing Lucas to the classroom; he even sat Lucas at his desk and told him he was going to be his helper for the day. He instructed him to keep an eye on us and shout if he saw any one cheating.

After the exam, I went to the cafeteria to get Lucas something to eat. Brooke was there, sitting with her cheerleader friends. "Hey!!"-She greeted me. I walked up to her and her friends. "Hi."-I greeted her back politely. She looked at Lucas, and messing up his hair, greeted him, "Hi, little man. How are you?" Her friends started rambling about how cute he was, and started asking him questions like, "What's your name? How old are you?", and stuff like that. I didn't like that, so I pulled him closer to me and said, "We're going to get some food," but before I could take him away, Nick and his friends came in with food. "Hi!"-He greeted us with a surprised expression on his face. I guess he was surprised to see us there because I didn't accustom to go to the cafeteria. "Hi."-I greeted him back. "What are you doing here?"-He asked me curiously. "Well, I came to grab some food for Lucas."-I answered. "Oh, well I got food right here."-Nick stated. "Yeah, sit with us."-Brooke added happily. "No, thanks. It's fine. I'm just gonna grab us some food and go somewhere else to eat it."-I refused. I was hesitant of sitting with them. Don't get me wrong, I loved Nick and Brooke, but I didn't like their friends so much. They weren't bad or anything; they were just popular, and that wasn't my scene. I liked laying low. "Come on. There's plenty of food right here."-Brooke insisted. "Thanks, but another time. See you all later, guys."- I said with a hypocrite smile. I turned around and walked away from them. I heard one of Nick's friends tell him, "man!! Your sister is fine as hell!!" Nick snapped at him, "Hey!!! Don't talk about my sister. Don't even look at her". "You're no fun."-His friend replied back.

I bought Lucas a slice of pizza and took him to an empty classroom to eat it. Ms. Andersen, the school's guidance counselor, came in and scolded me, "Emma! What are you doing? You're not supposed to be here".

"I know Miss Andersen, but I bought my little brother something to eat and I didn't want to stay in the cafeteria. I saw that the classroom was empty and came in so he could sit down and eat his pizza."-I explained.

She looked at me and said, "Fine". Then, she greeted Lucas, sat down, and asked me about college. "So... have you heard back from Columbia?"

"Not yet."-I answered shrugging my shoulders. She was referring to Columbia University in New York City. I had applied there; they have one of the best undergraduates, Creative Writing Programs. I really wanted to be a writer. I had applied to other colleges too, but Columbia was my dream.

"I'm sure you'll hear soon enough from them. You'll get in. You have really good grades and you're an extremely talented kid."-She assured me.

"Thanks."

"I'll leave you now so you can finish your lunch. Close up after you leave."-She instructed me; I nodded. She looked at Lucas and advised him, "Nice to meet you, young man. Listen to your sister; she's really smart and I bet you'll learn a lot from her". Then, she left.

After school, I went straight home. Lucas went to the living room to watch T.V.; he was feeling a lot better. For the first time, in like forever, Lena was home early. She was making dinner. I was shocked. I sat on one of the kitchen's stools and asked her some questions about Billy and the house. "Lena, can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure."-She answered surprised by my question. We didn't talk much; I avoided her most of the time.

"Why did Billy say yesterday that this was his house?"-I asked curiously.

Lena looked at me bewildered by my sudden curiosity, but answered me, "Well, this used to be his house. We grew up here together. Before my dad died, he left the house to Billy. Not long after, Billy got married, and he moved with his wife to another big house because his wife didn't like this one so much. After he moved, he only came here a few times; I didn't know why he came here though, 'cause the house was practically empty and there was nothing to do here. Then, I guess he got bored of coming here, so he remodeled the whole house and put it on sale. By that time, I was living with a friend, but I wanted my own place, so I bought the house from him. This was my childhood home and I felt like it had to stay in the family."

"If you bought the house, why does he still say is his?"-I asked confused.

"I don't know. He was drunk, so maybe he didn't know what he was saying."-Lena replied.

This was new information for me; I had no idea about any of it. I still had questions so I kept asking her. "If the house was empty and practically abandoned, why do you think he came here for? I don't get it. He had a brand, new house, and a wife. Why would he come back here?"-I asked Lena.

"I don't know. My brother always said that he hated the house because it brought him back bad memories of our horrible childhood. So, I don't get why he kept coming to the house after he moved. He was weird, and he liked being alone; so maybe, he came here to be alone and to get away from his wife. That's the best I can come up with, 'cause I really don't know."-She answered truthfully.

I didn't ask anything else. I just let all the new information sink in. Oddly, I talked a little bit more with Lena; she told me about her childhood. No wonder Billy and her were so messed up; I had a rough childhood, but theirs was worst. Their own father abused them, physically and mentally. We all had a nice dinner that night; at least, I can say I have a nice memory about Lena; it wasn't all bad.