CLAWS

Family Part 1

There's nothing more beautiful than wakin up in the morning and mother is in the kitchen cooking breakfast. My mother is a single mother at least that is what I perceive her as. She has been through hell and back with my siblings and I, now we have a better place to stay than our other house.

Mother looked at me inspecting me as I stood at the corner of the kitchen watching her cook. She put her hands on her hips and just laughed.

"Come on take a seat. School starts in twenty-five minutes" She points the metal spatula she was using to fry the eggs at the wooden chair that one leg wasn't working properly.

I looked around and none of my siblings were around.

"Mom? where are they"

They usually the first ones here before me. They loved eating. It was their "talent" they always say, mother and I always laugh when they start to sing "I feel good" after eating

"They went down Aunty Agata's to watch a show" She turns around and stares at the stove for a quick two seconds then shakes her head "I will get you guys a tv I promise I just need a few more money"

She is always worried about not pleasing us or making us happy, but what she doesn't know is we are far from happy, we are actually fascinated by her. A mother that puts all five of her children before herself. We didn't need the tv we were just fine.

"Mother," I got up and went up to her "you do not need to buy a tv, aunty Agata said we can come watch anytime we wanted. "

She hates us going to her room to watch tv but we did anywhere because we couldn't bother mother. Our education was the most important thing to her the others were last things. If we got even a 70% as a final grade she will sit us down and teach us what we didn't understand and we always got a slapping first before help.

She turns off the stove and shoos me to go back to my seat.

"Eat up. you have 15 mins left. Better brush your teeth and take a shower before you leave. Tell the rest after school they should come to the market I have a few things to sell and they will get their allowance after they sell." She puts all the dirty dishes in the soapy water pan and grabbed her purse and key.

As I finished getting ready I locked the door not before Kofi running in screaming the bus was here. I closed the door, grabbed my backpack and keys then out we were. As we got there, the bus wasn't there.

We all looked at Kofi as you can not only see our chest rising and falling but you can also hear our heartbeats fast, felt like we were playing drums
. I slapped Kofi hard at the back of his head and we all started laughing.

"Kofi! Now we do not know what happened to her" Shantel wasn't having it with him.

"Exactly, we almost found out" Kellie stands on the big stone next to Kwame.

I just stared down at the floor remembering the song "dance with somebody" by Whitney Huston. Mother love that song and so did I.

"Are we selling today?" Kwame asked me

"Yes. after school" I looked at him

He looked at me again "I have a game... She forgot"

Shantel looked at him and laughed

"Remember today they are going around inspecting the market so she can't come"

Shantel is the youngest. She is 13 years, two years younger than me. She is very intelligent. Sassy. We really don't mess with her at all, getting into an argument with her, is a lose lose deal.