Issues

Issues - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The next morning had gone just as smoothly as the previous one, except this time I woke up to a quick kiss before he ran out the door. He left me with a promise of a call later. To my disappointment, my mother asked me to help clean and I didn't have time to hang out with Taylor at all that day. She had a huge fundraiser in the works for the upcoming weekend and needed all the help she could get from me to prepare.

"Oh lord!" She had just looked at the bathroom that Anthony and I shared. "This needs to be cleaned, spotless!" I bit my tongue, choosing not to get into a fight with her by reminding her that no one would use this bathroom, the event was to be held downstairs. We had had that argument too many times in the past for it to be useful to try again.

I reluctantly got to work on cleaning even though she would probably have me do it again the day of the fundraiser. It was better to just listen to my mother and not argue, because she sure could raise her voice and give a lecture like no one else.

"I swear she's having mood swings," I complained to Taylor over the phone that night.

"She's pregnant," he said simply as if that was a good enough excuse for her attitude.

"My mother is always like this before each event. There is no way this is pregnancy related unless she's been pregnant for each time we have people over. Important people that is."

"Oh well, deal with it," he laughed jokingly.

"Thanks for the great advice," I groaned but couldn't help from smiling.

If only it was me instead of Anthony that got to come and go without chores. He was neither asked to clean nor was he chastised for not helping out in other areas of planning or preperations. I glared at him as he came into the bathroom to use his sink as I cleaned it.

"You. Out. Now," I growled.

"Woah, I just need to brush my teeth before my date," he said flashing his teeth at me.

"Want to not dirty the sink, it's bad enough you don't even have to help out."

"See you, Sis," he laughed and left and I almost chucked the bottle in my hand at the back of his head but then I knew the bottle would tumble to the floor and squirt everywhere and my mother would make me clean it.

For the first time in years, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The combination of cleaning all day and the emotional events of the weekend had completely drained me. It was so odd when I closed my eyes and then opened them to my alarm blaring obnoxiously in my ear. I took a minute to steady myself. Not only was it a long night's sleep, it was dreamless. My head swam for a little.

I wasn't used to having this much sleep stored up for one day and it made me feel a little woozy. Could you be drunk on sleep? I wondered if that was a plausible excuse to get out of school. It took a while to shake my sleeping hangover but by the time I entered the cafeteria I was more or less as awake as I normally was in the morning.

Next thing I knew, the day had flown as fast as ever and I was sitting on the floor in a circle with all my friends at our lunch spot.

"Katie Michaels cried this morning in my French class," Jaida gossiped. It wasn't meant to be mean or catty. We normally shared random information during lunch to see who had the weirdest mornings.

"I wonder why," Nikki mused.

"I think someone said her cat died," Jen said.

"That's pathetic," Jason laughed.

"Oh come on, she was probably really close with her cat. Everyone has those things they cry over," Jaida said but Jason just looked at her dubiously so she added, "Like I cry when I get frustrated or angry."