Heredity

Chapter 3

When her mom came home Sophie hid in her room. She ignored the rapping of tiny fingers on her door. Regan could go to Hell. Be the precious jewel of the family and curtesy to the fucking Queen for all she cared. Sophie was done with the lot of them. She lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. In just a few hours she'd be walking to the Strogoian Manor. Spending the night with creepy shadows and finding out all of the rumors were ridiculous.

"Get yourself to the table young lady, now!" Her mother's shrill voice bounced around the room piercing her eardrums.

"I'm trying to rest!" She screamed back. "I have to be up all night, remember?"

She hoped it would make her mother feel guilty. The least she could do was give her a freaking break from the holy 'family meal'.  It wasn't like her Mom cooked it or anything. Far be it from the famous Lady Langston to actually perform a menial household task.

"Now, Sophie." Her Fathers voice boomed from below.

Sophie scrambled from the bed and threw an elastic band in her hair knotting it up in a bun. No hanging hair at the table. No elbows on the table. No fucking real conversation at the table. Cordial, polite, it's the time for best behavior.

She remembered her first month with Lady Tessa. Etiquette lessons daily until she mastered the 'fine art of being a lady.'  No one gave a shit if you had a heart attack or an aneurysm. Just don't do it in the soup, that's considered rude.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs her feet hurt from stomping so hard but no one dared to say anything. The pod family sat stiffly in front of plates, napkins in their laps, eyes glazed over like socialite zombies.

"Thank you for joining us." Her father said as he nodded to Alyssa standing in the doorway. The nod making the girl spin quickly to start the dinner service. The thump of the gold rimmed plates as they were placed on the old oak table was the only sound in the room. It was impolite to converse during service, and the food wasn't to be eaten until everyone had theirs.

Sophie looked down at the food with disgust. Noodles in sauce with chunks of meat, it was another traditional meal. She'd give her left thumb for a cheeseburger.

"Alyssa. Any chance you know how to cook anything from this century? Like pizza, or a cheeseburger?"

Her father slammed his glass down on the table causing Alyssa to jump and slop some of the gelatinous gravy onto the tablecloth.

"I apologize for my daughter Alyssa. The meal looks incredible and we appreciate your impeccable work ethic."

Sophie could feel actual heat coming from his glare. It frightened her.

"Of course. Alyssa, I wasn't disrespecting you or your cooking, I was just thinking of some of the meals we had at home. Mom would buy pizza crust and we'd all pile on toppings while listening to music. This.." she said as she shoveled a bite into her mouth forcing herself to smile, "is really good too."

The girl said nothing and ducked back into the kitchen. She barely spoke. Each time Sophie saw her she seemed more terrified. Pod people. This whole fucking town was crazy.

"That's a nice memory Sophie." Her mother cooed. "I'm glad you actually remember some of the good times we had. The rest of us are still enjoying life, albeit a different kind now."

The rest of us. The words fell on Sophie's shoulders like a boulder. That's what it was now. Them, and her. She looked toward Regan, shoulders up, back straight, gracefully twirling noodles around her fork with her pinkie in the air.

What was it about this town that sucked away every good thing her family had been?

While the rest of the family shared experiences of their day Sophie stabbed at the noodles moving them from one side of the plate to the other without actually lifting any toward her mouth.