Jovial Memories

Chapter 3

            The next day at school wasn't much better than the first. Mandy placed on the same coat she wore the day before, sitting in the same seat on the bus, staring at the same snow that laid on the once earthy ground.

            She sighed and rested her chin on her hand, rubbing the frost off the cold windows. People chatted eagerly on the bus, going over questions before a test, chatting about their holiday break. Mandy always thought Jessie would be here with her to do the same. She sniffed quietly, wondering why the tears had not ceased after so long.

            The bus pulled to an uncomfortable spot outside the school, and Mandy scooted her way off the bus, pulling her beanie down to cover her long brown hair. At the end of the day she'd usually find snowflakes clinging to the brown stands before they melted and left her hair wet later.

            Carefully stepping down the bus and landing on the frosty ground, she silently made her way towards the front of the school, glancing around curiously. Her backpack jostled with each step as she made her way up the concrete steps and through the doors.

            As she made her way towards her homeroom class, she tried to ignore the conversation she'd heard with her parents on the phone the other night. When they had announced they were divorcing, Mandy begged her parents to at least try to act as friends, resulting in weekly phone calls that were mostly about Mandy and asking if there was any word on Xander.

            She had already been in bed, but when she'd heard her mother speaking, she'd crept down the hall to find her mother with the phone on her hand, a single lamp lighting up the room. She was angrily pacing the kitchen, whispering loudly, "A cookie, Bernard?! That's all your daughter is worth?"

            Mandy had held her breath, not seeing why her mother had to make a big deal. She could only hear the mumble of her father's words, though she wished she could make out what he was saying.

            "Well, she's your daughter too, Bernard. You could at least afford to get her a decent gift after all that she's been through," her mother had hissed into the phone.

            "Don't tell me that was enough to satisfy her," she whispered. "You're always screwing up with her. You screwed up with Xander too."

            Mandy clenched her fists, knowing her mother was giving him too hard of a time. But she knew that if she had spoken, she'd be caught.

            "Fine, fine. See you this weekend." She slammed the phone and Mandy had scurried upstairs at the sound of her footsteps, crashing back into her bed. Her mother had entered moments later, brushing Mandy's long bangs aside and kissing her forehead. Mandy had pretended to sleep through it all, but she stood up, her heart aching, after her mother left. She hadn't meant to cause so much pain for everyone.

            So as Mandy threw off her coat in her homeroom seat and sat, she truly wondered if her father did love her as much as her mother. In a few seconds, she quickly dismissed the idea. Of course he did. He was just different from her mother, that was all.

            She still saw her father on weekends, and during school breaks, she'd spend a few weeks with him. Mandy didn't understand why her mother saw him as so untrustworthy. He always took good care of Mandy when she visited him, always planned fun events for them to do, and they had a good time. He was always incredibly responsible. She just didn't understand why it had to be this way...why any of this had to happen.

            "Mandy Wells," Mr. Clark spoke sharply.

            She glanced up, realizing he'd been calling her name for the past minute. "Here," she squeaked, the others laughing at her quiet response. She sunk back down into her chair, trying to ignore Abby's giggle to the side of her.