Spider in the deep

Chapter 1

So chapter 1 is here readers.enjoy.....
Beta-child
Baquos band karo-stop the nonsense

"Mama,you are joking right?" I said,a look of shock morphing on my face.She had to be kidding me right now.

I saw her turn away from my father,sitting in the living room and face me as she always does.The look of annoyance is clear on her face from my eavesdropping.

I had just happened to be passing by to get some pasta at 1am in the morning.The excuse was already melting away as she glared at me,her eyebrow raised waiting for my explanation.I couldn't say I had seen the email on her phone from some aunt in a place called Queens in New York of all places,half way around the world.The location still confused me

"I was going to go check on Que...I  mean the iguana.Yeah the aunt..I mean iguana which I've just renamed Queenie or Quen for short..."I stumbled and looked nervously at my father.My mother was about to speak but my father cut her off with a gentle smile.

"Well I guess if you want to change its name again from Mages..magi-"he stumbled.

"Magesteria Twist,"I sighed with a soft smile.He smiled back, knowing my love of books would lead to such complex mixtures of names.

My mother was shaking her head with disapproval.I fixed my gaze on her and realised just how tired she looked,there were dark bags under her eyes which were usually a warm honey brown but right now seemed to be choking with worries.She sat down and put her head in her hands as I looked to my father for an answer.His eyes became downcast immediately.

All I had heard was talk about changing school but the way they seemed...it looked a lot worse.

"Baba..."

He motioned for me to sit down next to my mother and he leaned forward on the velvet chaise lounge.I sat rigid waiting.

"Well Aazmi this isn't going to be easy to say and I want you to know that whatever we do is for the best.We do..."

My mother's head snapped up and her hand clenched.

"Baquas band karo*.Just tell her."

Despite there only being a lamp on,I could hear the tears in her voice.She never seemed this angry with my father.

"Fine.Beta**,it's about school.I know your grades are good and all..."

"I get 80% baba,I know you wished I was straight 100% like my cousin Aisha but I try.."

"Aazmi we know.But your teachers tell a very different story.Wasn't it you who bought the cockroach into biology class to dissect and made that girl faint?What about the time you kicked the football at the headmaster's head?"

Now I put my head in my hands,I can't believe my dad was still stiff on this.My biology teacher had been adamant that a student could never perform a dissection on a cockroach whilst it was alive and so I wanted to prove her wrong.It was educational purposes solely and maybe a chance to make Veronica Greens scream...

But I got expelled.

It was so not my fault that these boys from my class were bullying my little brother Yunus for no reason at all, he was just walking and humming.They took offense on the 'noise' he was making and began to back him away into the corner.I got mad and so I yelled and kicked their ball away and it so happened that the headmaster had been in the exact path of the ball and got hit in the head and fell down.He got a small graze on his elbow and I got an expulsion.

"Ok beta but you've only been at this Carefree secondary school for three months and already they've suspended you and are silently pleading to us through emails to remove you.They don't want to add an expelled student to their clean record."

Now I was furious.I hadn't done anything yet at this school.Sure I might have spoken out in the religious studies class when this one person began to insult the scarf on my head but surely...they didn't want to remove me.I had just been defending my faith.

"Since when was I suspended?"

"Well they sent us a letter yesterday-"

"Who even sends letters anymore mama?"I cut her off.I was at the point of yelling but I knew they would send me away without an input to my room if I did.

"So we were thinking you might need a change in environment so we-I mean you can work better and achieve your goal to become a doctor"

That was their wish for me, not mine.Even if I knew a lot,it didn't interest me.I'd been forced to read countless books on medicine and hospitals along with my sister and half the stuff made me gag.We already had 3 of my cousins training to be a doctor and two of them already working full time as one.

But did my opinion matter?

"So you're sending me to New York then aren't you .Abandoning me in the Big Apple?"

I yelled taking a step away from them.

"Young lady, how dare you look through your mothers messages.I was thinking but now I am certain you need to be sent away.It's for your own good.You'll be staying with our old friend May and Ben Parker for a while.They have their nephew, and a family friend's daughter lives with them too so it'll be perfect for you to stay there."

"You used to play with him, remember?Who was it..Patrick?"my mum said softly.

"It was Peter,mama."

This time he had spoken in english and not urdu so I knew it was serious.I stomped out slamming the door and rushing to my room.It wasn't even my room,I shared it with Fatima who was my elder sister by two years and half way through her A-levels.

"Not so loud sis"she mumbled from her bed.The blanket was pulled all the way up to her chin and she turned over to face me.Her eyes weren't even open.My lovely 17 year old sister.

"Whatever.You'll get your peace and quiet"