In 17 Days

chapter one

I quickly closed my diary, picked the shopping list on my reading table and hurriedly ran out to meet mum as she was about to call my name again for the sixth time.
"Sorry mum" I said as I jumped into the car, it creaked under my weight. Not like I weighed much but the car was due for a change, an old tortoise car that left a huge trail of fume and made creaky scary noises whenever it moved.
Without a word, mum started the car as I prayed silently for it to start, unfortunately it didn't and mum tried again and this time it came to life .
The short drive to the modern market was unusually quiet, I knew mum wasn't really happy about my intended travel but only agreed to it because she wanted to make me happy. And I really was happy, not like I didn't care about my mum's feelings but she better get used to me not being around her always, don't get it twisted, I LOVE my mom very much but her "protection from the pains of this world" (her words not mine) was choking already and I needed space. Trust me my mum's Protection has gone way over the board, my school is a three minutes walking distance from the eating house where she works but she makes sure to pick and drop me everyday. Who does that! I'm in grade 12(SS3) for crying out loud, she even keeps a close tab on the friends I keep, she makes sure I have no guy friends and even made my class teacher change my seat anytime I got a male seatmate, to sum it up the male specie is a plague that must be avoided at all times. Oh wait! Not all males, Mr Peter is one man my mum would forever be indebted to. He'd come to her rescue when the whole world had deserted her, even her family.
A mild playful pinch on my arm brought me out of thoughtsville.
"Would you mind telling me what got you so lost in thought" she said as she was tried to find a space in the jam packed parking lot
"Hmmm it's nothing much" I replied smiling
"Ok, if you say so" she shrugged, but....
"No buts mom" I gently interrupted "or we might not be able to shop today, cos I'm not going to tell you what's on my mind and I know you wouldn't drop it" I replied as I unclasped the seat belt. 
"Silly girl" she joked as we both got out of the car and walked  hand in hand towards the modern market.
My mom a stunning woman in her mid thirties, tall and elegant with a flawless ebony skin and full, long afro hair and I am her carbon copy, and I know we get envious stares whenever we walked pass.

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Phew! I dropped the shopping bag with food items on the wooden table in the sitting room and took the rest to my room as she took the food items to the kitchen to prepare dinner. I need to pack for tomorrow and gosh! I'm so tired.
I brought out my travelling bag and started to pack things in it, I remembered the gifts I got for uncle Sammy's children Samantha who is two years my senior and ten year Simon. Uncle Sammy is Mr Peter's only child and I consider him my uncle cos he always calls mum his little sister, and Samantha and Simon my cousins. The last time I saw Samantha was on my sixteenth birthday and I had promised to come visit her one day but mom would never consent to it, not until now though cos by this time tomorrow I'd be in pearl city. The city of gold, where all dreams come true and I'll be spending three weeks of summer there, isn't that great, I sighed dreamily as I thought of all the fun I'll have with Samantha, we chatted this morning and she'd listed a lot of fun things we'd do together and I just can't wait to get there.
"Princess, should I bring your food to you" , my mum called from the kitchen, "no mum" i replied, "I'll come join you soon". We lived in an old house, with two rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom with the WC in it and a sitting area, So the kitchen also served as the dining room.I thought about changing my clothes but my stomach said otherwise, well, I shrugged who am i to disobey my stomach.
Dinner was over, so I helped mum clean the kitchen while she did the dishes. After that, mum kissed me goodnight and asked me to go rest for the next day, I was surprised. Yeah! I really am surprised, since the past week mom had consented to my travel, she'd never failed to try to make me change my mind, but I'd always assure her that this is what I wanted. "Are you ok mom"
"Yeah, I am"  she replied rubbing her palms together. 
"You sure, mom"
"Em" she started, "you know I really love you princess and I want the best for you"
" I know mom and I love you, but I think you should allow me do this",   it's not like I'm going away forever, it's just three weeks and I'm going to be with Uncle Sammy and his family"
"I just want you to know that I love and want the best for you, goodnight princesa"
"Goodnight mom". I left for my room as she moved to switch off the lights.
My phone blinked and buzzed as I got to the room, there were three messages from Samantha on WhatsApp.
Samantha💚: hey babes
Samantha💚: how's aunt Kathy
Samantha💚: hope you've packed already
Princess👸:hi b, mom's fine and I've packed already.
Samantha💚: oh! I thought you were asleep, anyway just wanted to make sure you're still coming. Goodnight😘
Princess👸: of course i am. Good night too* yawns* 😴😴😘.
I put my phone on silent, placed it on the table and went off to sleep. My phone blinked again but I was too tired to go check, so I decided to leave it till tomorrow, whoever it was should wait, this lady here is ready to set sail to sleepslyvania, I smiled to myself as I slowly drifted away.