I knew you before

Mum's announcement

Nat kicked me out of the house as soon as my hair was sixty per cent dry and told me that his mates were coming over in an hour. He gave me directions to the housing estate's park and I picked Sam up who, by this point, was looking very bored. He was sitting at one end of the playground while Marisa sat at the other, swinging gently on the swing withy her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

"Sam!" I called, waving my arms around frantically just in case he hadn't noticed his mentally challenged sister. "Come on Sam. We have to go home now! I promised Mummy we'd be home at lunch time."

He stood up and stomped towards me, making sure that he made no eye contact with Nat's little sister.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. Sam was always so energetic and annoying. This wasn't like him! I looked at Marisa with a confused look on my face. Thankfully, she understood my question.

"I wouldn't play Tag with him so he got all moody. It's his fault! He should have played on the see-saw when I asked him too."

Mentally, I rolled my eyes. Had I been like that when I was their age? I hoped not. I wondered what it was like to be a parent for a child of their age group.

We walked home in silence and as soon as I unlocked the door, Sam barged past me so quickly that I had no time to stop him and tell him off for his rudeness. Then he ran upstairs (oh no! He did my cheetah impression!) And the loud bang that followed shook the house, suggesting that he had slammed his door behind him. Just because she wouldn't play tag? Surely he was more mature than that.

Just when I had come to the conclusion that the problem probably ran deeper than that, the sound of the door was heard.

"Hello?" Mum's voice echoed through the house.

"Hi Mum" I called back, turning the TV on like a good teenager would do. Well not necessarily a good one but a typical one. "Good night?" I asked.

"Yes thank you. I'll tell over lunch. Where's your brother?" she asked. She was standing in the room now, her long brown hair, similar to mine, was hanging loose over the dark purple dress that she had worn for the dinner.

"He's in his room. Tell dad not to disturb him. He's in a mood." I answered.

"Let me get this right; Sam, in a mood?" She was just as confused as I had been!

"I know right! He's always so excitable and irritating!" I replied.

I heard Mum's footsteps clomping up the wooden staircase and along the hallway to Sam's room.

Oh no...

Then the shouting that followed: Sam telling mum to get out, Mum telling Sam to come for lunch, Sam telling mum "No! I'm not hungry," Mum dragging him down the stairs...

We sat at the table in silence. Dad was opposite me and Sam opposite Mum who sat on my right. Complete silence. And then I remembered something.

"Oh yeh! Mum, what was that news you were going to tell us about?" I asked.

She sat up, suddenly interested in what was happening other than awkward glaring.

"Well, you know your Daddy's boss?" We nodded. Although we hadn't met him, we were still aware of the fact that he existed. "His wife just happens to be the headmistress of senior school at King Andrew's!" Wait - that was my school...

"And..?" I beckoned for her to carry on.

"I got a teaching job!" She exclaimed.

I thought this over. Was this going to ruin my reputation at school? Most of the teachers were young people who lived outside of town so that they didn't see their students at weekends. If mum was going to be a teacher, she was going to have to be called Mrs Howard even outside of school!