I miss her

The neighbour behind us practices scream therapy in his shower almost every day.  Why does he do that? Mum told me that he was one of the "special people" in he world, from my experience there are a lot of them. I felt sorry for the man, whatever was wrong, I hoped he got over it. Due to the fact that he wakes me up at 5:30 am and that it is not good that someone can go through that much pain, suffering and agony. Each morning that poor man has to get up in the morning, lugging his heavy hearts. It is amazing that this man that screams every morning can get up out of bed. All he receives for his torment is looks from people how pass him in the street, disregard him and the occasional yelling of Mrs Logan the grumpy old lady next door. My mum each morning gets up and even though I am an only child, she still gets up and runs me around and each morning she tells me how special I am and that she loves me. If only the crazy neighbour next door got to hear that, he would stop screaming. This morning I woke up whilst I was eating my cereal, the same I eat this morning, listening to the crazy person scream, I was waiting for mum to get up and have breakfast with me. Though I did not expect my dad to get up instead and say.

"Amelia, hurry up and get ready, I'm taking you to school this morning.

I was puzzled, my dad never takes me to school, something is seriously wrong.

As I hopped in the car, dad was twitchy, twitchier than usually. My dad is one of the people that no one ever notices, he barely speaks and doesn't go out much. My mum on the other hand, she is an amazing person, she is loud and bubbly and can light up the darkest room with her laugh. It is unbelievable that two people such as my mum and dad, who are completely different, could fall in love. "I have never met another person like your dad, there are millions of them in the world and all you have to do is listen", she would tell me. "What is there to hear from a person who barely talks", I would always tell her. She would reply, "there is more than you think and someday when you are older who will understand the art of listening". Then she would put my long brown hair behind my ears and give me a kiss. I always felt safe in my mothers arms, just like a ship in port, "but that is not what ships are meant for" she would tell me. "The world is here for a reason, you must explore it, then you will understand it." My mum speaks in riddles sometimes, that what makes her so special, she gives the best of advice.

The whole way to school there was silence, it felt awkward, not being able to start a simple conversation with your own father. I was too busy thinking what had happened to my mum. I arrived at school, with my best and only friend Megan at the gate, we were so similar it was like we were sisters. But there was also someone else waiting at the gate, Emily the school bully, you would think that an all girls school would be polite and formal and everyone would get along. Every morning she would wait at the gate, for innocent people who she would pick on. For some reason she loves picking on me, I have no idea why. I never told my parents, well it was never that big of a deal. I would get my lunch taken away or maybe drop my books, but I could handle it because I knew that I would always have a great home to come back to and a mum who could lift the heaviest weight of my shoulders. I grabbed Megan's hand and quickly ran through the gate, because there were so many people I though she wouldn't notice us. Emily was like a hawk she could notice a piece of gum on the floor that was covered by all the people that was worth standing on. 

"Quick grab them" she said to  Molly and Holly, her sidekicks like tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum.

Megan's hand to the front entrance, where the vice principle Mrs Frost was standing. She was suppose to stand there to stop incidence like this happening, but unfortunately she was blind as a bat, worrying to much about all the silly things. She grabbed my shoulder.

"Amelia Cove, why are you running? This is a school not a soccer ground.

I didn't answer, I never do.

"Let this incident never happen again. She told me as I sprinted up the stairs still holding Megans hand as she looked back trying to spot Emily.

"Amelia, look"

I turned around to see what had grabbed Megan's attention. There she was, Emily standing there cracking her neck and knuckles, staring straight into my eyes. Then the bell went. This is the first time I have ever wanted the bell to go.

The day quickly fell to an end, as I was to busy worrying about mum. What had happened to her? Must be important for dad to take me to school.

I am usually the firs kid to go home but today I was the last. I sat at the drive through as fifty kids became just one, me. This isn't like mum, but it wasn't, it was my dad, again. The drive home was the same as the drive to school. Awkward. It was cold that day so Iwould watch my breath appear on the window and slowly vanish as if it had never been there. When we arrived home I rushed out of the car and inside to see just one glimpse of my mother before I began my homework.

"She's not home" My dad said, his first words in thirty minutes.

"Where is she?" I looked at him with sad eyes.

" I can't tell you but you will know soon enough" I could see a tear start to appear in his eye, t sparkled and glistened as he wiped it way.

I was puzzled and have been all day. Where was my mum? No one had told me anything, she could have been taken by aliens for all I knew.

A week past, day after day, the same routine, dad all day and mum no where to be seen. Something is seriously wrong.

"Amy," that's what my parents would call me "there is something I need to tell you."

Uncomfortably I sat down across of him. "What's wrong?"

"Amy cat, I think it's time to tell you why your mother hasn't been here." There was an a long pause, as if someone had died. "Your mum... she has breast" I could see tears appear in his eye, I could tell he was about to lose it. "She has bone cancer."