"Sweetie, can I talk to you?" my mom called to me.
"NO! GO AWAY!"
I could hear her loud sigh, and I could hear her feet make their way down the hallway. I thought about what I was against. I was against everything that was happening. I had to travel all the way to Mullingar, Ireland to see my cousin and his friends in one of his friend's houses.
"Alexandra Malik, unlock this door!" my mom yelled.
"NO!" I yelled back, not wanting to give in.
"Alexandra Malik, if you don't unlock this door I'll-" said mom.
I just screamed back, "LA LA LA, I can't hear you! Speak up!"
My mom's loud sigh came again from the back of the door.
"Sweetie, I know this is hard for you. But I will be in Jamaica for work, I just can't change schedule. It'll be okay," my mom said calmly.
I noticed a slight stress in her voice. From all the screaming she must have gotten sour throat. Well, after what she is making me do, she deserves it.
"No, mom. It's not okay. Don't pretend it is. I DON'T EVEN KNOW ZAYN'S FRIEND!" I yelled.
She just replied with loud panting.
"If you don't unlock this door, I will," she said.
I knew she wasn't kidding. If I knew right, the tooth-picks were in the cabinet. She could probably pick the lock easily with one of those. But I wasn't going to give up without a fight.
"No, I'll just lock it again," I warned.
"If you don't you grounded," she replied.
Right, grounded. Grounded in a place I couldn't call home, ever. Ireland.
"Yeah, cause the people in Ireland will agree to that," I replied.
"Yes, they will. I know they will- Zayn's friend's mom is very nice, but is firm on strict punishment," she replied.
If she was right, and this was true, I would be grounded for a whole year. The whole year I'd be in Ireland. Maybe even longer, if my mom's work wanted her to stay longer.
"Well if you don't come out, your going to starve," my mother called through silence.
I knew she was just thinking about my food obsession, so she was right. I would starve, and she'd be waiting to talk to me. One way or another she would get her way.
I sighed, then unlocked the door.
"Alexandra, you have to go to Zayn's friend's house for the year because I'll be in the bad part of Jamaica. You know, the part with war and stuff. That's shady business," she joked, even through her stress and all that. "But seriously, you'll love them. Come on, you know you have to!"
I knew she was right. Apparently Zayn was with his friends for a year, taking a year off their tour with their band, One Direction. His friends would be in Ireland with me. I'd have a room reserved for me and all. I didn't WANT a room reserved, but on the phone Zayn insisted.
"No, I won't do it, not without a firm fight. You better talk to your boss, or he will get a call that your quitting," I lied openly, knowing she'd believe me- or at least fake believing me.
"Yeah, because you know his number," she said sarcastically.
She was right, I didn't know his number. That wasn't a good excuse....
"Fine, but you can't make me like it."
She smiled, knowing she had won this battle. Usually it was ME winning the battles, not her.
"But you need to help me pack," I added.
She knew she wouldn't win this part of the war, because she would end up doing it anyway. Nodding, she left the room to get the suitcases.
"Three days 'till we leave, which is how much time you have to tell your friends you won't be here next year! The third day is the last day of school, so you have no choice anyway," she called from down the call.
I cursed to myself. She was right. My friends would KILL me. They'd be like Do you hate us or something? What did we do to you? and I'd have to be the one to explain it to them that I had no choice.
My mom didn't think about Julia's usually happy face all bummed, and sad. No, all she thought about at the moment was her job in Jamaica.
The one job she'd ever had that had changed the way I lived, or where we lived. It was usually just a normal job, that didn't transfer people. But of course my mom liked this job more than all of her others. Of course.
