Ongoing Cycle

18

Seated among the long, fine, wooden rectangle table were [Y/N]'s parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The gathering was quite large and the dining room was loud from the little kids squealing. They were at aunt Himari's house, since the house was the largest out of the entire family. The exquisite chandelier hanging above them and the bar on the side of the room made it clear that the family was pretty well off. The food nice and warm laying on the table, there was many options ranging from turkey to soups to salads. It all sounded wonderful, did it not? So why did [Y/N] feel dread swimming in her stomach?

     Besides her were her parents, with their perfected smiles on the entire time. No. She did not solve the problem between herself and her parents, because deep inside, she knew they didn't listen to a shit she says. What they would do instead is hold onto their grudge until they decide to finally let go. There was no such thing as talking things out in this family.

     One of them or the both of them would send warnings at her through their cold eyes every few minutes. They had to be seen as the perfect family in front of their relatives, especially in front of aunt Himari. It was only a big facade, pretending to act like everything was fine. It was because her mother and Himari have had an old rivalry for a long time, and they always liked to brag and one up another by using their children. Lucky for [Y/N], aunt Himari and her son, Shinakio sat directly across from them. She mentally rolled her eyes at the tension in the air from this foolish rivalry. It happened every single damn gathering, and she hated being talked about by her parents.

     She knew that Shinakio hated it as well, so unlike their parents, the two of them were on good terms. They were both in similar situations and oftentimes, they would escape the family madness to rant to each other. They were probably going to do it later on today if they had the chance to.

     Reluctantly eating her mash potatoes, she warily closed her eyes when she heard her name. "I heard Shinakio had a little drop in his grade. 3.98 gpa, was it? [Y/N] still has a 4.0," her mother told aunt Himari. She could practically hear the smugness dripping through her mother's voice. She gritted her teeth, but continued to mind her own business in eating her food.

     "At least my son does extracurriculars. He's captain of the basketball team and is in math team. What does your daughter do besides studying?" her aunt retorted. She could feel the aunt's burning gaze on her. She gulped in fear. She never wanted aunt Himari to hate her, but it was pretty much inevitable.

     "Sports and clubs do not help their futures. Only education push them towards their career and get them successful," snarled her mother. "Admit it already Himari. Your son has failed you. He can never be as perfect as [Y/N]."

     Abruptly standing up and hitting the table loudly with her hands, everyone in the room suddenly grew quiet. They all stared at aunt Himari, who was red in the face and giving [Y/N]'s mother the scariest death stare. Though she soon realized that she had guests in her home and she quickly composed herself. "Sorry everyone. I need a quick break. I must be getting a small headache from all the cooking I did this morning. Please continue among yourselves." With that, the woman stalked away from the room and disappeared.

    [Y/N] glanced at Shinakio, who was staring at the dark space where his mother disappeared off to. She saw that he was feeling just as miserable as she was. Still watching the boy, he then made eye contact with her. Taking this chance, the two of them silently communicated through their eyes.

     Shinakio first left the table and within minutes, when [Y/N] had finished the food on her plate, she excused herself from her parents. Since Himari was gone, they didn't care much for her anymore, so they easily let her go.

     Scurrying off into the next room over, she saw Shinakio lying on the couch glumly in the living room. Sitting on the headrest of the couch, she looked over at him and waved her hand above his face. He opened his brown eyes and pushed himself upward.

     "Hey," he said, running his hand through his hazel hair in distress.

     "Hey," she replied. "Did your grade really drop?"

     He sighed loudly at that. "Yeah. My mother planned to keep it a secret, but your parents somehow found out about it."

     "Let me guess, your mom threw a huge tantrum when she learned you lowered your gpa," [Y/N] said with a sad, knowing smile.

     "Damn. How'd you know that?!" her cousin said jokingly. He reached his arm out and ruffled her hair playfully.

     Going along with it, she shrugged and winked. "I have my ways."

     Like a light switch, his playful demeanor was replaced with exhaustion. "How are you keeping up with your parents? Has it gotten any better?"

     She shook her head. "I didn't get to tell you this yet, but I got in big trouble with them because I lied to them and went to a party on Halloween night. Ever since then, they've been even more controlling."

     Ignoring the last part of her response, Shinakio only paid attention to the word 'party'. "Shit! You actually did that [Y/N]?! You're such a rebel! I never would've thought you'd have the guts to do something like that! Good for you!"

     Annoyed, she groaned and gently punched his arm. "That's not the point. Plus, I only went for a friend."

     "Right....this is about your parents..." he chuckled, scratching his head awkwardly. "It seems like we're not making much progress with both of our parents. We're getting more and more suffocated by the minute."

    She nodded in agreement. "They punish me at every wrong move I make, even if it's a very small one."

    Her cousin then brought up a very bugging idea. "I honestly feel like we're stuck in this sick cycle and we'll never leave it....unless we break out of it. So maybe....maybe one day we should stand up to them and cut the strings that let them control us as puppets."