Who We Are.

The Car

 I came out of my daze and I wiped the drool coming from the left corner of my mouth. I forget that my left hand is broken sometimes and I lifted it and tried to wipe my mouth. "Ow! What the heck?" My arm drops to my side as soon as I feel the blood draining back and the feeling comes back. I readjust my position on the wheelchair and grab the half-empty water bottle that is crumbled into a pit in my cupholder. I reach for it with my right hand this time and I drink the rest of the water. I roll over to a trash can and I see my dad in the corner of the room, looking out the glass doors. I roll past the front desk and hide behind it. Luckily, the assistant was gone for a little bit so I won't get strange looks or get reprimanded. I thought my mom said that he was finalizing stuff with the workers and Mr. Carmen. I scan the room looking for my mom but I  only see a handful of people, including my little sister. When I don't see my mom at all, I turn back to my dad, who was still on the phone. I could see the assistant coming back so I roll as fast as I can to the opposite wall and keeping looking at my dad. When I can't read his lips anymore because he turned around, I wheel closer and pretend to look out the window. I start to pick up some words. "Okay, well I am going to get there tonight so maybe in a few weeks." He mumbles. Then he nods and acts if the other person across the phone can see him. He spots my big wheelchair and eyes me. Then he turns to the front desk and goes to the main lobby's bathroom. I want to follow him but instead, I just sigh and go back to where Miracle was. I decide that the best way to pass the time is to sleep and I don't know why I sleep all day. I feel like I am holding my family back but I can't help keep my eyes open. As another wave off sleep comes over me that almost takes me under, I feel someone coming up behind me. I didn't wake up and hop out of the way until they touch my shoulder. I spun my head around as fast as humanly possible without getting whiplash to see that Miracle was behind me and calling my name.

"Chimamanda!" Miracle shook me forward, and I almost knocked my forehead on the clear shiny table in front of me. I blink at her, too tired to respond and that was all. She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed about how I didn't want to talk to her and she started, "Mom said that we should go wait in the car because she and Dad are still filling out the papers." I look over at my mom who suddenly arrived in the couch area, and is doing something on her phone. I nod and roll over to my mom to grab her purse and phone while Miracle picks up the car keys. The minute I step out the door, I pull the jacket away from underneath my seat and wrap it over my shoulders the best I can that will actually keep me warm. This is one of the cooler days in Redwood. It should have warmed up by now. Redwood is one of those places when it gets really cold in the winter and really warm in the spring - it is not like any other places I have been before. Not that I have been out of state since I was 6 when we went on vacation to California. Miracle unlocked the car from afar and it made a unique beeping noise. My family's car is an older model so the beep wasn't as fresh and clean anymore. I lean into the car and let Miracle hop in first. I set my mom's bag on the middle seat of the second row and dropped her phone into it. Miracle and I sat in silence, looking for things to talk about. I looked from animals and funny looking creatures that seemed like they would come straight from a game because Miracle was into that kind of stuff. I know Miracle was just looking for stuff that would interest her and would call out the first thing that came to mind if she didn't find anything. I sighed and laid my hands on the edge of the window shield and laid my head on that. The feeling of a hammer pounding in my head kept me unsettled so I tried to sleep it off. Just as I felt like my sleeping progress way going somewhere, the nasty and sickly honk of the car interrupted my dreams. I wiped the drool from my face for the third time today. My mom hopped into the car, with a hurt look on my face and my dad, like always, was trying to cover the scent of the argument. Five minutes into the ride, my dad tried to mask the awkwardness by saying, "Who's ready for an adventure?" At this, Miracle's face perked up and said, "Me, me, me! But where are we going? He felt around in his bag fora secoond, and when I heard a crinkle of paper, he pulled out a map and laid it on the empty cupholers in between him and mom. "Just a little bit far from here, we are going to go live in Dunterham." Of course, I already knew this but I tried to acted shocked because I didn't know if they know I knew. Then, he started to talk in his baby voice. My mom was pregnant the first year that my dad was in jail and he only saw Miracle once or twice when he there. I guess he thought that time would stop for him while he was there. I curled back into my postion and fell alseep.