D I G N I T Y || Work in progress

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 2: ʜᴏᴍᴇ

"I'm home-!"

Monica sighed as she plopped on to her couch drenched after running in the rain. She glanced around and saw a plump lady rushing towards her. "Good lord, sweetie are you okay?" the plump lady asked Monica dotingly. "AMA!! I'm FINE-!" Monica whined as the stout woman began pulling her cheeks.

Ama was Monica's helper, Ama wasn't her actual name but everybody called her that anyways. Ama was kind and doting, she was usually the only one at home when Monica got back from school. Her brother and mom were usually and it felt comforting to have someone around. Ama handed her a towel and a fresh set of clothes. "Now, go take a shower, sweetie. You're very dirty," she said in a scolding voice. Monica smiled.

Once Monica came out of the shower she slowly retreated to her room and took her bag with her. She took out her belongings and groaned as she realized that they were completely drenched. She set them aside on her dresser, hoping they would dry out before the following morning. While Monica was thinking of ways to dry her bag, she heard her phone ring from the living room. It was her mother. "Sorry honey! I'm going to be late again, you know how my boss is like. Tell Ama to give you dinner early. I'll be eating take out tonight." Monica frowned upon hearing the news. She was hoping to be able to talk to her mom about her dreadful day over dinner, but as it was, she knew that it was unlikely that her mother would even be home to listen to her. Monica put on a fake smile and replied optimistically, "Oh, don't worry about it, Mom. I'll tell Ama. Come back soon! And take care of yourself!" She could tell her mother was relieved and after a short conversation Monica hung up. She went into her room and slammed the door shut. She sank to the floor and hugged her knees.

She hated being at home, it always felt... lonely.

Elijah was usually at work and he came back around dinner. Her mother, on the other hand, was rarely home. She left in the afternoon and came back late at night. Monica's mother was usually  sick as well, but being the main source of income in

Ama heard the loud thud from the kitchen and the plump lady just shook her head in disapproval. "I tell madam every day, I do! That child gets moodier every time I see her." She huffed as she continued to wash the dishes. Monica, on the other hand, was watching youtube in her room. She was being her normal moody self when her phone buzzed. She decided to ignore the text, it was probably just Elijah. An hour later, Monica checked her phone and was greeted with a message from an unknown number. Monica raised her eyebrow suspiciously, she never got texts from unknown numbers. She opened WhatsApp and read the text.

Unknown number
"Hey! This is Skyler, from school :D This is Monica, right qwq?"

Monica
"Yeah, How'd you get my number??"

Skyler
"Quack, you gave me your number in IH, remember? XD"

Monica
"Uh, give me a sec..."

Skyler
"Lol, sure! Take your time uwu"

Monica tried to recall if she genuinely did give Skyler her number during class. Suddenly her face turned red as she remembered when Skyler asked if they could exchange numbers. Monica was absent-mindedly drawing at the time and gave Skyler her number midst class. She texted back,

Monica
"Oh, yeah. Sorry 'bout that."

Skyler
"Mew, it's okay! Btw are you okay;-;"

Monica
"Yeah? Why??"

Skyler
"I was looking for you after school cause I got out of maths a lil' late and uh you looked really pissed- I was a little worried :("

Monica bit her lip nervously. She had a habit of pushing people away with her immense mood swings and intense aura but she truly was pissed off after school. She thought that Skyler had ditched her and she only had false hope of making a new friend. Monica smiled slightly. This was the first time she was actually glad that she was wrong. Time seemed to fly by when Monica was talking to Skyler. They were just casually talking but it was one of the first conversations Monica had with a friend through text.

It was...nice.

There was a tiny voice in Monica's head, nagging her, telling her that Skyler was going to leave her as soon as she got the chance. But Monica didn't care, she just wanted to enjoy this time for as long as she could. Suddenly she heard a voice calling for her. "MONICA! DINNER TIME!" Ama yelled from the living room. Monica sighed,

Monica
"Got to go, man, bye Skyler."

Skyler
"Aw, see ya! Quacc :D"

*Monica is offline*

Throughout dinner, Monica had a dopey grin on her face. Elijah noticed his sister smiling and furrowed his eyebrows, "So how was school?". Monica turned to her brother, "I made a new friend!" She announced as she swallowed her dinner. "Pffft- you? Friends?" Elijah snorted as he choked on his food. "Yeah and next you're gonna tell me that you think the Earth's flat." Monica punched her brother on the shoulder as continued to laugh. Ama scolded them for talking while eating as she chuckled at the playful duo. Elijah grinned and ruffled his little sister's head, "So? What's this kid's name?"

"Skyler!"

Author's note:
WHEW- this chapter went through WAY too many adjustments. I didn't like the overall tone and how it made it seem like everything was actually pretty bad in Monica's life. I wanted to make it so that it's shown how she's a bit dramatic and doesn't focus on the good moments in life as much as the negatives. And y'know *develop* her- 

I also wanted to introduce Monica's family life and a new character! Hope you enjoyed the Chapter! It was a little shorter than I hoped I would but I hope you all enjoy it regardless!

Once more keep in mind that the updates may be a tad slower than I hope because I'm working on other projects as well!

Thanks for Reading Dignity!

Word count: 1016