The Priests Daughter

New Me

Lilac Smith. That's my name. Very common, I know but I don't care. My parents loved flowers. Growing up they would spend hours, even days planting flowers in gardens, and helping grow trees. I can't believe how far they've fallen. When everyone hears my name, the first thing they think of is my dad. My dad runs the local church and everyone knows him. It sucks that everyone knows me through him but that's what you get when your the daughter of the most famous person in town. I know what your thinking. The guy who runs the local church is the most famous person in town. Yeah, well if there was a vote it would be between him and the guy that owns about a million cows.

Anyway, let's tell you some facts about my life. I'm 16 years old, meaning if I went to school, I would be a sophomore. I live in a small town called Stowe and you know how every town has that one thing most people love. Such as New York has the Statue of Liberty and Paris has the Eiffel Tower. Well in our town it's our church. Everyone loves it and it's been here for centuries.  We have church every Sunday and almost the whole town goes which is why my dad is so famous. My dad runs the church every Sunday so I guess you could call him the Christian leader. I don't really have any friends. I have been homeschooled all my life by my mum and I don't go out very often. Most of my days I spend sitting at home, doing school work and reading some of my favourite classic literature. At church, I usually sit in the back and don't make any noise. I fear if I do, my dad will scowl me and ground me and even though I don't go out anywhere or do anything, I still want to watch tv. Even if the tv I watch is so old that it was probably out in the dinosaur era. My dad is also extremely protective of me and so he's always checking up on me. This year, I'm going to ask him if I can go to the local school. It's a long shot but I've been dying to go there for two years now. Every single year before school starts I make a big plan on how I'm going to ask him but then I get scared, and well, I never do. But this year is going to be different. This year I am going to ask him and hopefully he will say yes. My mum just got this new job at the school and so my dad has been looking for someone to homeschool me when she's at work but personally, I think it would just be easier to let me go to school. After all, school can't be that bad.

It's a week before the local school starts and I have decided to ask them today. I've kind of been stalking the school page a lot so I know when they start, when they end, special events and things like that. It's not creepy or weird, I'm just getting ready incase they actually allow me to go. I'm not sure if they will but I'm going to pull out all of my strategies and hopefully they will agree. I wake up bright and early, and as I get dressed I rehearse exactly what I'm going to say to my parents. I don't want to go up to them and then forget everything. If I do that then I definitely will not be able to go. 

"I don't want you to waste your money on a new homeschool teacher who won't be as good as the teachers at the local school," I whisper to myself. "A school would do me good. I'd make friends and I know you want me to make friends." I sigh quickly and nod my head. I take a light blue dress out of my wardrobe and put it on. I walk downstairs, holding onto the rail as I go.

"Good morning mother, morning father," I say to my parents as before walking into the kitchen. I say it even before I walk in because I already know there awake and sitting at the table eating breakfast. I sit down on the chair which sits on the left of my father.

"Morning Lilac," my father says looking down at the local newspaper.

"Don't you look beautiful," my mother says as she puts some breakfast on my plate.

"Thank you," I say. I pick up my fork about to start eating before putting it back down. This is it. I'm about to ask them the big question. 

"Is something wrong," my mother says looking at me.

"Mother, father," I say nervously. They both look at me confused. I fasten the belt on my dress and look up at them, slightly terrified. "Ummm, I was thinking," I start to say. "Nanny's cost a lot of money and I think it would be easier if this year, I went to the local school."

My mother lets out a quick gasp before returning to the food. I look down. My mother rarely gasps which means I definitely won't be allowed to go there. Still, I need to keep trying.

"Lilac, you know why you can't go there," my father says. I nod even though I'm not entirely sure what he means. "It's because of all those homosexuals. If you go to the local school they might teach you things that aren't right and then you might turn into one of them and we can't have that now can we."

I nod my head. Of course. One of the many things they teach about in the local church is that being homosexual is extremely wrong. Last year this dude came out as gay and the whole church went crazy. Teenagers graffitied words on his house and on his car. Kids bullied him at school. Even adults made fun of him if they ever saw him outside in public. He committed suicide a year later and now the town is back to being as straight as it ever was. 

"I know father," I say. "But, I am older enough to know who to hang out with and who not to hang out with and I know not to let anyone change me. Especially not those people."

Even though out town is supposedly straight, I think there are still some homosexuals out there, hiding in plain site. Or maybe some of them are out but only to a few people. My father looks at my mother with uncertainty unsure of what to do or say.

"I think she should go," my mother says. That's weird seen as she gasped earlier. Maybe she was just shocked at what I said, instead of ashamed which is what I thought she was feeling. "It would do her some good to learn from someone who isn't me. And she could make some new friends. Also, the nanny will cost a lot of money and we need to save that money for getting some new furniture for the church. You know how much people want some new comfy cushions to sit on."

My father looks down at his breakfast before looking at me. He thinks for a few seconds before finally answering. "Fine you may go," my father says. I look at him, a wide smile on my face. Finally I can go to school, and meet new people, and get friends, and actually live. "But listen here, if I find out your hanging with those homosexuals I will take you out of the school and put you into the strictest boarding school in all of America. Do you understand me?"

"Yes father," I say. I nod my head slowly but excitedly. I can't believe he actually said yes. This is like the best day in my entire life. I eat my breakfast as quickly as possible and run up to my room. In a week, I will be attending an actual high school where I might actually have friends. Well, of course I will. I'm the priests daughter so surely I will be appreciated. Let's not let it get to my head though. I don't want people thinking I'm full of myself. 

The next week fly's by so quickly. Before I know it, I'm standing at the front door, waving goodbye to my parents as the bright yellow bus pulls up at our driveway.

"Remember what I said," my father says.

I nod my head. "Of course father, how could I forget," I say. I give him a quick hug before waving my final goodbye and shutting the door. I take a deep breath and start walking towards the bus. This is going to be the best year of my life. Hopefully.