Chapter 3
My day started as usual. Woke up, got ready for school, and walked to school with my best friend Asaru. We cracked jokes on our way to school, sharing thoughts on recent trending topics, and school works like we always do. Then when we got to school we went out separate ways to start our school day.
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"And that's why I don't like her." Yuza finished.
"Oh, I see why," I added. It was now the last passing period of the day, walking to my final class which I shared with Yuza. We were trying to pick up the pace to escape the scorching and unpleasant heat of the sun.
After making it to the classroom, we sat and enjoyed the air conditioning of the cool classroom. The bell rang and everyone started to quiet down, the class eventually went completely silent waiting for the teacher to finish attendance and speak.
"Alright class, today you'll work in pairs. I want you guys to go over each other's drafts for your essay. Please look for grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, and make sure they have their key points in each paragraph."
A student to the far right of me raised their hand. "Yes?" The teacher called as they pointed at them.
"Are you choosing pairs?" The student asked.
"Actually since you guys are just going over drafts, I'll let you guys choose your partner. I do ask that you stay on topic because if not I'll mix up the pairings." The teacher said. "You may find your partner now." The teacher concluded before sitting at their desk.
Students got up from their seats, walking around to other students who they were eyeing previously, I included. I was approaching Yuza to start correcting the drafts, but she was with someone else.
"Mm, sorry Aspen, Lily asked me to be her partner." She said pointing to the girl next to her.
"Oh that's fine, I'll go find someone else," I mumbled as I scratched the back of my neck. I wondered a bit until I saw a student without a partner. "Is it alright if I am your partner?" I asked pointing the to empty chair in front of them.
"Yea it's fine, I don't have anyone anyways." They said blatantly. I sat down in the empty seat, organizing the papers on the desk.
"Just a reminder, if you have a question please come up to my desk to ask." The teacher stated before continuing to work on whatever was on their desk.
"Hi, I'm Aspen. Nice to meet you." I put out my hand, waiting to shake their hand. They just looked at my hand.
"I'm Ash." They moved forward and shook my hand before we swapped papers.
"Nice to meet you, Ash." I smiled before starting to correct their draft.
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Class ended at three o'clock, I was outside waiting for Yuza to come out. She eventually came out with Lily, but ignored me and started walking to the gate with her.
"Hey! Yuza!" I shouted as I tried to catch up to her.
"Hm, what?" She turned back to look at me.
"Weren't we going to walk home today? Like you wanted?" I asked.
"Oh, I'm gonna take a rain check today. Sorry Aspen, but Lily and I wanted to walk home together today." She gave me a semi-apologetic smile.
"Oh, that's fine." I tried to not sound disappointed.
"Well, see you tomorrow." She waved before they walked off.
Dang, well I guess not everything goes as planned, I thought to myself before getting interrupted by the buzzing of my phone in my right pocket. It was my mom, I immediately picked up.
"Hey honey, I'm going home early today, do you want me to pick you up? School is over right? Or are you walking with someone?" She started bombarding me with questions.
"Hehe, actually I'm barely leaving my classroom. I'm not walking with anyone today, so can you please pick me up?" I asked.
"Ok, I'll be there in a few minutes." She hung up and I put my phone away. Sheesh, it was hot today. I wiped the sweat off my forehead with my arm. Maybe I should tie my hair, I'll be out here for a few more minutes.
I took the hair tie around my wrist to tie my mid-length hair into a low ponytail. I looked at my hair a bit.
Wow, I guess I take more after dad than I do mom. My hair is dark brown, nearly black, just like Dad's. I started moving a lock of my hair between my index and thumb while examining it. I guess we share some more similar features rather than the rest of my siblings.
"Aspen!" A voice shouted.
This again? I started looking around me. The groups of students around me were walking towards the gate, some talking to others, doing other activities, or minding their own business as they exited the school. No one seemed to be looking, much less shouting my name. Maybe I'm just hearing things…
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My mom eventually arrived to the school. The drive home was silent. At least until we saw dad's car parked in the driveway, which caught us off guard since he was supposed to be on a business trip for another two days.
My mom immediately parked and got out of the car, she looked a bit excited and happy. Her reaction put a smile on my face. I rushed out to follow her too. But as soon we entered the house, we were greeted in unusual, lewd noises. I saw how my mother's face turned from excited to disgusted and sad in the matter of moments we were in the house. She raced upstairs, leaving me alone at the front door. I looked around the area, a different pair of women's shoes, scattered around with my dad's shoes.
Then a series of banging, yelling and arguing started upstairs. I felt the blood drain from my face. It all clicked. Dad was probably never on a long business trip all this time, and instead of cheating with some random lady.
"That bastard…" I gritted my teeth. He was so distant from us. Mom was going through a hard time losing Felix like the rest of us, and yet he was dancing around with some mistress.
"You cheating son of a bitch!" I heard my mom shout.
"Get out of my house! You fucking man whore!" She yelled again. This time steps followed. My dad and a lady rushed down the stairs. The collar of his shirt unbuttoned, his tie falling from his shoulders, the sleeves to the lady's blouse barely hanging onto her shoulders. My dad saw me and looked at me in disbelief, I just looked away. They made their way out the front door. I turned and locked it.
I slowly made my way upstairs. I poked my head to see into the master bedroom, where I heard my mother's sobs spill out. I wanted to go try and comfort her, but she's most likely still angry. I let her be and walked to my room.
I set down my backpack and flop on my bed.
"Shit…what's going to happen now." I started tearing up a bit.
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I fell asleep that day after all of that happened. It's about 3 weeks later, they were finalizing the divorce. My dad was living in another home with his mistress. As for my siblings which were adults, my sister moved in with her boyfriend, and my brother was staying in his dorm on campus. And my mom still lived in our home, and still being a minor she got full custody over me.
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"Aspen…Aspen…" Yuza called as she snapped her fingers in front of my face. "What's wrong? You seem totally out of it today." She frowned.
"Oh sorry, I was just thinking."
"Sounds like it was something troublesome. Wanna talk about it?" She asked.
"Really? That'd be nice." I sighed. I explained how my dad cheated and my parents were now divorced in under 10 minutes. Yuza sat there quietly and listened to my frustration.
"Damn, that sucks." She said.
"Mm, I know." I sighed again. "Well, I feel better now, thanks."
"No problem," she started smiling, "It'll probably get better soon." Her smile felt somewhat reassuring. I smiled at her back and moved on with my day.