Chapter 2

I spent the day lazying around in my room, watching dramas, movies and listening to songs. It was about time for dinner and I was listening to the songs with earphones on and scrolling through my social media account. My mom came to let me know about the dinner. “ Come out for dinner before it gets cold.” I nodded in agreement and followed her out to the living room and sat down on the dining table beside my dad and said “Hello!” He was going through some presentations for his work on his laptop. He looked up from his laptop and over to me with his specs resting on the bridge of his nose and replied with “Hello” along with a bright smile which could soothe away all your frustration and tiredness away. He looked like a very strict parent but was quite the opposite. He was the sweetest parent and I was mostly scared of getting scolded by my mom. My dad on the other hand just spoils me and my brother with chocolates, games, and almost whatever we ask for. So it is more like my mom has to take on the role of being the strict mom so that we don't get spoilt and is disciplined.

My dad - Mr. Pressley, Clifford, is 182 cm tall. He preferred a clean shaved look and was balding due to old age. He always jokes around saying he is half bald because he gave away his hair to me and my brother when we were born. I used to think of it as the truth until I grew up and understood it better. My brother still thinks the same. My dad has a healthy and fit body for his age as he likes to work out regularly. He always prefers simple attire and nothing extravagant. He is one of the directors of the company where he works. He had done his studies in marketing and logistics. He had a round face, eyes not as wide as me or mom, but were dark brown and of the shape of almond which was adorned with rectangular spectacles with thin golden frames. I loved how those gave him an elegant look. Thin lips which easily curled up into big bright gummy smile which were accentuated by a dimple on his right cheek. He was half bald from the front and his remaining hairs were grayish color as he preferred to keep it natural and not dye it. This very hair used to be pitch black at a time. He never liked the idea to dye his hair. He always felt that keeping the hair color natural is better than coloring it, shows the real you. My mother and I had tried a lot to convince him but all in vain. Then we just gave up. He's now starting to get wrinkled especially near the eye and lip area. But for me, he will always be my handsome father.

I remember hearing this story from mom and grandma that dad was a flamboyant boy who easily attracted women and was never serious about anything in his life. My grandparents were very worried about him and his future. He didn't want to go to college and get a degree, he just wanted to be a wayfarer and explore different parts of the world and live his life to the fullest. Grandpa enrolled him into college even after his multiple protests and he finally gave in and went to college. On the first day, itself dad saw mom and it was like love at first sight. So technically my mom was the reason he completed college, but he still did not give up on his dream to travel the world. The only difference was he wanted mom to accompany him everywhere. My mom also had many guys drooling over her and it wasn't until their final year that dad managed to persuade her and get into a relationship. Grandma loved her a lot. But she was still against the idea of just throwing away everything and traveling the world. She always wanted to be an interior designer and she even loved dad a lot, but she could never agree on traveling the world and leaving all her dream behind. But she never forced dad to give up on his dreams either. And they both knew they might not end up being together ever after.

On graduation day when they were supposed to parts ways as dad was supposed to leave for his traveling spree, that's when mom broke the big news to dad that she was pregnant. She thought he deserved to know this. That news actually changed everything and he dropped his plan to go traveling around and got a job at a marketing firm and worked very hard. He got married to mom and moved out of grandparent's house by the time they had me. So I was the reason dad quit his dream of traveling and got serious about life and mom.

My grandma had a habit of maintaining a diary that included all important incidents of her life and this incident was like the highlight of her diary. I never got to read the diary, but she always said it was like the highlight. The book was a black-colored one with golden borders and it looks quite mysterious. But I always rubbished the thought by saying to myself that it was just a diary and it might include some private incidents from grandma’s life that is why she never allowed me or my bro to go through the diary.

My dad was impatiently tapping his fingers on the table while watching television as he was waiting for food. He was so hungry that he had stopped working on his laptop now. I looked over to the kitchen and saw my mom was now bringing the food for our dinner out to the dining table, ready for us to dive into the hot mouth-watering dishes. She smiled at us and then inquisitively inquired

“Where is Rhys?”

As if this was his cue, we saw a storm whirling out of his room, and out came my younger brother running and almost dashing and tripping over the chair before my mother caught him and almost yelled but then controlled herself by shrieking out “Careful!” He gave a mischievous smirk and jumped onto the chair for having dinner.

My brother, Rodney Pressley aka Rhys- He was a 6-year-old scallywag. Though he was our tiny baby, I was always amazed at the amount of energy he had in that tiny body to do all sorts of mischief and the number of ideas cultivating in his head to irritate others, especially me. He had a knack for irritating me and get me angry. He couldn't stop bugging me until I just lose my rationality and start yelling on top of my voice at him. Then like he has achieved his goal he will throw a mischievous smile at me showing all his front teeth and gums and whirl his way away from me as nothing happened. He had messy brown hair like mom and almond eyes, had a smile that showed his gums and dimple on his right cheek just like dad. He had a cut mark under his chin which he got while he was playing and goofing around at the playground when he tripped and landed on the ground hitting hard on his chin which resulted in a cut and two stitches. This happened a year ago. Going at this rate I am pretty sure by the time he reaches his twenties he is sure to have many cut marks and stitches giving him a gangster look without him putting in any effort if he chooses to join a gang. But even after all this I know he admires and loves me, mom and dad dearly. He just can't stand to see me upset over anything. He would even fight with our parents if they upset me or scold me for anything. I know I would do the same for him if needed.

Post dinner I helped my mom with the dishes and cleaning the dining table. After finishing the dishes I headed to my room where I found my brother going through my stuff in the dressing table drawer. He knows very well I don't like him going through my stuff and yet he does the same thing to get on my nerve. “Go and sleep, I need to sleep too, tomorrow I have to wake up early,” I said in an irritated tone, not wanting to end up arguing or fighting. To this, he stuck his right hand out and replied “ Give me a bar of chocolate, and I will leave. Nobody will be harmed after that!” Boy! is he good with bargaining! He knows I hate it when he touches my stuff especially my makeup kit in the drawer which is quite expensive and I had to convince for weeks for my mom to agree to get me one. I was scared he will end up somehow destroying it and that is the last thing I want to happen. He also knows I store away chocolates on the upper shelf of my cupboard where he cannot reach. I groaned and stomped my way to the cupboard and got one chocolate out and handed it over to him. He took the chocolate, stuck out his tongue, gave me the toothy smile, and before I could react, dashed out of the room. I heard him tripping over something and mom yelling at him. I was angry but then I gasped and turned off the lights and went ahead to lay on my bed thinking about the upcoming academic year and what will it hold for me. I was excited to meet my friends- Wyola, Naomi, and Lizeth, after the long summer vacation. At the same time, I was anxious about the amount of homework, projects, tests, and exams that are going to be thrown at us. And then I dreaded even more to face the so-called queen bee of our school- Hope.