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| 'till we meet again Dad and you too, Wisconsin.' |
I looked around my room; dull and pale. The ceramic
white paint is beginning to peel off by itself with some help it can gain from
the heater. Well, since now all my stuffs are packed inside three large brown
boxes, I shall just accept that faith is backstabbing me. I looked at one of
the boxes, which is still open. I glance over to see that my books and clock
that I got from last year’s poetry competition are inside there, not having fun
though. I took a masking tape and shut the covers of the box and taped it up.
Just like that box, my life is over, here.
I don’t know whether to blame it on Mum or Dad. The
whole divorce thing, well it’s more complicated than the ‘Scandal’ series
airing on tv. Being the only girl, the only child at the age of sixteen, where
unstable emotions and heartbreaks rule. I can’t even think straight ever since
I came back from the court. The judge at the court have decided that my Mum
will be taking care of me while my Dad can just marry someone else and have
tons of kids because he is a man and not a lady like my Mum, but under one
condition, he must take care of my finance till I’m 21 or till I get married to
someone way better than himself or till I get a job. So, from tomorrow onwards
I won’t be having a family; a complete family to be precise. Dad moved out one
week ago, so technically I was living with a not-so-complete family for a week
already. I looked at my watch and its already 11.00 a.m, I need some fresh air
I thought to myself. I stood up and walk out of my empty, lifeless room. I
hurried myself downstairs and grab my Everlast sweater and yelled at Mum.
‘Mum! , I’m going out for a while, need some air!’
‘Okay , make sure to come back before lunch !’ Mum
replied.
I turned the brass knob of my front door before a
gush of breezy wind hit my face. I started walking to the streets. I tried to
avoid looking at anyone because I’m not in the mood to smile at strangers. I
took a few turns till I reached my school. I entered my school’s compound
without even caring that the guards were looking at me. I know today is Sunday
and it’s a holiday but since, I’m moving tonight, I need to say my final
goodbye to my beloved school. I headed straight to the lobby where my locker is
situated at and as I pass the notice boards, I realized that I never actually
knew that we had an economics club. Man, I suffered through science club
because I hate science because science is the reason why people make mistakes,
science is the reason why people get married, it’s all science’s fault. Feeling
frustrated, I opened my locker so hard without even giving a damn that I might
just break the whole thing. Well, at least I need to do something rebellious so
that people will remember me. I will be gone tonight and I wonder if tomorrow
people at school will realize that I’m gone.
I know I’m not a popular, or a
pretty or a talented girl but at least people need to know me for something.
Like how Rebecca is known for her braces and how Frankie is known for his weird
ears, maybe they’ll know me as who I am, a stupid girl with a messed-up family.
I looked into my locker and took out my stuffs. Crumpled papers dominated my
locker and between them are broken pens, test papers, chips, a mirror and an
expired sim-card. I took out all of that and dumped them into the rubbish bin.
After cleaning my locker, I gave my locker one last glance before closing it. I
wandered around the classes. I entered the library and there was no one, not
even the librarian. I went into my classroom and took my picture out of the
jar. We have a jar in our class, it’s called the friendship jar. Like, in my
class, there are 32 of us, so each of us need to put our picture into the jar
as a sign of eternal friendship. I don’t think they need to remember me. I’m
not that good in talking to people. I would rather be locked up in my room with
novels and food rather than out and about socializing with attention seekers.
I exited my class and walked towards my school’s
auditiorium. The auditorium is the place
that I’m gonna miss the most I guess, because I used to practice school plays
and write poetry here. The auditorium is like the most liveliest place, where
all the ideas come to life and it’s the only place that I’m happy I guess. I
went on to the stage and I stood up there and glance towards the audience. Of
course it’s empty, but what matters the most is I’m happy now. I sat at the
edge of the stage with my legs dangling like the loose branches of an old oak
tree. My thoughts wander as I sat there. I questioned myself, like what I’m
gonna do at my new school, how can I actually mix with all those new people,
will people love me or hate me, and the most important thing is , will my life
get any better? Or it will be worse?
I was so into my personal thoughts till it drifted
me away and I just realized that I was starring at the red chairs below there
in the audience without even blinking for like 10 minutes. I stood up and dust
myself off before leaving the auditorium with my eyes all watery because I know
I’m gonna miss this place , because even my heart says so. I strolled towards
the gate of my school and glance at my school from the entrance for one last
time. ‘Goodbye Wisconsin High’ I whispered.
I exited my school and headed to the streets; again.
I shove my hands into the holes of my sweater. I felt my tummy rumbling so I
decided to stop at the Dylan’s Diner . Well, since the weather is quite chilly
maybe I could use some of Dylan’s hand tossed cheese pancakes. I pushed the
glass door with my right hand and now I’m in the diner. The thing about Dylan’s
Diner , it’s not like any other diner with fixed tables or hard stools. At
Dylan’s, everything is more soft and comfy. Like the chairs are soft and the
colors of the walls are soft, like practically the whole diner is just soothing
and relaxable. I sat at the corner of the diner and the waitress, based on her
name tag, she’s Racheal.
‘Hello, good morning miss, can I take your order?’
She asked me.
‘Good morning to you to Racheal, yeah, I would love
to have three cheese pancakes with
primrose honey, hand tossed and a hot coco
with nuts.”
Her hands were moving so fast, then she tore a
receipt and placed it gently on to my table.
‘Three pankys coming right up!’ She told me before
leaving.
I just laughed because although I’ve been here like
a zillion times but I still think that those waitresses saying the word
‘pankys’, like it’s so weird and it doesn’t make any logical explanation at
all. Why can’t they just say ‘Pancakes’ instead of ‘Pankys’. As I was busy
giggling all alone, I didn’t realize that my phone was ringing. I looked at my
phone screen and the ID appeared. It’s Dad. I was about to ignore it but I need
to at least respect the guy who contributed something to my existence , so I
answered.
‘Hey sweetheart!, it’s me your dad’
‘Hi, yeah I still remember you voice, duh’ I replied
with a sarcastic tone.
‘So, where are you, are you free today?’
‘I’m at Dylan’s , since I’ll be leaving tonight, so
I might as well have my last breakfast here, you wanna join me?’ I asked him.
‘Owh, what time is it now’
‘Hurm, 12’ I replied without even looking at my
watch.
‘I’ll be there in 15, okay?’
‘Sure.’ I hung up.
So, now at least I’ll have some company, I was
planning to have a chat with Racheal but since now my dad is coming, I’ll just
chat with that old guy before leaving, you know in case after this he might
forget me or so. I was busy looking at my phone when Racheal appeared all of a
sudden, bringing my pancakes or should I say ‘Pankys’ with her.
‘Here you go miss, your Pancakes and your coco.’
‘It’s ‘pankys’ Racheal.’ I corrected her while
laughing.
‘Oh yeah, I’m sorry, I just started working here
since last week.’
‘No, No, it’s okay, I was just kidding Racheal. So,
where you’re from?’ I asked her.
‘Hahaha, I’m from Michigan, I moved here, to Wisconsin
like 3 weeks ago, because my Dad, he
got a job at the hardware company.’
‘Owh, which hardware company?’
‘Lauren’s, my Dad used to work at that company when
we were at Michigan.’ She replied while wiping her fingers on her apron.
‘Oh, so what you are-.’ I can’t complete my sentence
as I saw Dad walking towards me.
Dad looked just like last time. With the same old
jeans and t-shirt tucked in all coated with a pale-brown denim jacket. All he’s
missing is a cowboy hat. Well, it’s been only a week since the divorce, that
explains why he is still all organized. Racheal stood beside me as Dad took a
seat in front of me.
‘Hey, Nat and good morning miss.’
‘Hey Dad!’ My smile was bigger than my face.
‘Good morning to you too, anything I can help you
with.’ Racheal asked Dad.
‘I would love to have salad, make it large and a
shot of Tequila.’ He told her.
‘Okay, you guys chat while I’ll bring the orders
okay.’ Racheal walked away.
Dad looked at me suspiciously as I was starring at
him till my eyeballs are about to pop off my skull.
‘Why darling, what’s wrong?’ He asked me, he was not
smiling anymore.
‘Dad, like seriously, you just spoiled the whole
thing! Like who eats salad with a shot of Tequila. It doesn’t make any sense.
Salads are healthy but Tequilas?’ I jammed my fork into my pancakes.
‘Haha, darling, there will be a day when you will
realized how important marriage is-.’ He didn’t even finished his sentence and
he’s already laughing for no reason.
I was confused. How important marriage is? What does
that even have to do with salads and tequilas. I shove a spoonful of pancakes
into my mouth while waiting for Dad to continue, but he was just laughing, even
more.
‘Dad, can I ask you something?’ I gave him a serious
look and he stopped laughing but his nose is still red.
‘Yeah , sure,
you can ask anything you want sweetie.’ And he folded his arms on the
table and now his whole face is red.
‘Have you gone cuckoo?, retarded?, like all psychotic without Mum?’
‘See, you got it, I didn’t even need to explain it
to you, you’re one smart girl Nat-.’ He stopped as Racheal came and interrupted
us with a big bowl of fresh salad and a shot of tequila.
‘Here you go, your salad and tequila Mr , err,
excuse me sir what’s your name?’ Racheal asked.
‘I’m Mr Dallas Anderson, and this is my daughter,
Natalie Anderson.’
‘Awh, nice names, okay bye, I don’t want to
interrupt your father-daughter bonding talk and if you guys want anything, just
ring the bell of your left’ And Racheal walked away.
I turned to my left and there’s a medium-sized bell
hanging above our heads, to be exact, above Dad’s head. I looked at Dad and his
green salad and his tequila that doesn’t make any sense to me, I ignored the
weirdness that’s growing inside of that old man’s soul because I want him to be
happy. As his child and only daughter, I’m not gonna forbid him, he is allowed
to do anything as long as he’s happy with it.
‘So, Natalie, where are you and Mum moving to?
China?’ There’s still some sense of sarcasm in him which I can’t deny.
‘No, we are going to Korea.’ I replied without
looking at him.
‘What the hell, you guys are going to Korea?’ He
believed.
‘No, we are going to Seattle.’ I looked at him
straight in the eyes this time.
‘So, you guys need any help for transport or
something to go there?’ He asked.
‘Mum said that she already arranged everything with
our next door nanny.’
‘Who? What nanny?’ He stopped eating and looked at
me suspiciously like I’m a serial killer.
‘Nanny Paula, yes we are going to Seattle with her.’
‘What the heck, you guys are following that Crazy
Paula to Seattle? She might just kill you guys
and steal all your money once
you guys are there’ He gave a disappointed hush.
‘Paula is not crazy, she is just weird, like you,
she is all lonely.’
‘Paula is not crazy? What do you mean Paula is not
crazy. That hag made her son eat snails when
he was 12!’
‘Maybe, you know her son is allergic to seafood.
Besides, she is gonna visit her ‘snailed’ son there and we are gonna go
somewhere else.’ I felt sad.
Dad didn’t reply anything after that. He just stayed
silent and ate his salad. Maybe, he’s taking the whole divorce thing in a really
bad way. Now, he’s taking tequilas maybe after this he’s gonna be an alcoholic
and sobering at bars till midnight. I know my Dad is a person that doesn’t
drink alcohol unless if he’s having a major problem or he’s just stressed. I
drank my hot chocolate (that was no longer hot) and I played with the silver
spoon till my Dad stood up and took a shot of his tequila.
‘I’ll drop you off at home okay?’
‘Okay.’ I replied without hesitating.
He paid the bill while I just followed him while
folding my arms. In the car, things were pretty much awkward because I didn’t
even speak a single word and the radio was off. He was so focused at the road ,
his eyes were gazing straight ahead like a tiger about to attack. I just lock
and unlock my phone a dozen of times till I reached home. I said goodbye to him
then he roared away. I walked into my house and things went pretty much fast.
We ate , slept and we woke up and it’s already 6pm then we took our stuffs,
locked the house door and took a taxi to the airport. We walked around the
airport don’t even know what to do while waiting for our flight.
Then it was
already 10pm. They were announcing that our flight will be leaving in 30
minutes time. Then we checked in our belongings and boarded the flight. The
engines of the aircraft made a heck of a noise before taking off. As we took
off, I was looking out of my window, admiring at the veins of the city beneath
me. The air conditioner is lowering down my energy, I felt sleepy so I decided
to cover my legs with my blanket and tilt my chair to the back a bit and made
myself a comfortable bed. I look outside again and I whispered alone to the
city that I’m currently leaving, ‘till we meet again, Dad and you too, Wisconsin.'
Note : This like the teaser for Taking A Chance. I won't be posting the upcoming chapters here anymore. I'll post them on wattpad. This is currently NOT AVAILABLE on wattpad. I'll inform it here when it's available. Thanks for reading! Have fun!