Harper's POV
It was time for lunch once the bell rang twice. I walked out of the classroom and waited for Kiera by the door. After she fixed her things and placed them inside her school bag, she left her home-work papers on the desk. She said goodbye to the teacher and left the classroom. We went to the cafeteria and sat in our usual table. We always had packed lunch so we did not have to buy food unless either one of us is still hungry. Since Kiera slept with us last night, my mom made her packed lunch as well.
"I got so bored in class today. I was on the verge of sleeping at some point.", Kiera said.
"Same here. I wished he would make the discussion livelier though. That would've made the class more interesting even though the lesson is a bit hard to understand", I agreed.
"Wanna hang out with us later? We're going to see a new movie that came out recently. Jared and Leia will be there too.", Kiera asked.
"Oh okay, sure! I'll just message my mom about it to let her know I'm with you guys.", I replied.
I brought out my phone and started texting my mom.
Harper: Hi mom! Just wanted to tell you that I'm hanging out with Kiera and the others later. Is that okay? Do you need any help at home?
2 minutes later
Mom: Hi dear. You can go with them. I can handle the work so far. Just come home by 8 PM. Let's eat dinner together okay? Enjoy your day!
Harper: Okay mom. If you need anything from the mall just text me.
The bell rang and Kiera dragged me out of the lunch room to head to our next class. I kept the phone in my pocket and we ran downstairs to go to the classroom.
— Dismissal time —
Kiera and I walked out and we found Jared and Leia near the parking lot. We waved to them and they saw us going towards them.
"Hi guys! Are you ready to see the movie? We can buy some popcorn before we watch it.", Leia asked.
"Hi Leia! Yeah we're good to go. While waiting to get in let's check out some stores. I need some new clothes.", Kiera said.
"Okay cool! Jared, go start the car and open the back door. We'll just place our bags there. Thanks!", Leia said.
Jared drove us to the mall and some of us got their sling bags. I didn't even think of bringing one because Kiera invited me on the day itself. We went to some shops near the cinemas and Kiera bought a lot of clothes on sale. I bought some sweaters and pants. It will be snowing soon so I made sure to buy some sweaters for mom too. It was almost time to enter the movie-house so we bought some popcorn and drinks. The movie was almost 2 hours long and we finished at around 6:30 PM.
"That movie was really good! I just wished that they didn't rush the ending scenes.", Jared exclaimed.
"That's so true. They should have given more scenes near the ending to prevent that rushed ending. How'd you find it, Harper?", Kiera asked.
"It was fine. Not the best movie adaptation for the book but I enjoyed it in the very least.", I replied.
"Oh Harper, you're such a bookworm. You usually prefer books better than movies right? I mean this isn't the first time you said that you liked the book better than the movie.", Jared groaned.
"Yeah, I say that most of the time. Books make me understand the story more and there aren't any parts missing unlike in movies. They have a limit of 1-2 hours and they have to skip some cool and important parts too. Can't wait to see a movie that can be better than the books I've read." I said.
"Oh well good luck in finding that certain movie then. Wanna eat some dinner? I'm starving!", Leia asked.
"You literally ate almost two boxes of popcorn. You have such a big appetite.", Keira said.
I checked my phone and it was almost 7.
"I'll see you guys in school. I gotta go back home. My mom is expecting me to be there for dinner. Have fun!", I waved.
"Bye Harper! See you next week.", the three of them said their goodbyes and waved back.
I called for a cab and told the driver to go to my address. I sighed and looked out the window, hoping to find something interesting. I guess you could say I have an average life. I loved reading books, go out with my friends, help mom do some chores and some of her work at home, and eat food. I was hoping for a bit of a change in my usual routine.
The driver said that we have arrived. I paid him and I got my bag and went out of the car. I thanked him and waved him goodbye. e waved back before leaving the area. I walked towards the doorstep and rung the doorbell. After a few minutes, my mom opened the door and hugged me right away and said "Welcome home!".
"Hi mom! What's with the affectionate gesture?", I asked.
"Oh, you know. I cooked your favorite food today. I just wanted to let you know about it through that action haha!
"Partan bree?", I asked.
"Yes and I made some teacakes and some evening tea along with it. Now come on, let's eat before the food gets cold.", my mom replied.
"Okay mom. What made you decide to make my favorites for dinner?", I asked while putting my bag on the couch.
"I just felt like doing so. I wanted to treat you to a nice meal, that's all.", my mom smiled.
"You sure? I think you have something to tell me. What is it?", I said.
"Oh okay okay I'll tell you. Let's talk while eating.", my mom said as she sat down in front of the dining table.", she said.
"Okay. So what's all this?", I asked.
"Recently I've been working at your dad's firm right? So I got some mail from your dad's mom. She asked if we could move somewhere near your dad's old home so she could come visit from time to time. Don't worry you can still stay in that school. I was just hoping to ask you if you are okay with moving there.", my mom explained.
"Oh okay. I don't know mom. I think it's best to stay here for a while. I don't wanna associate myself with the people who knew dad. We can move there after a few months I guess.", I said.
"Oh honey. You know, it wasn't dad's fault when he left us. I think he needed some time to do live his life without us first.", my mom said.
"I know. But it's been 6 years. 6 years, mom and he hasn't been in touch with us. What if he cheated on you and lived with another woman instead without us knowing about it? Don't you know how hard it was for you to support the both of us? I get that he needs space but not this long. I just wanna see him again.", I said and heaved a big sigh.
"I can ask his mom about it. Hopefully he's doing well.", my mom said and gave me a sad smile.
"Whatever. But if he's going to be like this then I can't forgive him for making us unhappy for a long time. You need him and so do I.", I muttered under my breath then continued to eat my plate of food.
My mom and I stayed silent after that talk. After eating I helped mom with washing the dishes. We didn't try to ask how our day went. I knew that it wasn't fair that dad left and did not try to offer support or contact us. I don't even remember much about him anymore. When he left, I tried my best not to feel sad. I wanted to forget him.
By the time we finished washing the dishes. I told my mom that I would go freshen up for bed. She nodded and headed towards the living room to watch some shows on the telly. I washed my face twice, thinking about what my mom just said. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw some of my mom's facial features on me. But I looked more like my dad, like what my other relatives and friends said. For some reason, I can't even recall my dad's face anymore. I only see a tall man with a blank face, not knowing if he's smiling or frowning back at us. It was like I did my best erasing most of my memories with him.
I shook my head and wiped my face. I changed into my pjs and went to my room. My room was filled with books. There were two shelves on both sides of the room, a study table near my bed, and my cat's litter box near the door. My cat was asleep when I was there. I gave it a quick pat on the head and sat on my bed. I placed my bag on the floor and got my phone out. I scrolled through Instagram, hoping to see what my friends are doing. My eyes were drying up and I started feeling sleepy after a while so I charged my phone and laid down on the bed. I wasn't too sleepy so I opened my eyes and looked through my window.
I wanna know where my dad is. I feel like he's still out there, trying to earn more money. He's still alive, I know it. I just wish he would knock on our doorstep someday and see us and return. If he doesn't do that, then I will never forgive him for all the hardships he has put on us when he was gone. I would forget about him and eventually grow up supporting my mom.
After I have gathered all of my thoughts, I placed my blanket over me and tried to sleep until I was already in a deep slumber.169Please respect copyright.PENANA7ZBnDU4Kln