LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 10: Unwelcomed Guest.
8:31 P.M.
Minutes into slumber Debra entered her daughters bedroom like everyday before she would allow herself sleep, standing at the foot of the bedroom door she watched her daughter in her sleep. "You grew up fast, soon you'll become a real woman" the light sleeper Alycia had accustomed herself to be, her eyes haltingly opened. "Grown women don't sit and live off of their mothers" Debra furthered her stance into the darkness of her daughters room. Turning on the one lamp on the nightstand of the bed before seating herself on the vanity chair. Positioning herself against the headboard, Alycia grew curious and confused. "I married your father when I was 16 years old" she confessed with a blank and unreadable expression on her face, her focus on nothing in particular as she spoke, revealing the first of anything Alycia knew of her father who was a stranger to her. "We live in different times, your educated now and your purpose shall be to fulfill the honorable life of a grown woman" with a very evasive tone she never broke eye contact with the oblivious and grew silent. "May I question what your saying mother ?"
"A Husband" she asserted now gazing at her child
"A Husband?"
"Yes a husband, you will marry"
Without any compassion she rose to her feet and drifted off with the slow wind before you could hear her bedroom door shut at the end of the hallway. Just like that no arguing, defiance or plead. Debra Nicole Bella made words final and no one could dispute her stubborn nature especially not her daughter who couldn't and wouldn't even dare to attempt it. Sleep became difficult, she refused any part of it but saw no way out. She knew of no one who'd help. "Maybe Mr Brown" desperately drowning in thoughts at 2:00 A.M. in the morning but struggled with the idea of being someone's burden in her time of need. He was the only saviour she could think of but disregarding her own predicament, she sympathized with her employer who was old and probably preferred his own space than to be bothered with a 17 year old. Accepting fate was her last bet, in hopes that this marriage wouldn't be to an entitled man who would deteriorate her unlucky life.
The next day...
Midday
3:10
Seated in the library by the table on the far end of the large room, attempting to complete Mrs Solomon's chemistry homework, Alycia struggled to give into the focus of the three books neatly overlapping each other on the sapwood table. Tapping the tip of her pen onto the blank page in contuation to the last full page of the work, the new page was yet to grace her elegant, neat cursive handwriting. "You will marry" the words occupied themselves into every part of her brain. Why marriage? A rush of disturbance fought it's way into every aspect of the word 'marry'. Time was ticking, work needed to get done, she recalled to the shift she still had waiting ahead of time. Hands shaking as she began to write. The silence which set the climate for concentration was now agonizing and schizophrenic. With the wall clock indicating 3:51, she ended off with a neatly ruled line before packing in preparation to leave. Beginning her short walk to work she offered a false enthusiastic greeting to Mr Brown before taking over the impotant responsibility of the shop. Attention fixacted on the TV for 10 minutes with not a customer in sight yet. She attentively watched the daily news program before two familiar faces from school arrived. Laughing loudly together at the foot of the store entrance, they reached the back of the store returning to the front with soda cans bottles of water. Placing them on the counter, they converted as she scanned the items. "$5,20 please" she announced before one of the two males placed a $10 note on the counter. "Hey I know you-" extracting change from the register she pretended to not hear him and handed the money. "Dumbass she in our English class" his friend cued. "Nigga I know dat but wasn't you the weirdo dancing crazy at O.T.'s birthday party?" He laughed, eyes stiffly fixated on her. His index finger out pointing at her, he tapped on his friends upper arm with the back of his other hand. "Word, that was you?" He watched as she hung her head down with the intention of saying nothing. "That shit went viral ain't it?" He joined his friend in laughter before portraying one of the moves from the video. "That was some funny ass shit" he stated finally before approaching the door with his friend, both heavily drowning in amusement. "You looked bad though" were the friends final statement and agreement before they were completely gone. Lifting her head up her eye clouded itself already and let loosely of an unexpected tear. She'd already been tormented at school for that incident and after days of the constant humiliation she finally believed that it had come to its end but apparently not.
6:00 P.M.
Upon her arrival home she met the faces of the individuals she'd spent dinner with not too many days ago, seated around the living room coffee table. She stood under the door frame where she'd entered the conversation. "Grab the bag I packed on your bed, I'll see you on Friday morning " returning to the conversation of marriage arrangements, Alycia questioned nothing before scurrying to her room and returning with a small cream colored duffle bag in her grip. "Where are we going?" Words above a whisper, her innocent hazel eyes reciprocating her mothers gaze. "Your going home" she replied for once without breaking into an abrupt heap of anger due to being questioned by her daughter. "Home?" Clouding her curiosity, she watched the visitors arising from the sofa and heading towards the door, Debra passed a gesture with the work of her eyes to Alycia, who instantly obliged. No goodbye, no hug not even a glancing eye salutation as the doors of her mothers door closed inches behind. She found herself in the backseat of a grey Toyota Corolla headed past an unfamiliar, busy part of town before halting into an open driveway with a 2 door garage ahead. Moments after she was unpleasantly situated into a room after being told by the woman of the house to freshen herself up, look presebtable before preparing their last meal for the day. As if not being treated like an unwanted fly with imposed duties after preparing the exact same meal Debra herself had prepared for them on the night of their dinner visit only, to have it be heavily criticized and eaten with digust. Through her very own tastebuds their wasn't a single problem with the dish. She'd followed the recipe for each component of the dish to perfection, all the measurements, the timing, everything seemed adequately up to par but apparently not to everyone's liking. Washing dishes and wiping every inch of the floors with a rag as instructed, despite the mop she'd seen neatly placed in the guest bathroom corner she was finally granted sleep