NUTTY & NICE

”Mom.. please listen to me ”

Benny kept trying to calm down her mom as she was talking to the person on the other end. Benny tried to listen, but she did. She was just a little nervous and thats all. Its not like there was anything to be worried about. The only problem is, that Benny felt very bad about lying and if her parents found out she was hiding something from them.

Her mom seemed so annoyed that she even ignored what her daughter had to say.

But the next thing that came out of her mouth shocked everyone, especially herself.

”You
e doing all this behind my back. ”

She heard a gasp and turned around to see all her friends staring at her with shock on their faces.

Mr. McCoy saw her walking out of his sight, he felt like he did a big mistake, and things that Bennys mom said were ringing in his mind.

”But Im not ” she argued back.

******

she saw everyone was staring at her with shock but she couldn care less. in a matter of seconds, she was standing outside the gate with her mom.

She followed her mom with her head down and walked behind, not looking up until she reached the gate, stepped out of the gate and the guard closed the gate.

”I can go like this ”

Her mind told her to stop but her feet kept moving forward. as fast as she could.

The walk felt longer than it was.

The tears bubbled up in her eyes when she saw her dreams slipping out of her hands like sand.

In a mere moment, she stopped crying. she had already started to regret what she had done.

And she felt bad because she knew that her mother had been watching all this happen with teary eyes.

”I am a sorry mom ”

She said in low voice, they crossed the road the clouds started appearing all of a sudden like it was going to rain.

******

”Why are you acting like this?! ”

”Stop making a scene, just walk with me ”

Her mother was so angry that she didn even look back to see her reaction, but she did feel relieved that if anything, she would get to see her like this; all she hoped was that she would forgive her for the mess she had made.

Her heart was pounding in her chest.

She had no idea where she was going. She had no idea where her legs were taking her. She simply desired to forget everything.

She came to a complete stop after a few minutes of walking.

*****

”I don know what will happen ”, She murmured in her mind.

She felt shivers down her spine as everyone at the bus stop glared at them.

Her mom kept silent as hell and this was very scary to her.

”God please save me ”

The bus arrived where her mom led her inside and they sat on a seat near the window. They sat next to each other.

”Why did you even drag me here? I am not a kid anymore ”.

She said in hushed tones, staring out the window.

”Umm.. ”

The entire ride was silent, and she was uneasy.

She turned to her side and saw her mother staring back at her.

”So ” Her mom started, ”what were you and your friend doing out of nowhere? ”

”What are you talking about? ” she replied, turning completely back around, feeling more embarrassed than ever.

******

The bus came to a halt, and Benny noticed that they had arrived at the Ash Lane Society. Bennys mom paid the fare, they exited, and the awkward silence resumed.

They both walked through the alley, the streets were more busy than usual and it seemed like a normal day.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky and as soon as their eyes fell on each other. Its like nothing ever existed, just their presence was enough to make people stare.

This was a haunting experience for Benny and a few of the neighbors greeted Mrs. Soto but didn bother to greet them back.

They were staring at each other and whispering amongst themselves.

”Its no big deal, Mom ”

”Ill do my best this time, and Ill surely pass ”

She thought if she goes home she will be scolded for everything. She had been doing everything wrong, being a bad daughter. The only problem is that no one could reprimand her. Her mother only thinks about academics and not about her interest.

They come closer to the shop Mrs. Jennings and Benny saw it was a nice idea to run to her to protect herself from the anger of her mom.

She pulls her hand from moms grip and runs to the shop and quickly gets inside. Mrs. Jennings was talking about her day with some customers while Benny went straight to Mrs. Jennings side.

”Mrs. Jennings please talk to my mom ”

Mrs. Soto followed to the shop and saw Benny hiding behind Jenningss chair. She seemed terrified. When she noticed Mrs. Soto, her eyes widened as she approached her.

”What are you doing here? ”, Mrs. Jennings asked Benny.

”What happened Mrs. Soto? ”

”You look pale… ”

Mrs. Soto paused for a moment before responding to Mrs. Jennings. But it seemed she had no choice but to tell her because she had no one with whom to share her anxieties.

”This girl was lying to me, she was skipping classes behind my back, and… ”

”What? ”

”Not only that, but she has also failed. ”

”Can you imagine…what else could occur to her? ”

Mrs. Jennings couldn believe her ears that Mrs. Soto

”She is going to be expelled for her misbehavior too ”

”I don know what should I do, if she didn go to university she will end up like me ”

Mrs. Soto looked very sad, her shoulders drooping and shaking with fear too.

”Mom…I don want to study ”, Benny said.

”What? a shameless girl she is ”

”Do you think this world is simple? Huh… ”

Please calm down, Bennys mom

After carefully thinking

”The oakline school will be better for studies for your daughter and they are running peer-support-group too which helps in improving grades ”.

”Really ”

”Yeah…My son also studies… the teachers are quite intellectual ”, Mrs. Jennings told Mrs. Soto.

”Why don you admit her to Oakline High School? ”

Mrs. Soto was thinking about how to respond to that. She doesn want to offend her but, ”I don know… ” she trails off and looks down at the floor.

”Well, if you ever need me, Im here. And you know you have my number right? ”

Mrs. Soto nodded slowly. The woman was kind and caring.

Bennys mom was thinking, then she smiled brightly and replied. The woman was kind and caring.

Bennys mom was thinking, then smiled brightly and replied.

”I agree! But its not easy to find a good school for her daughter at the moment ”

Benny was still sitting, watching as she talked with her mother. She wiggled nervously on the hard wooden seat.

This is it, my last chance… Benny thought. The silence of the room around him suddenly felt heavy, suffocating. A cold sweat started to gather between her shoulder blades, making her shiver slightly.

”Changing school? ”

”I don want to leave Bayshore school ”

No one seemed to be interested in conversing with her and her face turned pale when she saw her moms face lit up on hearing of the new school.

”Its a good idea. Maybe I should agree to your proposition ”.

******

After staying at home for weekends and her mom panicked and eventually she was admitted to Oakline High school.

The oakline school was very far from home, 20 km away from Ash lane society, she wasn sure if she would even be able to afford a bike there,

The girls wear pleated skirts in blue and they dangle down to about their calves. They
e paired with knee-high socks and wedge shoes colored in black and blue respectively.

Like the boys, the girls wear long-sleeved shirts, which are usually loosely hanging over their skirts and are covered with a modest jacket. They too wear a tie that is tucked in the middle of their often buttoned-up jackets and is thinly dotted in the same colors.

All jackets are adorned with a small school logo and, while its completely up to them, many students wear separate accessories, mostly as a form of self-expression.

She got ready for school, wearing the same uniform and earrings made out of tiny glass stones and a silver necklace. Her hair was tied into a ponytail.

Bennys mom seemed more excited than Benny herself.

”My daughter will become a good student and how she will become famous one day being the topper. She will take her to the famous Oakwood Medical University and how she will marry one doctor like her loving husband….. ”

Her mom was lost in envisioning the future, it seems she was enjoying it as much as she.

Her mom cupped her face with awe when she saw her daughter in the school uniform.

She couldn stop smiling and said: ”You have grown so much, sweetie. ”

”Wait here, don go ”, her mom ran to her bedroom as she was about to walk out of her room.

Mom was back in a few seconds and handed her a gift bag.

”Open it and find out whats inside ”. Her mother winked at her.

The girl opened the gift bag with an expressionless face.

The box looked old and was wrapped up in plastic. She took the box slowly and unwrapped it carefully. She opened up the small box slowly and found a cute watch.

She lifted it and smiled.

”Its very pretty thank you, mommy ”. She hugged her mom tightly.

”I think this one will lift your mood ”. Her mother said.

”Bye sweetie ”

She thought it looked nice on her anyway so she didn care.

The situation at home was pretty worse and before making her mom madder she decided that she must follow her moms decision.

”Huh.. ”

When everything looked okay she grabbed her backpack and left her house.

”Bye sweetie ”, her mom waved her goodbye.

”Hmm… Bye ”

It was tiring to ride such a long distance on the bicycle so she left it in the garage.

”I must give up my old style of living ”

”Bye, bye my bicycle ”

******

She had to go to the Oakline school which was a Co-education school. The oakline school was very far from home, 20 km away from Ash lane society and her mom wasn ready to listen to any more excuses.

The new school was a long way from her old school so she took her time walking to the bus stop.

She was waiting for the bus and saw a boy also waiting for the bus.

He was cute in all ways. He had brownish blond hair, dark green eyes, and a cute smile on his lips.

”I think he is also going to Oakline ”

He looked so handsome in those uniforms that made him look like royalty. Like some kind of god come to earth. It didn help that the guy also had beautiful green eyes.

”Excuse me, classmate, do you know when the next bus comes here? ” Asked the girl as she waited for the bus.

She was looking at the boy from the corner of her eyes. Her mind wandered for a second, not understanding why hed caught her eye and she almost tripped over her own feet in an attempt to get closer to him.

”What is she doing? ”, he mumbled under his breath as he watched the girl from afar. He noticed her glancing around frantically, like a lost puppy.

He was about to leave when something stopped him in his tracks. His hands were holding on to the straps of the bag that carried his books and papers.

He looked like those anime characters from the side profile. The one that always had his head tilted down or his eyes on his phone. He seemed nice. Not that bad actually but the girl was already too close for his liking. She was looking at him with big doe eyes like he was some kind of delicious dessert or something.

”Whats is this girls problem? ”

He took a couple of steps away from her side and tried to avoid her gaze again but she was way faster.

”Why are you avoiding me? Is this your first time seeing me? ”

The other boy frowned, slightly confused by her question.

”How could I forget you after you hurt me that day? ”, he took another step away from her side.

”I think I have seen you somewhere ”, she said while grabbing his backpack that was hanging off his shoulder and pulling it towards herself.

He felt like screaming at her and trying to take the backpacks away from her but he held his tongue.

This girl was trouble. She made his heart race. He couldn explain how it started, he didn even know what was happening himself. Maybe they had met before but he just couldn remember.

The girl turned around, facing him directly now, and gave him a friendly smile.

”Don you remember me? ”.

He furrowed his eyebrows. Wasn she the one who had thrown the ball into him the days before? Why wouldn he remember?