Andromeda

Chapter Six

The events of that day were on her mind for the rest of the evening. As the sun set over the rural horizon, Anna sat in her room in front of her vanity mirror, aimlessly running a brush through her hair. She was thinking about straightening it from its usually wavy style for her date with Jason. She could not help but smile every time she thought about it, and she often wondered what made her happier: Jason asking her out or how much it bothered Tamara that he was showing an interest in her.

She giggled at the thought but was distracted by what sounded like somebody pulling on the string to the attic door. Anna threw her brush down on the dresser and groaned in annoyance. "Go away, Abigail!"

Just then, the attic door was pulled down and the ladder extended. Anna rolled her eyes as her unwelcome visitor began climbing up.

"It's just me, honey," Lynn said as she appeared from below.

"Oh! Sorry, Mom," Anna replied sheepishly.

Lynn walked over to sit on the end of Anna's bed just across the attic from the vanity. "No need to be jumpy. I just want to talk."

"I'm not jumpy." Anna resumed brushing her hair, seemingly to no direction as though she was trying to distract from her own thoughts. "What's up?"

Lynn let out a sigh. "You know the school called when you walked out of class today."

Anna froze in the middle of her movements. She had not told her parents about her latest seizure despite their instruction to do so, and the guilt quickly came over her as Lynn addressed it.

"I haven't told your father about it," Lynn continued, sensing her discomfort, "but I would appreciate it if you'd talk to me right now."

"I didn't say anything because it wasn't a big deal," Anna lied, though she knew it was no use trying.

"Is that why I got a call from you at 2:07 pm?" Lynn responded, never shifting her calm demeanor.

Anna sighed as she set her brush back on the dresser. "I was just doing what you told me to do, but I promise it was nothing serious!"

"Anna, come on now. I may only have known you for a year, but I never taught you to lie."

Anna spun around in her chair to face Lynn, frustration lighting up within her eyes. "Exactly. It's been a year and you still won't let this go."

Lynn returned a look of confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"It's bad enough that I can't stop these spasms from happening, but do you know how embarrassing it is when they happen in the middle of school?"

"That's why we want to know these things," Lynn replied. "So that we can one day stop them."

"How? After all this time, what have you done to help?"

"You stopped this one on your own, didn't you?"

Anna opened her mouth to respond, but was unable to find any words. What Lynn said was true, and she realized that she had stepped out of line just now. However, that did nothing for the fact that she was more stressed about the issue than ever.

"I guess so," she muttered, lowering her head.

Lynn stood up and approached the dresser. "Look, I understand how you feel."

"No you don't!" Anna cried, jumping to her feet. "You don't know how this feels! You don't know what it's like to be nobody!"

"You are not nobody," Lynn countered sternly. "You are my daughter, Anna, regardless of how you came to us."