The Great Unknown *ON HOLD*

Chapter 3

“The audacity of some people!” Charlotte’s father was red in the face, similar to the color of the pasta sauce, “I have never felt so humiliated!”

 Charlotte said nothing, taking a sudden interest of a deformed farfalle noodle. She stabbed one of the noodles and brought it to her mouth. The discovery of Lucas’s little pun had set her father off into what she had always referred to as “professional fury.”Lawyers seemed to be naturally good at it. Charlotte’s father would be ranting for a while; she knew that from previous experience.

“The immaturity presented in a form of such an atrocious and irresponsible crime. What’s worse is the arrogance within the act; the fact that some pompous child felt the need to assert some pretend dominance with an inane joke.  This is why I don’t send you to public school Charlotte…Too many mischievous kids with nothing better to do but waste their time on defiling property.”

“How do you know it wasn’t an immature adult?” Charlotte challenged. She massacred three more noodles with her fork. Some of the sauce splashed onto the white tablecloth of the dining room table.

“Have you discovered who it was?” Mrs. Lockwood asked her husband. Charlotte chewed slowly and shot an unnoticed glare at her mother. Charlotte loathed how easy it was for a parent to utterly ignore their child. Flint scowled deeply and pouted at his wife’s question.

“No, the security cameras don’t have any footage of it. Little punk must have tampered with our systems, which I should add, is a misdemeanor. I swear I will not rest until he or she gets probation and has to pay us restitution for our property.”

It was Charlotte who had tampered with the footage. She had simply erased the convicting evidence, for the boy’s sake, yes, but also for her own. Had she been caught allowing Lucas to escape, probation would have sounded like dreamland compared to the lockdown she would have been under. Charlotte swallowed another bite of food silently and listened to the metal utensils scrape against the china plates.

“Carol, dear, will you pass the rolls?” Aunt Darla broke her silence. She had not made a sound for the entire meal so her voice caught the whole table off-guard.  Charlotte noticed the intense look in her Aunt’s faded blue eyes, and realized that she was the one being called upon.

“I am Charlotte, Aunt Darla, not Carol.”Charlotte forced an uneasy smile and held out a silver dish. The rolls were buried under a smooth white fabric. Her aunt stared at the dish for a brief minute before snatching it with her long, spindly fingers. Charlotte retracted her hand quickly and studied her aunt with a strong feeling of contempt.

“Foolish girl…” Charlotte’s aunt muttered and dropped a steaming roll onto her plate. Charlotte sighed and cast a helpless look towards her parents, who simultaneously avoided her eyes. Frustrated, Charlotte butchered two more noodles and brought her fork up to her mouth.

"Charlotte honey, you do not need to eat so much." Her mother stopped her. Charlotte dropped the fork into the sauce and stood up.

“Sorry mom, may I be excused?” She asked, without really asking; the question was more of a demand. With silence as consent, she walked away from the dining room table and stormed up the stairs.

We all can't be models, mother, Charlotte thought bitterly. She slammed the door behind her as she entered her bedroom. It’s not like they cared, anyways, whether or not she slammed the door. Charlotte spun around and slammed the door twice more for good measure. What? Would either of her parents come running upstairs to see whatever was the matter with their precious little angel? Her aunt certainly wouldn't come running either.

“Carol…” Charlotte said. She just wanted to hear the name again. She stood still in the center of her hard wood floor.

“What is it Aunt Darla? Don’t you remember your friggin’ niece?” She asked, beginning with mock politeness and escalating to anger. She began to pace back and forth until her shoulders finally inched away from her neck. The anger had died back down to the usual calmness.