Inferior [completed]

...anyone...

It was around 7:30 in the evening when Jane joined her family downstairs for dinner. She was feeling so much better now that the headache was gone.

"Jane don't just sit like that," said Mrs. Miller as she poured some pasta into a large bowl. "Set the table already!"

Jane huffed silently and went to do as she was asked. At times, it frustrated the hell out of her. Sure, she knew that it was a duty to help during dinner time but there was just those moments when she didn't feel like doing it.

After the table was set and the bowl of pasta was placed in the middle, Jane was about to have a seat when yet another order came her way.

"Go and call your brother for dinner please," Jane's mom said as she filled the plates with the pasta.

Like an automaton, Jane walked up the stairs and headed towards her brother's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar and she knocked loudly before peeking inside.

"Connor, dinner is ready. Come," Jane said.

Her brother — who was lounging on his bed, flipping through a magazine — ignored her completely, as if he didn't hear her.

"Come on Connor," Jane insisted with frustration.

Connor rolled his eyes and threw the magazine away. "Alright, alright," he said with equal irritation.

Jane turned away and walked back downstairs. Soon after Connor came after her. The family sat down together and ate the meal silently, each one of them lost in their own thoughts.

Mrs. Miller gathered the dirty dishes in her hands and dumped them into the sink when dinner was over. Connor stood up and went upstairs while Jane's father made his way towards the TV room. Jane was about to retreat to her bedroom too when her mother called her.

"What?" she asked softly. She had a feeling already of what was going to come out of her mother's mouth.

"Where are you going?" Mrs. Miller asked, giving her daughter a pointed look. "Help me with the dishes."

Jane huffed loudly this time. "Mom, I have homeworks to do," she said, a slight hint of irritation in her voice.

"Is that too much asking for you?" Jane's mother asked over her shoulder. "I never ask you to do anything and when I do this is what you have as answer. I can't believe kids these days. Always so lazy and not willing to do any chores in the house."

Jane listened to her mother's rambling with increasing irritation. I never ask you to do anything... the words resonated in the mind of Jane and she felt like laughing. Sure, that was so true; her mother never ask anything out of her, besides brooming the house on weekends, cleaning the yard in front of the house or washing the dirty dishes which were left like that in the morning.

At times, Jane felt like she was a maid and not family. A little bit more and she would start believing that she was real life Cinderella... but with no prince.

Jane made to turn and go upstairs when her mother halted her again. "Jane didn't you hear me? Come and give a hand," she shouted.

Gritting her teeth to keep herself from snapping, Jane walked towards the sink and started to wipe the wet dishes clean with a cloth before setting them in their respective places in the kitchen cabinets. Needless to say, she had to endure yet another pain-in-the-ass lecture from her mother who seemed to never get satisfied.

It felt like hours before Jane finally crashed onto her bed, feeling exhausted even though she already had had a nice nap not long ago. Lazily, she turned her head and eyed the pile of books and copybooks waiting on her study table.

She groaned and reluctantly got up, making her way towards her little office and sat down on the plush leather chair. At least she had something comfortable to sit on for hours, unlike those crappy wooden chairs at school.

She picked up her history book first, intending to revise again the new topics which she had learned today and make a summary of it. She certainly didn't want to disappoint Mrs. Roosevelt again.

She sighed in relief when, seconds later, she was finally done with it. As she was putting History away, her phone dinged, signaling a message.

It was Kailey.

Have u been able to do no. 5 for maths?

Jane smiled and shook her head. She didn't mind at all when her friend would message her and ask her help for any subject, especially maths.

Jane seized her phone and was typing a response back when her bedroom door opened suddenly. She jumped with fright and her phone slipped from her hands and fell onto her opened copybook.

"What were you doing?" Jane's mother asked. "Were you on your phone again?"

Jane felt panic overwhelm her as she voiced her to her angry-looking mother, "No, I wasn't. It's just Kailey who messaged me–"

"Just Kailey messaging you!" she repeated, clearly not believing her daughter. "Really?"

"Yes," Jane almost shouted. "I was literally doing my homework all the while. Look, she just messaged me," she said and extended her phone towards her mother.

"Your father and I trust you, Jane," she started, that stern look never leaving her face. "Remember that! We are giving you your freedom and you better not take abusive advantage of that."

Jane felt her cheeks warming at the false accusations her mother was throwing at her. She felt angry at how judgemental she was. It wasn't the first time that she wanted to yell at her mother and defend herself.

The words were on the tip of her tongue. She just had to open her mouth and the words would spill out.

But it was useless. She was too timid to even stand up for herself.

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Peace!