Perspectives

Chapter One

The sound of her grandmother shouting snapped her out of her trance, and she grabbed her coat and bag and went downstairs to see what was going on. Her elderly grandmother moved slowly across the kitchen with a broom in her hand trying to clean the cereal which had evidently fallen on the floor.

"My Rice and Krispies fell!" Saniyah, her young sister announced before facing Payton with a toothy grin.

"I can see that Lollipop." She shook her head and smiled back at her sister. She had just turned five-years-old and had started reception, this unfortunately meant that she was becoming more confident with what she liked and disliked and more of a handful to deal with. Payton bent down and kissed her sister on the cheek, smiling at how much she was growing. Payton had affectionately given her sister the nickname 'Lollipop' as when she was younger she would cry for hours on end if she did not get her strawberry lollipop and even their grandma who adopted a fairly strict Jamaican parenting style, would be forced to give in to her requests.

Payton turned to face her grandmother with a look of pity in her eyes. Payton wasn't stupid, although she viewed her grandma as her hero, she knew her grandmother was getting older and she wanted nothing more than to let her rest and not have to lift a finger. She closed her eyes tightly for a few seconds as she tried to imagine a life without their grandmother and the thought alone terrified her. Payton's grandmother came from Jamaica years ago to help take care of them and what was supposed to be a temporary arrangement be a few months had turned into four years. Payton admired her selflessness, most of her grandma's family were in Jamaica and she had essentially left her paradise and a good life to take on this responsibility. Payton remembered how she used to love visiting Jamaica and staying in her grandma's house, it was huge and homely, and she even told her friends they all had to go together one day. When she would visit, her grandma always looked so light and carefree but since she came to England, she had not been the same. Payton noticed that her grandmother's skin was different, it did not have its same bronzed glow and was dull in comparison to its former state and more wrinkled. When she wasn't trying to hide it from the kids, worry and stress were etched into her face and Payton vowed to try hard to take that feeling away from her.

At the age of twenty three, she pondered over her achievements as she took over breakfast duty from her grandma and poured Saniyah another bowl of cereal. In an ideal world she would have gone to university like most of her peers, but it just wasn't realistic for her lifestyle. It was in her best interest to go straight into the working world after college, it wasn't as if she was not smart enough to attend and complete a degree, but she needed to earn money for her family. Her mindset was that she would sacrifice her own opportunities if it means she is in a better position to afford her siblings those same opportunities. It was draining for Payton, doing so much and receiving so little but she told herself it was just the way of life.

She sat at the breakfast table, watching her little sister eat her cereal with content whilst she tried not to spill anything on her uniform.

"Payts, remember what we talked about." Keanon urged his elder sister eagerly, in a low tone so as not to alert their grandmother about what they were discussing.

"I heard you the last time, Keanon." She tutted and dismissed him, she had a lot on her mind and did not want anything else to disrupt her mood that morning. He gave her a look as if he wanted to say more but he also knew he wanted her to be in the best mood possible, so he closed his mouth and walked away, just as she instructed.

Payton held her head in her hands then rubbed at her temples as she thought of what she had to sort out in a short period of time. A sickly feeling formed at the pit of her stomach as she thought about her deepest and darkest fear materialising, she promised herself she could not let it happen and, in that instant, she found the strength to stand up and make her way to work.