Halle Sterling, a spirited and gifted athlete pushing herself to earn a scholarship. Her world takes a dramatic turn when she uncovers her parents' affair, setting off a chain reaction that fractures her family. She struggles to navigate the straine...
Dad clears his throat as he cuts into his steak. "So, what's track meets did you qualify for this year? I know I couldn't make it last year but I'll be there this year, just let me know the dates."
He said the same thing last year, but this time I wasn't going to fall for it again. "I have nothing lined up yet but I let you know when I let you know when I do."
"Sorry I haven't been home much lately."
"It's okay, I know you've been busy with work."
He hasn't slept in his room since Mom and Chloe packed up everything they could and moved to Chicago, he use to just sleep on the couch but now it's rare to see him at home. With him out the house and the way I'm practically living with The Banks, I know that electricity and water bill is real low. I'm sure he realize that because that's when he came up with this biweekly dinner plan. This dinner use to be a genuine attempt to bridge the growing gap between us, but he's doing this to ease his guilt about not being home.
I didn't want this to start getting awkward and we just eat in silence because then he will sense how little I care about these dinners. "Did I tell you about Hilary getting a job opportunity at Haute Cuisine? Mrs. Banks hooked her up with the interview."
"Oh." Dad cleans his mouth with the cloth napkin. "She did always have a love for cooking, she stayed in the kitchen whenever Geoffrey was in there. Just watching and learning. How did it go?"
"They offered her the job but she turned it down." I inform. "They wanted her to tone down her spices, change her clothing, and just almost everything about herself."
"I hope that wasn't the reason she turned down the job. Sometimes you have to do things that you told yourself you wouldn't do, that's just how it works in the real world. Did you think I wanted to be working under Phillip? Working for his family? No, I did that because I had a family to provide for. And after some time I put myself in a position where I work with Phillip. This new generation wants everything handed to them."
"She doesn't want anything handed to her." I protest. "They wanted to hire a black chef but didn't want black customers to eat at their restaurant. We aren't their target audience. And if you're willing to put your morals aside for a check, what does that say about you? If you don't stand for something, you fall for anything."
And just like that, family dinner ruined.
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Usually dinner go much more smoother than last night, so after last night I wasn't surprise to wake up to an empty house — nothing new. It had become a routine at this point, like that dinner. Unlike The Banks morning breakfast, there's no laughter, there's no talking, there's no family, just me in this quiet house. Deciding to grab something to eat at Starbucks, I lock the house up then slid into my car. I start to set my things in the passenger seat but pause when I look at the empty seat, I've been driving Will to school since he moved here, and now I'm just use to him being here.
