On the way home, I go to Frank's every day. He owns a small shop under the train tracks where he sells delicious milkshakes. He's the only person where I don't have to make an effort to be social. He is very spontaneous and looks very cute, hes 60 years old and shorter than me. "How was school today?" asks Frank. Something else catches my attention, I see the news on television. Theyre talking about a murderer who has gone missing and is hiding in this village, according to the police. They describe him as a small man in his forties with a scar between his eyebrows. That's all they know about the man. Frank looks anxiously at the television. "Apparently he has already killed two girls from this village," he says with a trembling voice. The two girls looked familiar to me, they were 14 years old and went to the same school. 'Just make sure that you're home before dark, it's dangerous to walk outside alone now,' says Frank. I quickly finish my drink on the way and speed up my stride. When I get home, I start preparing the task for Biology. Normally we have to do this together, but I do everything I can to avoid contact with Jaden as much as possible. Suddenly, I'm startled when my mother furiously opens the door. "When are you going to stop wearing those headphones, I'm always screaming at the top of my lungs" my mom says. "Sorry, what's wrong?" I speak. "The foods ready," my mother sighs.
I sit at the table, staring at how my mother slides the rice onto her fork with her knife. "I ordered your favorite food," she says. I smile softly and continue eating. Nasi Goreng from the Chinese is no longer my favorite food, but she doesn't know that. "How was your day at school?" Mom asks to start a conversation. I tell her that I have to work on an assignment with Jaden on Wednesday, she looks relieved and happy. "Wow, I didn't know you were friends again" she says with a smile on her face. "We're not," I say succinctly. "I've heard that his parents are getting divorced," Mom says. "I'm so sorry, they were such a beautiful family." I nod knowing they werent. His father was a drunk and would beat his mother if she said something he didn't like. Jaden always came to vent to me when this happened. Im happy that Adriana has finally taken the step to divorce him. "I have to tell you something, Levana," my mother says with a serious look. This explains the table setting and the supposedly favorite food she ordered. That's my mother, only doing something nice if she gets something out of it herself. She never asked me how my day was at school in six months and now she's suddenly interested. "I met someone," she says with a frightened look. I stare at her with wide eyes and I don't know what to say. I am neither angry nor happy. My thoughts immediately jump to my father. People say that you'll eventually get over it, that I'll be able to give it a place someday. He died two years ago, but I still feel like it was yesterday that I saw him lying on the hospital bed. I know Ill never be able to replace my father, but my mother can replace her husband. "I'm happy for you," I finally say. She looks at me in amazement and doesn't believe a word I say. "Really?" she asks incredulously. "You deserve to be happy and maybe you'll spend less time on my head," I say with a laugh. She looks at me and her eyes fill with tears. The first tear falls and she quickly wipes it off with her sleeve. She smiles and stands up to hug me.
