Focus on something else. That thought went repeatedly through Holly's mind as the car drove down the road.
Focus on the road. Ignore everything else.
She watched the yellow dashes appear and disappear it seemed as she tried to ignore the voice of her mom that still crept into her ears.
"I can't believe how dumb you are!" Her mom's yells continued as they had went on for the whole ride. When they reached a red light, she turned around, eyes flaring with anger. "Did you know how much that plate cost?!"
Holly just shook her head, staring at the road in fear of her mom's gaze.
"Look at me!" Her mom yelled, the anger in her voice increasing. "Did you know how much that cost?!"
Holly met her gaze for a quick second before looking straight down at her own black sneakers, shaking her head "no".
"Answer me!!!"
The yell went through the car, followed by a few seconds of pure silence.
Then Holly's voice came out in a whisper-like answer.
"No."
"Like hell you didn't." Her mom focused her gaze back on the road. Holly, in the back seat, looking back down at her sneakers.
"It cost twenty three dollars." Her mom replied to her own question.
The car went silent again for a bit. Holly could only hear the wind from the world outside the car as it whipped against the window.
"I didn't break it on purpose." Holly finally said, breaking the silence and answering what she knew her mom was thinking.
"Don't you lie to me." The anger in her mom's voice still evident.
Holly thought that she would reply again but she didn't and in a few seconds the car halted to a stop.
"Get out."
She looked up at her mom's reflection in the rear-view mirror to see her mom's icy stare meet hers.
"Get out!"
Following her mom's orders, Holly got out of the car and her mom rolled down the window for a second.
"Your appointment is at 5:10." She said coldly. "It's with Mr. Reeds. I'll pick you up at 7."
And with that she rolled up the window and drove away, leaving Holly standing on the sidewalk.
She looked at her cell phone for a second. The white digital clock on the screen showed 4:32.
"Thirty eight minutes." Holly said out loud as she sat down on the sidewalk.
She let out a shiver and pulled her black hoodie around her tighter as the cold wind chilled her to the bone.
Out of boredom, she pulled her black headphones out of her backpack, plugged the socket into her phone, and turned on her music.
After a while, the door behind her opened. A young man with milk chocolate brown hair walked out and looked at her questionably.
"Are you Holly?" He asked her as he pulled his coat tight around him due to the wind.
Holly nodded, taking off her headphones and pulling them down around her neck.
"Wow. You're early." He said, looking at the time on his watch. "You can come in if you want."
