Forever and Always, Olive

Chapter 2: Take My Money

Chapter 2

I spend an hour looking through my boxes to try and find my green piggy bank. I come upon it and find that it's barely full. I wish my mother would've told me that she and my father would decide to send me off to my aunts so I could've saved up from my old job. Instead, the week before I left, I spent almost two hundred dollars on worthless items like party food and plastic bowls. I could've saved that until I managed to get a job here. I barely have fifty bucks to my name, and I already owe someone ten dollars. I sigh, take out a ten, and put it on my bedside table as I climb into bed.

I wake up the next morning with a jolt. My aunt pushes open my door and tosses a bag onto my bed. "Morning, sunshine!" she greets me in her slightly nasally voice.

I look at the bag, which landed on my legs, and groan. I sit up, open the sack, and allow my shoulders to slump. School uniforms. I guess my parents ordered these for me. Yesterday, I used one of Vivica's old ones from her freshman year. It was one of the few that wasn't hemmed and stitched so the skirt rose a few inches, and the shirt actually still had buttons.

After I shower and get ready, I meet my aunt and cousin downstairs. My aunt's making breakfast, which smells delicious. With half lidded eyes and damp hair, I sit down at the table. My cousin picks at a piece of toast, looking primped and preened. She has an annoyed look on her face, which appeared the moment I plopped down in the seat beside her.

"Why'd you need to know the address yesterday?" my aunt wonders when her eyes settle on me.

"I needed a ride home but I didn't know where I lived," I confess as I shove a piece of bacon into my mouth.

"You needed a ride?" my aunt repeats as she looks between the two of us at the table. Yawning and rubbing my eyes, I blink a few times before nodding.

"Why didn't Vivica give you a ride?" Aunt Genevieve questions more to her daughter than me.

"She had cheer-leading practice at a different school," I admit flatly, not bothering to hide my annoyance.

"We're going to talk later," my aunt glares at my cousin. "How'd you get home?"

"I got a ride from Maddox," I explain, getting cut off in the middle of my sentence by a yawn, which causes my eyes to close slightly. Speaking of Maddox, I pat my pocket to make sure I have the money for gas. Vivica's eyes widen as a look of anger overtakes her face. Why's she so angry? She's the one that left me stranded in the school parking lot without a ride.

"You're going to give her a ride to and from school from now on," my aunt demands with her hands on her hips.

I don't bother speaking. Instead, I just eat a forkful of eggs and remain silent. When Vivica announces that we're leaving, I grab a napkin and load it up with the rest of my bacon. I make a move to wash my dish but my aunt stops me and smiles, nodding towards the door. I force a smile back and grab my bag from the floor, shoveling bacon into my mouth as I go.

The car ride is tense and everything Vivica does seems angry. She punches the radio buttons until a song she approves of comes on; she brakes rather hard; she turns fiercely; and she doesn't warn me whenever she's taking a sharp turn. I'm guessing that's how she takes out her anger: by beating up the passenger.

After arriving at school, I make a beeline for the bathroom. As I'm walking towards the toilets., which I found yesterday after a ten minute search, I spot a familiar guy standing at a locker. He carelessly shoves books into his bag. I slowly approach him, unsure if it's a good time. "Maddox," I state as I dip my hand into my pocket.

He turns around with that natural sour look on his face- the narrowed eyes and the set frown. "What?" His pretty green eyes are conical and his lips are set in a line. I feel my face heat up when I realize that I was just staring into his eyes for a good minute.