Victory.
We were celebrating today.
We: our debating team.
We won the interschool debating competition's trophy again. Our school was proud of us. Our parents were proud of us.
We were proud of ourselves.
Unlike last time, Tiana was well prepared today. She handled it well and acted as a good team leader. We were not on good terms till now too, but during our preparations, she chose not to mess with me. Off course, after that 'she being a mother' confrontation, she stopped mocking me.
It suddenly dawned on me. Where is that fighter June gone?
Why isn't she fighting for her rights in front of Ella?
"Cheers!" James clicked his glass with mine and screamed.
I smiled in response.
It wasn't alcohol, off course. We were in school!
I now hated the guts of alcohol. After what happened in the last party, I distanced myself from parties and alcohol.
Guilt was still inside me. I wasn't the girl who slept around.
I was ashamed of myself.
Today, in the canteen, the whole debating team sat together and were partying. Emma sat with our old table today.
James was trying to talk to me again and again but after the day he accepted his feelings, I felt so guilty about not loving such a sweet guy and dying for the Playboy, that I always ended up staying quiet in front of him.
But it still wasn't my fault, right?
The heart wants what it wants.
I was eating my ham burger in silence when I saw the Queen bee and her puppets walking inside the cafe.
"I hate her guts!" Tiana rolled her eyes and said. She was talking about my half sister.
I mentally smirked. At least something in common we had.
Before I could understand, everyone was looking at me with wide eyes.
I furrowed brows in confusion.
"You said that out loud, June.." James told me.
I slapped my palm on my mouth and groaned.
I said that out loud: at least something in common we had.
"That wasn't embarrassing, so chill." Tiana laughed and said to me.
I raised my eyebrows.
What was this sudden change in her?
"Don't be surprised, now." Tiana laughed again.
"I'm more like...shocked?" I sarcastically commented.
"Yeah right," she amusingly rolled her eyes.
I chuckled too and again started eating.
Too much friendliness can cause harm.
After the school got over that day, I literally raced my car home. Mom was going to cook today.
It was almost two months and her leg was fine now. She could walk, but only little.
I have missed her cooking and I badly wanted to eat the sandwiches she was gonna make me. She promised.
Opening the door of the kitchen, my eyes lighted up when I saw she was really cooking.
"Oh My Gosh! This is not a dream. You're cooking!" I jumped with excitement and went to hug her lightly.
"Easy, sister..." I heard the irritating voice and my head turned towards her.
My face paled when I saw she wasn't alone here.
And ladies and gentlemen, we had guests here.
Ella and her puppets were there. And her lost puppy too!
I hated to call him that. But he actually acts like her lost puppy.
Zayd was smirking as usual. The girls were watching their perfectly manicured nails and my sweet half sister was grinning.
I looked at my hands. My nails were eaten up. It was a bat habit. I felt bad about myself.
Where are my manicured nails? Where are my perfectly wavy hair?
Where is my queen bee self?
My shoulders dropped at the realization.
"Go and sit with them, honey. You'll get the first sandwich today. I promised you, didn't I?" Mom motioned towards the chairs and said.
I smiled at her and went to sit.
We call this home?
I am so much freaking uncomfortable at my own home!
I ate my sandwiches in silence. The fact that those uninvited people were here made my sandwiches less delightful. But they still tasted like heaven.
I ignored them all till I was done because till now, everything was going fine. Till now...
Mom came and sat with us. And started a topic I hated to discuss right now.
"So girls, with whom are you all going to prom?" She asked cheerfully.
"I'm going with my boyfriend, Alex!" Perry said, with a toothy grin.
"I think someone special is soon gonna ask me," Megan shyly told us.
"What about you, June?" Mom turned towards me.
I looked up at her, my eyes widened.
What should I tell her?
She still thinks Zayd and I are going out...
"Um...me..I'm not.." I stuttered. "No one!" Taking a deep breath, I said.
"Why? Didn't he ask you till now?" Mom looked at Zayd with confusion and asked.
My heart ached telling her but...
"Ella and Zayd are together mom. They're going to the prom with each other." I put on my best smile on face and enlightened her with the truth.
Her face seemed shocked for a moment. And then sad.
She looked at both of them and Ella smiled at her. She smiled back.
I could tell she wasn't happy...
I'm sorry mom. Its the truth.
"Oh." She said. "That's great, then. You'll find a partner soon, baby!" She beamed at me while saying.
"Yeah.." I looked down.
Then I got up and without looking at anyone, walked out.
The burning sensation at the back of my eyes now seemed to cool down. Because tears actually came out.
That was so humiliating.
But again, I was suffering from these things from two months already.
Its okay, I told myself and hid my face in my pillow.
I cried my heart out there.
"June," her painful voice killed me more.
It made me sadder that she was sad because of me.
"Mom, I'm fine..." I shouted; attempting to send her away.
"I'm sorry, darling!" Her voice broke at the end of this.
I looked up from my pillow and saw her sitting on the bed, near me. I sat up and hugged her; crying in her arms.
It felt so warm.
I wanted to do this since the day he left me. But I had to hide it all from my own mother.
"I'm sorry you had to go through this. I've known this pain, trust me!" She kept saying as we cried.
I know what she was talking about. Dad left her for some other woman. And that woman happened to be that bitch's mom. She took my mother's happiness. And now her daughter was taking mine away.
They were the devils.
"Why don't you kick her out of her home, mom. We both suffered pain because of those people." I pulled away and asked her.
"We can't be like that, June and you know that." She set a loose curl of my hair behind my ear and explained. "Sometimes, God tests us. We have to be patient and kind in order to pass it. Just be the girl who you are, and your problems will fade away."
I silently listened to her while staring into her brown eyes. She was so beautiful.
"Are you in love with him?" She asked.
A loud sob escaped my mouth when I heard those words.
I could not answer that.
Hugging her, I cried more.
"He just left mom...he didn't even explain why. The goodbye was unreasonable. And it hurts so damn much to think that he wasn't ever as serious as I was.." I poured out my feelings in front of her.
She rubbed my back gently and listened to me.
"I'm in all senses, broken, mom. I really need my best friend back..." I sobbed more and told her.
"If he ever cares enough for you, he will be back." She kissed my forehead and said, giving me that 'mom' smile.
I stopped crying. I was feeling much better.
I came to know new things today. Teenagers have got a mentality that the generation gap between you and your parents is too much that you can't expect from them to understand you. But in actual life, parents understand you so much more than your friends do.
You just have to trust them.
After a few more minutes of our heart to heart talk, she left and I sat on my study to study. Exams were a week away now and I didn't study properly in these past two months due to all the drama.
I started with math. I knew I will be needing a lot of practice to get good grades in it. A 'B+' grade will be fine in math. For me.
Other subjects were way too easy and I knew I could score above A in those.
Opening my math book and ignoring the world, I groaned seeing the dangerous heading of the chapter I was going to study now.
Algebra.
Oh shoot. My life's going to hell.
__________________________________
A short chapter. But not a filler.
June's mom deserved to know about her life a little more, right?
Oh and yes! I'm excited as ever. My birthday is just six days away :D :D
PS: don't be a silent reader and vote, my dear.
-Ana
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