I got up from the bed feeling woolly-headed and walked downstairs resembling a zombie. I heard voices and I was bewildered to find a bunch of ladies from our town, seated in the living room and coolly sipping tea.
"Why are you all gathered here?" I asked groggily and rubbed my eyes.
"They're all worried about your future," I heard my dad say, who appeared from the kitchen with a tray of wheat biscuits and vanilla jam cookies.
I blinked at them slowly. "My future?"
"Yeah, since you're mum is not here, we think it's our responsibility to guide you in your future career and planning," Martha said and the other ladies nodded in agreement.
"Hell naw!" I whined and grabbed a biscuit from the plate. "I have to leave for London in a couple of hours and my girlfriends exhausted me the entire night by playing silly games. I need to sleep more!"
"We need to discuss this before you leave for London, so you can think about that there and not waste your time," Greta elucidated and my eyebrows knotted in confusion. She was here too? Why?
"Yes and we all want you to succeed in your life, no matter what field you choose," Martha chimed in and I continued to aggressively grind the biscuit in my mouth. It tasted bland- my throat felt like Sahara desert. I wanted water.
"Here, she applied for these colleges and got a positive reply in most of them," dad said and scattered the stack of papers on the table.
"That's good, you got accepted in so many colleges consisting of different fields." Martha stared at the papers impressively as if they were successful maps to a treasure island. "You're really very lucky, you have decent marks and a hell lot of college fund. You can get into any college you want."
"Exactly and that's the problem," I pointed out, licking my dry lips.
"How?"
"I don't know what to do!" I exclaimed and Martha scoffed, while others shook their head in pity and disbelief.
"You can get into medical, you have more than enough money for your education or you can do commerce. I have seen your results and you're good with numbers," Martha said, analysing the papers and all the ladies nodded at my report card.
"God no! I hate math and I absolutely suck at it," I lied and all of them raised their eyebrow.
"Don't lie, you have in fact topped in mathematics," Martha said staunchly and I plopped on the couch.
"Pfft, I'll think about it," I said lazily and stretched my legs. I wiggled my toes, admiring the purple nail paint that Peaches had applied for me. They looked cool.
They all chatted with dad about how I barely gave a damn. They all gave me examples of the kids in our town and their ambitious college plans. They all wanted to leave this small town and settle themselves in big cities. On the other hand, I didn't mind staying here. I loved the small town and my people.
"What if I open a circus?" I said suddenly with gleaming eyes and all the ladies laughed.
"Let's be realistic here---"
"I'm definitely going to open a circus now," I stated with so much determination that all of them looked horrified.
"Look at you and then at your brother," Martha said in disappointment. "He was always so ambitious and now he's following his mother's footsteps of becoming a doctor. And you want to open a damn circus? How foolish!"
"Fine, then what if I follow my father's footsteps? What if I become a cop like dad?" I asked innocently and all of them burst out laughing.
"Being a cop requires discipline and you . . . " my dad trailed off and sighed.
I sulked and turned my back towards them. All of them were soon starting to leave, when I heard Greta's soft voice, "You can be anything you want dear. I heard you're good at painting so you can become a painter or you're good with numbers so you can become an accountant. You can even open a circus if that's what you want, but I think you're more capable than that. Whatever you do, you have to believe in yourself and do your best."
I slowly turned to her and grinned. "Aw, thanks. Who invited you here?"
"Your father did," she said fondly and looked at dad who smiled at her.
"Oh, so are you two like friends now?"
"Yeah," she said and averted her eyes at me. "I want to thank you George."
"Why is that?"
"For taking care of Clark, for everything you have done for him and for everything you're going to do for him," she said sincerely and I giggled.
"That's alright, that's alright. You have shown your thanks already by paying me all that money, remember?"
"Yes but . . . Honestly, you have changed him. You give him some sort of peace in his life that he never had---"
"What? No! You're clearly mistaken. I'm the queen of chaos and I annoy him so much." I laughed at my obnoxious self.
"Maybe he likes getting annoyed by you, it's like you keep him occupied and don't make him feel lonely. Ever since you have entered his life, he doesn't drink as much as before. He's better now and not sad like he was before. I was so worried as to how he would go on with his life, but you took all my worry away. He likes to keep you around, although he would never admit that. You've changed him for the better and I want to thank you for all this," she said gently and held my hand.
"Well, I-I don't know what to say," I admitted honestly, awestruck by her words.
"You don't need to say anything, you have done more than enough for Clark and me. Clark considers me like his mum, you know? And I feel the same way. He's like my own son to me and I'm so delighted to see that he's getting better because of you."
I waved my hand dismissively. "Ah it's nothing really."
Greta was in her late thirties, a few years younger than my dad. I liked that they were friends and I didn't want to rush dad into a relationship. A part of me would not want anyone to replace mum, but another part of me wanted my dad to be happy, just like my mum wanted him to be happy.
"You need to get ready, don't you?" Greta reminded me and I nodded. "Bye then, have fun in London."
"Of course!" I beamed at her.
* * *
A/N :
I know this chapter was boring, but it was important since Georgia's future plans was not known to anyone. Anybody wondering where the hell plot twists are, then don't worry, it'll come soon. Since it's a humor genre book, I'm trying to keep it as light hearted as possible considering my tragic ass. Anyway, are you finding this book entertaining or not?