Long Lost

My mother never really liked me much. She somehow always found ways to make me feel unwanted at home. My first memory of her was when I was five. It was my first day in kindergarten and all the kids had their parents talking to them, trying to calm their teary-eyed children. My mom yelled at me, told me to suck it up, and left me there to sob. I watched her drive away in her silver Dodge Durango that she had bought just a few weeks before. I was escorted inside my classroom by my very nice teacher and offered a juice box. It was apple. So you see, my mother hated me from the get go. I found out from my stepfather that she hated me because I was a mistake. My real father had abandoned me and she didn't want a child from a, and this came from my stepfathers mouth, "Piece of shit hippie." Unfortunately, my stepfather had also left.

One day near the end of the school year in 9th grade, my mother packed all of my things and sent me off to live with a man she called my real father. I was driven by my half-brother. He was really the only one that cared about me, my half-brother. He protected me from my mother's drunken rage. She usually had a belt in one hand and a bottle of Jack in the other. It was scary all of the time, but my half-brother would step in and she would give up after a while of arguing with him. Anyway, he drove me to a house in Hollywood and helped take my things inside. I didn't have many things so it didn't take long to get them inside. When I was inside, I was shocked by how many objects hung on the walls. Posters and pictures of things stared me in the face. A man talked with my half-brother outside the house while I sat down in a row of red seats. I sat on the far right, if one was facing me. The door opened after some time and the man with a bald head, except for the tufts on the sides, and baggy clothes walked in, shoeless. He smiled nervously to me. My half-brother didn't come inside. He had left me there. I was abandoned by the only person I trusted. That was the last time, for a while, that I would talk to him. I asked the man if he knew why my mother had made me go to his house and he told me that he was my father and that I would be living with him from then on.

My father's name was Erwin Sikowitz. He was a teacher at the school I was to go into at that point. He had me audition in front of the principal, but I became nervous so I froze up. My father had me stay with him for that day, though.

I sat behind a class of students to the left of the door in a plastic blue chair up against the wall. Nobody said anything about me just sitting there so I was ignored the entire time, except my father who would ask if I needed anything every time he got the chance. I would just shake my head to tell him that I didn't.

I ran my hands through my light brown hair and sat forward as the two people who were sitting at a table on the small stage got up to sit in their original seats. My father got on the stage and said that they should talk about his one act play. I watched him psych up his class and call out two names. It was weird. He was an exciting person to the children in the room.

After the class, my father asked me if I wanted to go to lunch. I told him I did. Some children had stayed back and one asked, "Do you want to eat with us?" The one that asked was a girl with brown hair and cute cheek bones.

I looked to my father and he nodded with a smile. I looked to them and nodded. We went out to lunch and I bought a sandwich. We sat in the bed of a truck. Tori, the one with the cheek bones, asked me, "So what's your name?"

I smiled, "Anna."

Tori smiled, nodded then asked, "And your talent?"

I shook my head, "I don't really have one." I shrugged.

Robbie, the curly haired puppet holder, was confused, "What are you doing in Hollywood Arts then?"

"I don't go to school here," I said then took a bite of the sandwich in my lap. When I swallowed I continued, "My dad wanted me to audition, but I got nervous when I saw the principal."

"Who's your dad?" Cat, a girl with dyed red hair asked.

"The teacher, Erwin Sikowitz," I answered then took another bite of my sandwich.

Everyone stole glances at one another. I was confused. "I didn't know Sikowitz had a daughter," Andre, the dark skinned boy, stated.

"I actually just found out the other day that I was his daughter," I admitted.

Later that day, I was at the play that my father was directing. I was helping set up the lights. Jade, a girl with brown hair with a few extra colors in it was working on some lights. She was being shocked when I walked up to her. I pulled her down from the later she was standing on. She leaned against me, shaking, and her blood pumping with the surprise of the adrenaline.

I asked holding her up, "Are you ok?" Jade nodded.

Jade scolded Cat. Cat yelled that she was sorry. I offered to take her place in fixing the light, but she said she could do it so I left and went to get something to drink from the vending machine in the hall. When I found my way back, Robbie was screaming for his puppet, Rex. He was being held back by others who were trying to calm him. At some point my father had me go with a few people to the hospital. I didn't know why we were going to the hospital for a puppet, but I didn't question it.

In the hall, Jade decided that we should go to the hospital to let Rex die there. I was concerned with her, but it was a good idea. He was kind of weird with that puppet. So we all went; Cat, Jade, Beck, Tori, and I went to the hospital where we convinced a doctor to hook Rex up to a machine and make it look like he was really injured. I kept Cat occupied when Jade said for her to talk to someone.

"So, you're Sikowitz's kid," She said with her hands hooked together behind her back. We were walking down the hallway in the nursery.

"I guess," I smiled as we walked up to the new born babies, "My mom packed my things and sent me off to my dad's place."

Cat looked at me as I looked toward the babies, "She just sent you here?" I nodded. Cat looked at the babies, "Doesn't she care about you?" I shrugged and Cat sighed. "You seem like a good person, though," She smiled to a baby after she spoke. The baby was sleeping, but he had moved a bit.

We stood there for a while in silence. "Anyway," I said after some time, "We should get back."

It turns out that when we got back Tori had Rex 'come back to life.' I left the hospital and Beck drove me home. I thanked him and waved to everyone as they drove away.

I went inside to be greeted by my father. He was just making dinner. I offered to help. He said that he could do it so I went to my room. I did some reading before he called me out to eat. When I was done eating, I took his plate when he was done and washed all of the dishes that were in the sink.

"So, your mother," My father said from the living room, down the steps from the kitchen, "Was she good to you?"

I nodded. "She was alright," I answered, "I had a lot of chores and she yelled a lot, but I guess that's the price I have to pay." I shrugged, "I was a mistake in her eyes."

My father was quiet. He didn't say anything for a while until he asked, "She never hit you, did she?"

I shook my head, "No, but that's only because my brother wouldn't let her. She got drunk a lot and she liked to attack me the best she could. Ayden protected me, though." I smiled at the thought of my half-brother, Ayden.

My father was silent again. After I finished up with the dishes I told him I was going to my room. I went to my room and read again for a little while longer. I fell asleep after that.