In the next few days, she stayed in her bedroom with her pink notebook, pencil in hand, got so involved with her newest project. She didn't hear Miriam call her for supper.
"Where's the girl?" she heard Bob ask after Miriam returned to the kitchen.
"I'm sure she's on her way, B. She didn't answer when I called her."
"If she doesn't get her fanny in this kitchen, supper will be cold. I'm hungry now!" he said.
Bob always acted like this. In Helga's entire fifteen years, her family never noticed she was around. The only people who have been noticing her were Arnold and God. She entered the kitchen and sat in her regular spot at the kitchen table. Miriam gave Helga a glass of milk. Helga thanked her.
Helga did remember Arnold started saying grace at lunchtime in school, but she thought she'd give it a try here at the house. Miriam and Bob watched as Helga bowed her head down.
"What the heck are you doing? We're supposed to be eating," Bob said.
Helga didn't answer. All she did was say a prayer.
"Father, Thank You for creating the world, your children, and animals. Thank You for the meal Mom has made for tonight. I am also thankful for having a sister, a mother who is lazy and a father who never notices I am around. In Your Name, Amen."
"What is this? Don't tell me you're starting to get religious like that football head friend of yours," Bob said as he watched Helga raise her head.
"He may be a football head, Dad, but have you and Mom noticed anything that changed recently?" Helga asked.
"Not really, maybe except for that lousy prayer you just gave. I am very disappointed in you, young lady. I do not appreciate my daughter to call her parents lazy and all those other rude comments. We brought you here into this world. From now on, you're forbidden to call your mother lousy, even if it is true. Got it?"
"Yes, Dad," Helga answered.
"Dad, why don't you give me credit more often? All I did was say that dumb prayer. Even if you hadn't paid much attention to how much I have changed, then you better start changing a bit more and start noticing you have a daughter besides your favorite, Olga," Helga said with a scowl on her face.
"She's right, B. We should pay more attention to you," Miriam said.
"Thanks, Mom. Whenever you do, it shows you and Dad play favorites between your children. I do know one thing: God does not play favorites. He treats everyone equal, even if there are people who are women and men, bisexual and homosexual. Got that?"
Neither Bob nor Miriam said a word. Bob was busy concentrating on his food. After taking a few bites of a carrot, he started choking.
"Are you all right, B?" Miriam asked.
Helga said a silent prayer without her parents hearing her and she prayed to God and asked if he could stop Bob's choking. It did work. God did help the hiccups go away when she asked for it.
"Thank You, Father," Helga said aloud.
"What was that?" Bob asked after hearing Helga say a religious word.
"Nothing, Dad."
"It didn't sound like nothing. You better get rid of this religious business out of my house, and if you don't, you'll be punished for a month!" Bob said in a tone of voice he always used.
Helga had been used to Bob's tone of voice since she was born but almost always obeyed him immediately. After she and her parents finished eating, Helga got up from her chair and put her plate and glass in the sink. After that, she walked up to her bedroom. On her way to her bedroom, she heard Bob talking.
"Since when did religion get involved with the Patakis?" he asked.
"Us Patakis do not allow the Bible when I was growing up. We didn't need to believe to go to boring church every Sunday. If that girl's hiding a Bible somewhere in this house, I'm going to throw it away."
Helga couldn't believe what she had just heard. Good thing she'd hidden her Bible under her mattress. She sure hoped neither one of her parents would come in this bedroom and find it to throw it away. Whenever she was in school, Miriam would come up and wash her laundry. Miriam was supposed to do her laundry tomorrow since she had school.
