C a R t E r

Deja Vu!

"Why are you like this!" Sofia Blake demanded, pushing her mahogany locks out of her face, her hazel eyes enraged. The weight of her mothers' anger pressed in and around Carter, making the atmosphere in their battered Hyundai suffocating.

Carter focussed on the blur of leafless trees and painted white houses through the passenger window. "I don't do it on purpose." She told her mother, preparing herself for the third degree.

"Carter, this isn't the first time you've done this!" Her mother reminded her, she was clearly trying to harness her anger. Carter kept her interest firmly fixed on the blurred images of normalcy outside her window. What her mother said was true; it was deja vu all over again. How many times had she been expelled or transferred from schools for 'irregular' or 'improper' behaviour? Four, five times, Carter had lost count. "And I had a really important client in my office when the school called," her mother ranted, when she didn't reply. "No doubt we lost that contract!"

"Look, I'm sorry okay. I didn't mean for it-,"began Carter, turning to look her mother in the eye.

"You were fighting in the halls with the star football player of your school, probably using what your father taught you. Then putting your fist through a wall. A wall Carter!" Her mother repeated for emphasis. "So don't you dare try to make any excuses or say sorry." Carter glared out of the window once again, it figured she would react this way, it was the way she'd reacted when Carter had accidentally electrocuted some girl in fourth grade. She didn't do this weird crap on purpose, it just happened. Spontaneous acts of profound freakiness, Carter mused, biting back derisive laughter.

As her mother turned onto their driveway, Carter saw the elegant red corvette parked outside their house. She felt her stomach clench, leaning against the hood was Rudolph Burns suave European arts dealer and current boyfriend of her mother. Carter moved to make a quick exit but her mother stopped her abruptly with a sharp. "Young Lady!" Carter slumped back against her seat with a sigh. "You are grounded until I say otherwise, that means no TV, no phone, no music, no Internet, no friends. Am I understood?"

"Yes." Carter bit out, thrusting open the car door and escaping up the path to the house, she heard Rudolph say something about "missing a lunch date". Before she let herself in and fled up the stairs so she wouldn't have to witness the disgusting scene that was adult smooching.

Her room, decorated in sky blue with an array of posters, books and double bed, was her haven. Candles placed in various nooks and crannies including in her windowsill and on her nightstand, the parquet floor and the wind chimes hanging by the door all confirmed it was self-decorated. There were no such things anywhere else in the house.

Her father had died four months ago when a field manoeuvres mission had ended in disaster, so the thought of her mother making out with some rich, older, charming dog. Her mind snapped, he's a rich, older charming dog! Wasn't Carter's idea of suitable viewing. She dropped her knapsack in the middle of the floor to her room and slumped down on her bed.

Her mother was undoubtedly telling Rudolph of the whole messed up situation at school, of how the principle had said he "didn't think it was in Carter's best interests to return to the school". Carter ran her tongue over the cut on her bottom lip, she's probably telling him that she has a twisted freak for a daughter and she can't take it anymore. Carter told herself, bitterly, as she threw herself off the bed and wandered to her window seat.

There it was. On their perfectly kept lawn, mother and rich older charming dog in the process of lip lock. Carter groaned and stumbled to her to search her bookshelf for some piece of literature that would wipe that whole disgusting scene from her mind.

Rudolph Burns. He was just too perfect, where was his flaws? "Carter, I'm going back to work. I'll be home at five and remember no TV, music, Internet, phone!" Her mothers' voice echoed from the staircase below.

"Yeah, yeah I know!" Carter replied, frustrated.

"Okay," said her mother. "We'll talk about what happened at school when I get home." With that the front door clicked shut and her mother was gone. Oh I can't wait for that intellectually challenging conversation, Carter quipped, silently.

Feeling ultimately annoyed and restless, she padded downstairs to raid the refrigerator. "Does she honestly believe I like getting kicked out of school after school and been labelled, basically a freak?" She asked Mrs Tibbs, her mothers mongrel cat, who was now wrapped around Carter's legs. In answer to her question Mrs Tibbs mewed, delicately.

Smiling faintly, Carter picked up the cat and placed her on the pale green Formica counter beside her. "She's being unfair right?" Mrs Tibbs looked disinterested and began cleaning herself in boredom. Carter sighed and pulled out the triple chocolate fudge ice cream. "Figures you wouldn't care. You're biggest worry is fleas," she informed the cat, scooping ice cream into a bowl.

After collecting her bowl ice cream from the breakfast bar, Carter retreated back to the safety of her room and flicked on the TV. Sure she wasn't supposed to watch it, but what her mother didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Settling down onto her bed she and Mrs Tibbs watched Jerry Springer.

*

So, anymore for anymore? I.e., review! ;) next chapter we hit some action of the violent NW kind.