It started with a bang. The sound of the crash resonated through the house. I woke up with a start and looked at the clock on my bedside table. 5 AM. Another crash. I got off my bed and rushed downstairs. I came to a standstill as I reached the kitchen not particularly surprised by the sight that awaited me.
There was flour and chocolate everywhere. On the marble floor, the mahogany cabinets, the bright yellow walls. It looked like a chocolate bomb had exploded in our kitchen. There was some chocolate syrup dripping from the ceiling too. How it got there was beyond me.
And there she stood, in the middle of the chaos, red hair in a messy bun, those big brown eyes looking at me innocently, a guilty expression on her face like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Again?" I asked as I looked at the mess before me.
"I'm sorry." She replied quietly.
Sighing at the heavens I took a mop & began cleaning. "How many times have I told you not to cook." It came out a little harshly, but which sane person likes to wake up at this god forsaken hour. She listened with her head down and started cleaning too. I took a deep breath and tried again.
"I mean, why do you even try when you know that it's going to end in disaster." This brought a spark of defiance in her eyes.
"Just because you think you are going to fail doesn't mean you should not try. And haven't I taught you. If there is even a slightest possibility of good…"
"You take the risk. I know." I finished the sentence for her. I don't think I have ever gone a full week without hearing this. But I have always thought that this particular family motto was going to get us killed one day.
"What good came out of this?" I asked while standing on the dining table so I could reach the ceiling.
"It's your birthday. I just wanted to make you happy." I stopped trying to clean the ceiling, unsuccessfully I might add, and looked at her.
"And you love chocolate cake so I thought if I do this you would…" She trailed off never saying what was on her mind. But I knew. She looked so disappointed that I had to do it. Forgetting about everything else for a second, I got off the table and hugged her tightly.
"You don't have to cook to make me happy. You make me happy when you don't cook." I said lightly and let go of her. She smiled slightly and took the mop from my hand.
"I will clean this. You go back to sleep."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. You don't want to spend your special day helping me clean." She gave me a push towards the door. I was at the foot of stairs when she called back "Happy Birthday Sweetie."
"Um, Thanks Mom." I replied and trudged up the stairs. It wasn't until I had opened the door to my room and stepped in that I heard a faint "I love you." I closed my door and went back to sleep.
I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling. It was 6 am and sleep was yet to come. I looked around my room thinking of nothing and everything. It was a nice room, spacious with emerald walls and dark wooden furniture. My massive four poster bed took most of the space with its shimmery silver curtains and nightstand. What can I say, I am a creature of luxury. And I thought that this room connected me with nature which I love. My mom had laughed when I finished redecorating my room last summer, mumbling something about snakes. She is funny that way.
Don't get me wrong. I love my mom. But she is a little weird. In a good way, but she is not your typical suburban mom. The only time she behaves like a mother is when my studies and safety are concerned, which she gets tensed about on a nuclear level. It's like she has a dual personality, one of the bubbly, innocent woman who cannot cook to save her life and one of the strict, and slightly crazy mother who will ground me for six months if I don't abide by the rules and come home by 8. Which by the way is happening more and more as I am getting older and has made it a little difficult for me to keep my queen bee status in school. I mean which queen bee doesn't attend after hours parties. But I have prevailed in the face of obstacles and am the most popular person in the entire school despite my mother's best efforts. It could be the fact that I have perfected the process of sneaking out down to a science now.
And I must say that I love it. Being a person that people either adored or envied, surrounded by my friends, it has given me a feeling of belonging that I didn't have before. My mom and I used to travel a lot and we have only recently shifted to a more permanent life. I was originally born in London, but my mom was an art curator, so her work took us all over the world. We stayed for a few years in US but moved out of there too, never staying in a place for long after that. It was only after I turned eleven that we came back to England. But my mother being my mother chose the most boring place to live, Little Whinging. Even the name gives me creeps. Now my mom has taken a teaching job and I get to go to a regular school. So, I make do with what I have. But as soon as I finish school, I am out of here. Three more years to freedom. My mom isn't super thrilled about my plans for college. The fact is she wants me to be with her always, which wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for her own stubbornness.
She and I used to be a team, kind of like us against the world. We used to travel places and explore and I loved being with her. But ever since coming here she has become more and more paranoid. As I am growing up and getting to know other people, I am realising that there is a world out there totally different from my life. And I want to know more about it but she has so many restrictions that sometimes it feels like I am a criminal. I get where she is coming from though. She lost her parents in a car crash when she was little, and my father had died from cancer when I was just 2 months old. I was the only family she had and she didn't want to lose me too. But sometimes I think it's more than that and her refusal to answer my questions or budge from her decisions has created a distance between us.
As my thoughts turned depressing, I decided there was no good trying to sleep now. I took a shower and felt better immediately. My morning ritual of getting ready soothed me and I took my time choosing what to wear. In the end I settled on a white tank top with light blue jeans. Throwing on a light summer jacket and shoes, I put on a little lip gloss. I didn't need to look in the mirror to know what I would see.
Amy Williams, confidant and beautiful. People described me with a lot of adjectives, but most common comment I heard was that I looked like my mom. I didn't see it. Yes, we both had red hair and the same willowy figure, but the similarities end there. My hair is a shade darker and whereas her eyes are brown mine are an unnatural shade of amber and gold. She even has a way of carrying herself that made people stop in their tracks. I could never nail that elegance try as I might. It's like she was raised as royalty.
Picking up my bag I went downstairs to find my mom burning something at the stove again with my best friend Sarah at the kitchen table eating breakfast. My breakfast.
"That's my breakfast." I said snatching up the last piece of toast off her plate and taking a bite. It was mostly okay with the sides a little burned which was an achievement for mom. Sarah just looked at me innocently. "I was hungry."
"I can make some more if you want." My mom asked eagerly.
"No, It's all right. We are getting late and I am not that hungry anyway." I said finishing up my toast and getting up to leave. She took pity on the food and turned off the stove. "So, you are going?" She asked after a pause.
"Mom, we talked about this." I replied, sighing. Fought more likely.
"Yes, I know. Just checking." She said, hands in the air. "It's your special day and you get to do what you want. You girls have fun today. And Amy, don't forget to call me." She said hugging me.
"Yes mom." I said a little irritably.
The thing was Sarah and her parents were going on a camping trip and had invited me. As it was a chance to get out of this dreary town even for a little while, I took it. My mom and I had a huge fight about me going away but I won in the end because it was my birthday. Still, she had set some conditions that I was to fulfil no matter what. I was to call her every two hours until going to sleep and be back tomorrow for my study session.
"You have everything?" Mom asked.
"Yeah, I packed last night. My bag is in the living room. I'll just go get it." I said to Sarah and went to the living to room to pick up my bag which had a change of clothes and toiletries. The fireplace was burning. I was surprised to see this as it wasn't this chilly. And my mom usually puts out the fire in the morning as its summer. Well, she must have forgotten. The mantle had a few pictures put above it. A couple of me & my mom from our travels, one of me & Sarah from last year's back to school party and another of mom & aunty Tia. There was no picture of my father, neither here nor anywhere in the house. It was too painful for my mom and I have long since learned not to argue with her. It only ended in tears.
Sighing, I picked up my backpack and went back to the kitchen. And before my mother could change her mind, dragged Sarah out of the house.
"Bye Mrs. Williams." Sarah called back. For reasons unknown Sarah loved my mom and she loved her back. With her blonde hair, cute smile and happy go lucky attitude Sarah was hard to resist, even for my anti-social mother. Sarah was easy to love, but seeing as she was my best friend, I might be a little biased.
We got out of the house and set down the road. I lived on Privet Drive which was a short way from Sarah's house so we could walk there. Passing no. 4, I saw old Mrs. Dursley out in the garden. She was tending to her plants while humming. She was a sweet lady but her grand-daughter, Danielle was the devil incarnate. Danielle "Danny" Dursley was my classmate in school and the biggest bitch that I had ever encountered. On top of living in this god-awful town I was neighbours with my nemesis. The jokes this universe plays on me.
I was so distracted by my thoughts that I didn't realise until later that we had turned the other way from Sarah's house.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"We are going shopping."
"You want to go shopping now? Aren't your parents waiting for us?"
"Nope. They already left."
"WHAT? What are we going to? Are we meeting them somewhere else?"
"Of course not. We are staying."
"WHAT?" I repeated. I came to a standstill thinking that I will have to spend my Birthday at home again.
Sarah had gone a few steps ahead. When she realised that I had stopped, she turned to look at me. Seeing my expression, she sighed and came back towards me. She grabbed me by my shoulders, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Sometimes you are so dumb Amy, I don't know how you get such good grades and still be the most popular girl in the school."
"What?" This word is just not going to stop. It seemed like I was incapable of saying anything else.
"My parents are already gone because I told them that you and I are having a birthday sleepover at your house. They agreed without talking to your mom because they trust me so much, bless them." Sarah replied.
"So, what are we actually doing? Sleepover at your house?" I asked the next obvious question.
"Kind of. But first we are going shopping, and then, we are going to a party." Sarah said with a mischievous smile on her face.
I felt my own smile unfurl on my face, looking at my best friend, thanking the heavens for the day I met her. It was going to be the Best Birthday Ever. I could feel it. I was confident.
Oh, how the universe loves to prove me wrong.