He stared up at me.
"What did you call me?" he asked, his voice sending a low warning.
I shook my head, amazed at his stupidity. How dare he think he can control me? He has no right!
"Come on. Mama...lets go!" I said, grabbing her hand and turning her away from the horrid man.
We walked away, grimly. It was amazing at how easily a happy occasion could turn grim in a matter of seconds.
I looked at my mother. Her eyes shined with unshed tears, and her grip on my hand tightened.
"Don't let him get to you. He's a bastard." I whispered to her.
She turned towards me.
"Don't call him that. He's your father for God's sake. Think of how it must have hurt him to hear his child call him that," Mama scolded.
I looked at her in shock.
"Father? Hurt? First of all, he's not my father! Not in this universe or any other! And why in the world would it hurt him, when for the last 17 years of my life all he has done is deliver pain to our doorstep?"
Mother shook her had at me, disappointed.
"There are many trials in life, sweetie. Some have it worst than others, but that doesn't matter. It's all a test. How you react determines your fate. Are you rich, but you give donations frequently to those in need? Or are you poor, but you deal with it and don't complain? Wealthiness has always been a big part of people's rank. It's horrid, but there's nothing we can do. And you have to learn that not all people are like your father. Whether they're rich or poor, it doesn't matter. Poor people can be bastards and rich people can be kind and generous. You should be thankful you have a roof sheltering you and food so you don't starve. Even if your roof isn't the best quality and has leaks occasionally and somedays you might need to skip a meal just so we all can have enough food, don't let that blind you from what you do have! If we work together, we can get through this. Sydney, Leslie, you and me, we have to work together."
I nodded my head. Sydney and Leslie were my little sisters' names. Leslie, in case you haven't noticed, is named after my "father" Lester.
"Come on! Leslie and Syd will be wonder'n where we are!" I said.
Mama and I walked to our little house. It was small, but cozy. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small kitchen and table. My sisters and I shared one room, the other was for Mama. Mama was a principal in a small elementary school down the road. That was the only way we payed our bills. I had tried talking my mom into letting me get a job somewhere, but Mama always declines saying I need to focus more on my studies.
We entered the house.
"Go on and get changed! Then we'll go and eat somewhere to celebrate," Mama smiled.
I hurried into my room. Sydney was already there, lying on the bed facing the ceiling.
"Bout time you and Mama got here," she said.
I smiled. I adored Sydney tremendously. Sometimes I thought that she was actually a wise hundred year old in a sixteen year old's body. She had mostly taken after Mama. Her gray eyes shone with wisdom and her hair was a caramel brown. Her tanned skin however took after Lester. Sydney was definitely beautiful. She was also smart. She offered tutoring to help pay the bills, but I think she does it because of the little kids. Syd absolutely loves little kids, whic made her personality even more charming. I think I might favor Sydney more than Leslie sometimes.
"Guess what?" I said, excitedly.
"What?" Sydney asked.
"I got into UMaine!" I yelled.
Sydney jumped right out of bed.
"OMG! You what? OMG! I'm so proud of you, but hey! We all knew you would get in...so?"
"Full scholarship," I whispered. I felt like I was on cloud nine.
I could swear that Sydney's eyeballs right about popped out of her head.
"Oh wow! That is just amazing! We have to celebrate! OMG! I am so happy for you, Als!"
I laughed, hugging her.
"But...UMaine is so far away." Sydney whispered.
I froze. I hadn't though about that.
"Well, I guess I don't have to go..."
"Are you kidding me?! You absolutely have to! No question there! It doesn't matter, we can visit you regularly!" Sydney stated.
I stared at her. "But you have school. And it is too expensive to visit regularly. Airplane tickets are not what they used to be." I retorted.
"I can pull a few strings with school and hey! My tuition job's piling high. Besides I'm sure Leslie can get a job. She's almost sixteen."
"No, school is important. No ditching, and you know Mama. She won't let Leslie get a job without finishing her studies. It was a miracle that she let you do tutoring. Besides, do you know how many people go to college with FULL scholarship? Not many, and those that do aren't usually from a background like ours. It would be tough dealing with those rich kids. Once they find out I'm poor, my life is guaranteed to be-" I didn't finish. Of course I didn't know that thing about scholarships and such, but I needed an excuse.
"We can move near UMaine..." suggested Sydney.
"Move?" I asked in disbelief. We had lived in this house our whole life!
"Yeah...move. We'll discuss this later, right now? Lets party!"
Sydney looked up at me, with a goofy grin plastered on her face. It was impossible not to smile back. Syd's smile was contagious. Suddenly Leslie entered the room.
"Yo peeps! Ma just told me interestin news!" Leslie winked at me.
I smiled at her. Leslie was a ray of sunshine. She was bubbly and energetic. She had chocolate brown hair like mine and tanned skin like Sydney. However she had hazel eyes which were startling because none of our parents had hazel eyes.
"Congrats Ally! We all knew you'd get in! But the full scholarship was a good bonus!" she said, hugging me. I hugged her back.
"Better go get changed. We're eating dinner at Joe's!" Leslie yelled. She left the room with Sydney.
Joe's is this amazing restaurant. They served mostly seafood and they had tables on near the dock so you could look at the seaside while eating.
I opened the closet to go get changed. Leslie, Sydney and I usually shared clothes, since we didn't have a lot individually and we were all almost the same size. I stared at the full length mirror. I had chocolate brown hair that went a little below my shoulders that was naturally wavy and curly. I had dyed some of the curls of my hair blonde.I was average height and petite and I had brown eyes like Lester. My skin was pale like Mama's.
I looked some more in the closet searching for a suitable outfit. Right now, I had on a loose tie dyed tank top (It belonged to Leslie) and a pair of jean capris. My hair was in a messy ponytail. I pulled out a red blouse. It was like a poncho. I wore a black tank top underneath and a fresh pair jean cut offs. I took out a pair of socks and wore some old Chuck Taylors. I had picked them up from a thrift store as well as the red blouse. I took a brush and brushed my hair and tied it up into a higher ponytail. I left a few curls framing my face. I picked up a chap stick and swept it across my dried lips. I left the room, but not before I grabbed my wallet. It just had a family picture (excluding Lester of course) and a twenty dollar bill.
I entered the main hall and I saw everybody already dressed up. Mama was wearing a floral printed dress. It was the only dress she owned. Her hair was pulled back on one side with a clip. Mama's hair was also curly like ours. Leslie was wearing a long, summer colored tunic with black tights. Her hair was in a braid. Sydney was wearing a white linen dress that came a little below her butt. I recognized it as my Middle School graduation dress. The dress was plain, but it was pleated from the waist down, which on her was the stomach and down. She wore tan colored cut offs underneath. Her hair was down, but brushed neatly. They all looked nice.
"Come on! Lets go!" Sydney said.
We all walked out of the house. Joe's wasn't really far away. It was a ten minute to fifteen minute walk. Besides we didn't have a car. We talked about random stuff until we reached Joe's.
"Aye! Welcome to Joe's, Penny, Ally, Sydney and of course Leslie! You ladies look wonderful today! What's the occasion?" Joe, the owner of the restaurant greeted us.
"Thank you, Joe! Ally got accepted to UMaine! On full scholarship!" Mama beamed.
"Oh that is certainly an occasion to celebrate, indeed it is! You've came to the right place to celebrate! Come have a seat!" Joe smiled.
Joe was around Mama's age. We tried setting them up once, but it was clear Joe and Mama would just stay good friends. Joe had green eyes, tan skinned and black curly hair. The sea was his life. He was a fisherman and loved sea life, though he earns his living by cooking it all up. Which is quite ironic, but I never pondered over it.
We sat on a four seat table.
"May I take your order?" the waitress asked us.
"Give us a few minutes please." Mother said politely.
"Sure," she said and went to the next table.
We looked at the menu, even though we had memorized it by heart.
"I want fish and chips!" Leslie said.
"I'll take um popcorn shrimps." Sydney said.
"What about you, Ally?" Mama asked.
"I'll take the flounder fillet." I said.
"I'm in the mood for some clam chowder." Mama stated. "What about sides? Drinks?"
"Pink lemonade!" Sydney and I screamed in unison. We had the same taste in almost everything.
"Leslie?" I asked.
"I'll take pink lemonade too."
The waitress cam back to our table after a minute and we told her our order.
"Okay. So we have: Fish and chips, popcorn shrimps, flounder fillet, and clam chowder. For drinks we have pink lemonade and for sides, coleslaw. Anything else?" she asked.
"That'll be all please." I said.
"Order should come in about five minutes or so." the waitress said. Her name tag said, " Hello! I'm Eleanor".
"Thank you, Eleanor!" Mama said and we all nodded. She smiled. I guess it wasn't everyday people thanked her for her service.
Our meals quickly arrived. They were delicious.
"So Mama," I said after everyone was done eating." UMaine is awfully far away from our house."
"Oh yes. I've been thinking about that." she replied.
"About moving?" asked Sydney.
"Yes, but it would be difficult to move in such short notice." Mama answered.
"Moving?" questioned Leslie. "Why on Earth would we move?"
"Because UMaine, the college Ally got accepted into, is far away." Mama answered.
"We don't have to move." I said.
"Why ever not? It's not like we can just leave you there. We would all miss you terribly!" Sydney stated.
"I'll be fine on my own, and I will most definitely miss you guys but there's no other option. Moving is out of question, and besides you can visit me. Maybe not regularly but a visit is a visit. And I'll visit you too!"
"We know that, darling. But I think it would be better if we moved too. I mean Sydney and Leslie will have a new exposure to different people. Even though we'd still be in the same state, it would be a new kind of experience." Mama began.
"But you have a job here. And Leslie and Sydney have friends here!" I argued.
"I can always find a new job, and Leslie and Sydney can always make new friends." Mama pointed out.
"I don't know..." I said.
"We all don't know a lot of things! But we find out in the end...don't we?" Leslie stated.
"Lets discuss this tomorrow. Right now lets enjoy!" Sydney said.
We left Joe's after paying the bill. We walked on the sea shore. The sun was setting and it looked so beautiful. I sighed. There was so much going on. I still couldn't believe I got full scholarship. I was so overwhelmed. But right now, I wished I could freeze time. Freeze this moment. Let it last forever. But there was no such thing as forever...I knew that quite well. My parents thought they'd be forever, look how that turned out.
"Yo! Ally! Get your butt over here!" Leslie yelled.
It looked like Leslie, Mama and Sydney were playing tag.
I shook my head, smiling at the sight.
Mama was laughing at Sydney who fell on the ground while Leslie and her were tackling each other.
"Oh no you didn't!" Sydney growled.
"Is that suppose to scare me?" Leslie taunted.
"Why you!" Sydney jolted up, grabbing Leslie's ankle. They both fell down and started howling with laughter.
I smiled. This was the definition of perfect. And this was the perfect moment.
"Hey! No laughing without me!" I grinned, running up to them.
If I could relive any moment, it would be this one.
THE END
Author's note: Yes the story is over...and JK! How could it be the end? Austin didn't even appear yet...Now I know if you people actually read the Author's Notes or not. Oh well. Remember to review! AND IM HOLDING A VOTE! In your review, tell me if you think Leslie, Sydney and Mama should move. It is undecided right now. YOUR VOTE SHALL DECIDE ALLY'S FUTURE! Austin may or may not appear in the next chapter. I haven't decided yet. Tell me in your reviews what you think should happen.