The Life as It Is
By Rondabunny
Part 2
Erin Parker:
What time is it? It's twenty five to six in the morning. You have to stand up! No, it's cold there and here is so warm. Come on, loafer, stand up, boil some water! You know as teacher says a girl must smell of soap and not reek. It is cold in the bathroom. I don't want to take off the clothes! You must or everybody will name you a dirty one. Does it matter? Today Toby will be boasting at every corner that he's seen me naked. Who's responsible for it? I don't wanna go to school. Do you want to stay here all day watching them drinking and making softhead comments? I can go look for tins maybe I'll get some money for them. What for? She'll take them and she'll buy herself another drink. Pointless… besides it's cold outside to search for tins. It's warm at school and you can eat something for lunch. Their free lunches are disgusting! Since when are you such a milksop? Yesterday's sandwich was good! Maybe you can have another after school. The lady asked you to come, remember? All right! Then it is school today. I need to stand up. Damn it! It's freezing!
The girl jumped out off the bed and put on her thick sweater and jeans. It was cold. She shivered when her bare-feet connected with the floor. She put on her slippers and rushed to the kitchen. Erin filled a bucket with water and put it on the stove to boil. There were a lot of dirty dishes to wash up. She boiled a kettle of water and washed all the plates, glasses and other utensils. When the water in the bucket was hot enough for washing, she took the bucket and went to the bathroom. She poured some hot water into a basin and mixed it with cold. The girl washed herself quickly and dried. There was no much to eat. She found some fried potatoes in a frying pan which stuck to it and a loaf of bread that was nibbled at but she made a cup of tea and ate this bread with the potatoes. Her mother was sleeping. The kid prepared her bag and covered the sleeping woman with the blanket. She didn't wake up just snored. Erin put on the jacket and a cap, took the bag and went outside.
Toby and the company were already waiting for her on the way to school.
"Hey, redhead! What did she do to you yesterday? We have been waiting for you for half an hour and then we went home." Toby asked with a smirk on his face.
"She gave me a lecture on the topic that 'all boys are evil'." Erin snapped back.
"It was you who didn't believe that I can steal the cake!" he said walking next to the girl.
"Yeah, it was a big mistake. I apologize."
"Do you officially recognize you've lost?" he asked understanding his superiority.
"Yes, but I won't dance naked in the snow. Maybe I'll steal something too?"
"Deal! Twenty bucks today after school."
"Hey, it's too many!" she refused.
"Then I'll be waiting for you at a vacant lot to watch the dance." He patted her on the shoulder.
"Moron!" She shook his hand from her shoulder and went fast to school.
Reilly's Diner
Jenny was busy the whole morning. Customers came and she served them. She knew nearly all of their customers. People liked the diner and they came here to chat, to drink a cup of tea and to read a newspaper. She recognized one of them immediately. It was Mr. McLaughlin, Toby's father. He was a worker at a factory and sometimes he came here with his friends to take a beer and relax for a while.
"Hi, Jenny! A brown ale and a sandwich with ham, please." He ordered. "How are you?"
"Great, Mr. McLaughlin. How's your wife?" she asked him and gave the change to the other customer.
"She's fine, thank you." He said taking his beer.
"I saw your son yesterday with Kelly boys. They were making fun of a girl who was much younger." Jenny said pouring the tea for an old man who sat at a table.
"What! My son mocks at small children! I knock the nonsense out of his head! I make him respect everyone! Son-of-the-bitch!" He told angrily.
When lunch time was over Jenny put on her jacket and took some sandwiches: "Dad, I'll go to the hospital. If a red-haired kid comes, tell her to wait for me."
"Ok. Jenny." Mr. Reilly grumbled.
The classes were over. Erin walked along the street and heard girls beside her shout: "Redhead, redhead, your mom's killed dead!"
Erin Parker:
How smart. Interesting how much time it took them to rhyme that! Idiots! I need to find 20 $ or I have to keep my promise. What a dumb I am to make that stupid bet! Ok. Think! Where can you get the money?
"Redhead, redhead, your mom's killed dead!" the voices sounded behind her. Suddenly a snowball hit her back and three girls giggled. Erin ignored it. She didn't turn around. She didn't say anything. She kept walking. The girl got used to it. Nobody liked her at school. She was bright and she ignored girls at all. Her friends were the boys. She gave them to copy off her homework, sometimes helped during the test because Barry was really desperate at sciences. The boys were twelve but she was in their class. It was good for both parties. She helped them with the lessons they protected her from the stupid ones like those girls behind her back. Toby was the head of their band. He was the oldest of them and he made the rules. They played along and she was always the one who disagreed with him. Now she has lost and she had to pay or she'd be eliminated from the band. It meant problems at school.
Reilly's Diner:
The girl came inside and found an old man behind the counter. She asked for Jenny Reilly but he said that she wouldn't be at work today, so the child left the diner. Erin didn't know what to do next. She walked lazily down the street when she noticed a limping man with a huge wallet in the back-pocket of his jeans. The wallet attracted her attention. She stopped to think what to do next. Suddenly the girl hastily approached the man and stroke against him as if it was an accident. She apologized but at this very moment his hand patted against his back-pocket and he yelled: "Come here, you little bitch!" She ran as fast as she could. Everything happened within few seconds. She ran pushing the passers-by along the way. The man was following her. It was an open road in front of her. She turned back to see how close he was. She didn't see a truck turning round the corner. Erin was ready to make the next step on the road but a strange force pulled her back on the pavement right at the time when the truck was passing the road. It nearly ripped her jacket.
"Are you crazy!" a female voice shouted. The girl tried to set free but whoever was holding her, was holding with all her might. She saw the man approaching full of anger.
"Hold her, Jenny! I'll teach that fucking bitch a lesson!" Jimmy was going fast in their direction.
"Let me go!" the child cried trying to set free. Jenny shook Erin and took the wallet from girl's hands. Jimmy already lifted up his fist to smack the kid, but Jenny hid the girl behind her back still holding her by the jacket and gave him the wallet.
"Is it yours?" she asked simply. He took the money and put it in the pocket.
"If I see you once again you'll be dead!" he shouted at the child and turned away to go.
Jenny faced the girl: "What on earth you think you were doing?!"
"Let me go!" Erin hissed.
"You're coming with me!" She took the girl by the hand and headed to the diner.
"The old bastard in the diner said that you won't be there today!" the child disagreed and immediately got her lumps. "Hey! What was that for?!" She barked out rubbing her head.
"The old man is my father and if you ever say something inappropriate about him, I hit you again!" Jenny said angrily.
"How am I supposed to know?!" Erin muttered. They entered the diner. Jenny took the girl's bag and asked to help her in the diner. She fed the kid beforehand. Erin cleaned the tables and mopped the floor. She did everything neatly as if she was doing this all her short life.
"Fine, Erin. It's seven o'clock. You should go home and do your homework." Jenny told the kid.
"Tomorrow's Saturday. I can do my lessons tomorrow." Erin refused.
"What do you need the money for?" Reilly asked.
"I have to pay Toby 20 bucks or I have to keep my promise and dance in the snow." She answered quietly.
"Here it is. And don't make bets with the boys!" Jenny gave the kid 20 dollars.
"No thanks. I don't need your money. I have mine." She took 20 $ from her pocket.
"Where did you get them?" the woman asked looking at the child with surprise.
"I took it from the wallet of that furious, limping man."
Jenny rolled her eyes: "If you ever steal again I promise I'll tear off your arms!"
"I think I should be scared." Erin said with sarcasm. She took her bag and was ready to leave.
"You can come tomorrow after you do your homework." Jenny told her.
"No, I can't. I have to do a lot at home. Sorry." She refused the proposal.
"Maybe Monday after school?"
"It'll be great. Thanks." Erin left the diner.
8 p.m. Somewhere at a deserted construction site
It was dark. It was January outside and the only thing that spread the light at this place was the moon above. Erin walked trying to pace quietly not to make much noise. She saw a silhouette near a broken concrete slab.
"Hi."
"I thought you wouldn't come!" the boy said.
"Here's your money." She stretched her hand with the money in her fist.
"Keep it."
"I won't take off my clothes. Here's the money." She insisted.
"I said keep it! We're even. You kept your promise yesterday! I thought you'd be scared and wouldn't come here. It was a mistake." Toby told her and put his hands into the pockets.
"Sorry to disappoint you." She replied.
"I told Barry and Pat to keep the yesterday's scene a secret or I thrash them."
"Thanks." She said simply.
"You know I'm glad that I don't have sisters 'cause if I had one like you it would be a disaster."
"Why?"
"Sometimes you behave like an idiot. If I saw my sister undressing in front of a guy, I would kill her right there." He confessed.
"It was your necessary conditions." Erin replied.
"I'm sorry. I thought it would freak you out. I behaved like a jerk."
"Yeah, fine. I go home. It's freezing." She said kicking a little stone.
"Can you promise me something?" he asked walking next to her.
"What?"
"Don't behave like a boy. You don't need this and always think twice before you do anything."
"Sure, Satan rebuking his sin!" She exclaimed.
"What did you say?" He made a snowball and threw it at her playfully. She ran.
They played snowballs along the way home…
To be continued…
