Rebel I Am

        
"You’re not eating your eggs."

“"I hate eggs."”

“"You hate everything."

“"Wrong, I hate everything AND everybody."

The clinking of knives and forks ceased. “"AJ"” my mother said in a warning tone. My dad's steely grey eyes shot daggers at me across the table filled with shit food I didn’t feel like eating. My mum was shoveling food in her mouth so I knew she was getting nervous. 

My fifteen year old sister Khai removed her ever present earphones to witness the showdown. 

“'This should be good.'” She mouthed in a loud whisper.

“"Shut your ass."” I spat at her. 
My family has the big issue with us wasting food, that was the premise on which I was setting up my battlefield.

My 250 pound dad folded and set his newspaper down beside his ‘Daddy of the Year’ coffee mug. He studied me intently as everybody fell quiet.

“"What the fuck is wrong with you?"”

“"You gotta ask then you shouldn’t drink from that mug."

I opened my little stash of weed and started rolling a joint. Mummy gasped, I didn’t look up. Until I was finished rolling up that is. The breakfast table was giving a graveyard a serious run for its money. Even potty mouth Khai had her face zipped.

“"If you light up that mess in my house I swear to God I will…"”

“"You shouldn’t swear, daddy. And its for when I get to school; wouldn’t waste my smoke in here anyway."

My mum got up and started to hurriedly clear the table, my Dad’s eyes followed my still full plate as it left the table. Khai looked pissed, like we were taking too long to explode.

“"See what I mean? This girl doesn’t even respect me!" he thundered. 
Yup, you could say that was the 'start' button.

“"Respect goes both ways like a downlow man and in case you haven’t noticed, this ‘girl’ is now a woman!"
 I tucked my joint in the pocket of my sweatshirt and dusted off my hands all calm as daddy and I stared each other down.

“"Oh, so you think you grown."

“"I know I’m grown."”

“"Being 18 don’t mean shit!"

“"Being 48 don’t mean you know shit!"

Mummy rushed over and rested her hands on my shoulders. I tensed. I haven’t touched my parents on purpose since I stopped changing teeth.

“"Could we not argue this morning?"” she pleaded. “"AJ, its time to go to school."

“"I hate school."

“"I know, honey. But…"

“"I’m quitting school."

“"The fuck you are!"” 
Daddy jumped up so fast his chair turned over.

“'Ohhh shiiitttt.' Khai crooned as she got her iPhone out the way. I got up too and got ready. My daddy’s crazy, I mean just look at me. I didn’t wanna hit him the same way you don’t wanna run a puppy over in the street. But if he hit me….

“"Are you crazy? I just paid your fucking tuition and that means you are staying in college!"
He was in my face now, I could feel my weak ass mother’s fear.I reached for my backpack, he knocked it out my hand so I stood my ground and folded my arms instead.

“"I’m leaving. Going to live with Randi. In Jamaica."

“"Honey you don’t mean that."” 

“"Oh please mum, unlike you I never say shit I don’t mean!"”

Daddy seemed to have swelled bigger in front of me. 
"You’re running off to go shack up with some man you’ve just met. In Jamaica of all fuckholes!"

“"Correction. One, we met long ago, a month to be exact. Two, Randi’s not some man, she's my girlfriend."”

Once again everybody went on mute. 

"You’re a dyke?"” Khai marveled. “"And here I was thinking I’d be the first in the family."”

 

……………………….. To be continued ......................... 

 

Tags: anger, hate, weird,