“ Lillian ! Don ’ t be a Debby downer !” My mom said as she pinched my arm . I jumped , “ Ma ! Don ’ t scare me like that !” I said rubbing my arm . “ You should be happy for your father !” she huffed . “ What ? But , he could ’ ve done- !”
“ I know ,” she sighed , “ He could ’ ve done this all by himself ! That ’ s the third time now , it would ’ ve taken him hours to do it by himself , Lillian !”
“ But- !” I said .
She continued , “ You should be proud of your father , he ’ s built this association from the ground up !” She pinched the bridge of her nose . “ Be happy for him and try willing to help him .”
“ But Ma ! I don ’ t wanna be here !” I sounded like a toddler again . She grew furious , “ Just think about it – ok ?!” “ Ok …” I answered .
. . .
The flood gates opened at 8:00 , a lot of people came in at around 9:00 . But , not that many people came . I was supposed to be manning the front desk , instead I was lost in my thoughts . Why wasn ’ t anyone else unhappy about this ? Am I just overreacting ? Shouldn ’ t I want my father to be happy ? Other people are proud of my father , and I should be proud too ! I shivered because of my last thought , it was almost creepy how positive I was .
“ Boo !” I felt air on the back of my neck . “ Oh g- !” I spun around . Crazy Guy chuckled , “ I didn ’ t mean to scare ya !” “ Mm ok …” my words melted into one slur .
His name was … Crazy Guy or Cray-Cray . I don ’ t remember his name . He was the weirdest of the group here , though . He had brown stained teeth and a prickly beard , don ’ t forget the smoker ’ s breath .
He laughed again , “ What was I go- oh ! Do you know where your mother is ?” Why didn ’ t he just ask that straight up ? – WITHOUT scaring me . “ Uhm , she ’ s in the kitchen . “ Thanks kid !” He said with energy , jeez his energy was too much for me . “ Ok …” I said , slouching back down in my chair . This is one of the reasons why I don ’ t belong here , they ’ re all weird .