HOMECOMING

Marie’s dad was coming to pick her up from school. She was fondly anticipating meeting her dad and was hoping that he would come alone. Eager to meet her step-mom as well, but the hope of being alone with her dad at least for some time was a dream for her every time she went home.

Her step-mom had issues with Marie being alone with her own dad. The possibility may have been that she was guilty of the way she treated Marie and didn’t want to land up in trouble had Marie spoken to her father about all that. Little did she know that Marie was such a good daughter that she controlled herself every time from letting her dad know what happened at home with her only because she believed that her father loved her step-mother.

Such misunderstandings prevailed for quite some time without giving anyone rest. Instead of talking to one another about the way everyone at home assumed things, they kept stuff to themselves only because no one wanted to come out in the open and wanted to try their best to keep the environment at home fight-free.

As Marie saw a grey-colored Hyundai Accent entering from the main gate, and she was over the moon to meet her dad. The very minute he parked the car, she ran to him hoping that he would let her hug him, which didn’t happen very often while he placed his hand on her head blessing her as he did whenever she hugged him.

But when she reached halfway, the passenger seat door of the car opened, which slowed her down a little as she started to wonder why it was opening. And she was not very happy to see her step-mom getting off the car because it meant that she would not be able to ride in the car with just her father telling him about all the things that she wanted to.

Nevertheless, both her parents had come to pick her up from school, and that by itself was a matter of celebration for her. Going home was still worth the excitement. If not now, then some time at home; maybe she would get time with her dad this time at least, unlike the last time when she was home for a week and her dad had an important conference to attend.

She hugs her step-mom, and as she opens the back door to get in the car, she sees Rebecca playing a game on a portable gaming console. Trying her best to forcefully smile, failing to understand how her sister has the gaming console which Marie wanted for her birthday but was given an excuse for not being able to purchase it.

Even if they could buy it now, why was she not made aware of the same in the letters her step-mom wrote to her a few times? Now that was important because the school demanded parents to send at least one letter once in every two weeks. Whereas, students were supposed to write letters for their parents every Sunday; one hour in the morning was scheduled especially for them to connect with their parents despite the distance.

The school was not in favor of students owning any gadgets in the hostel because some of them who couldn’t afford it would feel bad and may indulge in some unethical practices. The school was one of a kind in order to make sure all the students were treated just the same. No special treatment was given to everyone, and the school had purposely kept certain things in the old-fashioned way. One of which was to write letters that the admin department would handover to the postman.

Marie was very excited to see all the letters and cards she had sent from school to her family. She would always reread them when she came home for holidays and remember the time she wrote those letters. She was excited to map each of the replies that she got from home and was carrying the very few letters which she received from them in her bag.

She was also very excited to meet her pup, Shadow. He was a little puppy when they adopted him, and it had been almost five months now. She wished him to still be little because she wanted to play with him as a puppy as she did not play with him enough during her winter break.

Adrian was right after Shadow who she was excited to meet. Adrian was her friend from the vicinity, and they had been friends since Marie’s family moved into that residential complex. Marie had been telling him about everything that was happening in her life, and she would seek comfort in their friendship from him.

Not only did he understand whatever she said, but he also supported her in everything that she planned to do. They were both best friends, and because they were adolescents, they didn’t really understand the way the world would perceive them to be; their closeness was such. And maybe Adrian even liked Marie, but his tender age was not able to coin their bond.

Their age was such that they were maturing into adulthood, and everything they saw on commercials, papers, the internet, and TV made them want to bring it to their lives. It was a risky stage for the youngsters to be involved in doing things that the adults did because not being able to feel as if they were big enough gave them a fear of missing out.

Handing numerous things at school, at home, and also among friends was not as easy as it looked like to all the grown-ups. So much happening in their lives needed to be balanced out for them to remain sane in their minds and concentrate well on studies because that was the only thing expected from them.

Being in a competitive environment which not only talks about academic achievements, but also takes into consideration all the extra-curricular activities too. These tasks involve the number of opposite-sex people they talk to and are involved with in different ways.

Given the conservative nature of Marie’s family, there was sure going to be a lot of drama involved, but it was all going to be worth it because she was going to be home with her dad and not to forget she also made plans to meet her best friend Jean on top of everything. The experiments which Jean has been wanting to do with Marie are going to be a whole different thing for both of them to experience.