Painting The Bad Girl's Portrait

Chapter 1

"Tyler, could you please hurry up," Diana whined as she moved around the kitchen, trying to get things in order. She could hear the sounds from upstairs and knew that her mother would be down soon.

Her eight-year-old brother didn't reply. Instead, he stuffed his mouth with a final spoon-full of cheerios before laying his spoon to the side. He chewed on it noisily before swallowing it down.

"I'm done."

"Finally," Diana murmured irritably as she bent down next to him and began adjusting his school uniform. But she knew it wasn't his fault. She had been the one to wake up late. She was responsible for making his breakfast and getting him ready for school.

"There," Diana exclaimed, adjusting Tyler's white collar before standing up straight, releasing a breath of relief.

At that moment, fast-approaching footsteps were heard on the stairs and the breath Diana had just released seemed to be caught in her throat all over again. It wasn't long before her mother came into view.

"Tyler, are you ready?" her mother asked, placing her hardback heavily on the kitchen table as she began rummaging through it for her keys.

"Good morning, mom."

No reply. Diana felt her blood boil steadily as she watched her nonchalant mother before her. She hadn't even acknowledged her presence, hadn't even acknowledged that she had said anything at all to her. A few moments passed and Diana slowly felt the anger escaping from her. There was no point in being angry. After all, what did she expect? This was nothing new. This was exactly the way things had been for a while.

"Mom, I'm ready," Tyler responded, oblivious to the light tension in the air as he got up from his seat and raced out of the kitchen to retrieve his school bag from his bedroom.

It was then that Diana's mom looked up from rummaging through her handbag and glanced at her daughter, her eyes lingering over her from top to bottom.

"Is that what you're going to wear to school?" her mom asked. The judgement and distaste was clear in her voice, and it took everything within Diana to keep from rolling her eyes.

"Yeah. Why?"

Her mom just shook her head in reply and went back to rummaging through her handbag. Diana stood there, rubbing her palms awkwardly against her pants, unsure of what to do. There was nothing really bad about the way she was dressed. She was wearing an oversized shirt and cargo pants, but her mom just seemed to disapprove of everything she did.

"Mom, I'm ready for school!"

Tyler had reappeared in the kitchen with his backpack, and Diana couldn't keep from smiling at how adorable he looked. Her brother was basically a carbon-copy of herself, except younger and male. He was dressed in his school uniform, a white polo shirt and navy blue shorts, and as corny as Diana believed the whole 'uniform' thing to be, she couldn't deny the fact that it added to his overall cuteness.

"Oh, honey, look how cute you look."

Immediately a small scowl etched unto Diana's face as her mom began cooing over her younger brother. It was true. He did look cute, and Diana knew it. But as she stared at the manner by which her mother papered Tyler, a feeling of resentment began building up within her. This feeling was short-lived and soon disappeared as if it were never even there. Diana felt guilt eating up within her. Her strained relationship with her mother had nothing to do with Tyler.

"We'd be on our way," Diana's mom stated as she grabbed her handbag off the kitchen table and took hold of Tyler's hand in hers.

"Bye Di-di!" Tyler said, waving energetically at her, and Diana couldn't help the wide smile that crossed her face. She could tell that he was excited for his first day of 3rd Grade, it had been all that he had been talking about for the first week. Diana was happy for him, she knew that he would have a good time. He had friends at school, he was smart, his teachers loved him. Unlike her, he didn't resent the educational system.