The Hard Life

Chapter 1: The Basics of Life

"Daaaaaddd!!", I yelled almost unnaturally.

"Yes, Hun" he answered almost immediately.

"Where is my backpack?" I asked him.

"On your bookshelf, sweetheart."

"Thanks," I called after him and ran to the kitchen where a bowl of oatmeal was patiently waiting for me. "Yum," I whispered and dug into the delicious bowl of milk, honey, cinnamon, and, of course, oats.

As I scooped my last spoon of breakfast my father hurried into the kitchen, staring at his watch.

"Honey, it's time to go now. Did you finish your breakfast?" He asked without looking up. He was on his phone at this point, sending a text to his "work partner" which I knew was just an alias for his girlfriend, Valerie.

Now, if he would have taken a quick glance at me, he would have noticed that my bowl was empty.

"Yes," I answered him waiting for him to give me my morning kiss. When he didn't I just took my bowl to the sink and washed it, clearly annoyed that he didn't pay attention to me when called for.

"Can we just go, now?" I asked in a rude manner, still angry that he didn't care.

"Sure. Get in the car and wait for me," he ordered.

I did as he said only because I was kind of excited to get to my new school. Ever since we moved out of that crappy, white neighborhood, I've been a little excited for everything. I know that the only reason we left is because we couldn't afford it there after my mother's death, but I still was looking forward to living here. My dad is a little pissed that we live in "Zone 6", the ghetto part of the city. He tries to hide it, but it is clear. With the face that he makes when I mention it and the attitude he puts up when talking about tells you exactly how he feels. He usually feels superior, but living here makes him feel weak. I love it. It's nice to see him without his ego getting in the way of things.

He finally arrives outside and climbs in the car. Since I took the front seat I could see his text messages from Valerie arriving by the seconds. "I hope we can spend the night together again," one message read. "Can't wait to get near your big beachball," another said but I knew it was just autocorrect that made that sentence appropriate. After reading three more messages I couldn't take it anymore, so I just looked away. All those texts made me nauseated and sent a shiver down my spine.

My dad noticed my unusual silence and asked if I was okay. "Just dandy," I replied sarcastically, furious at how quickly he moved on after my mom's death. It made me feel if he had already had affairs with other women after my mother was diagnosed with cancer. He probably knew she wouldn't last a chance against the chemotherapy or the disease itself, but it still wasn't right. I'm not saying I want him to mourn all his life or turn to drugs, but he could at least grieve for her with me after her death which he didn't do. I bet he invited Valerie to the funeral just to hit on her there.

"Liz, c'mon. Tell me what's wrong," he begged.

"You are what is wrong," I answered defiantly,"or rather you AND Valerie."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ha! You can't hide what you've done with her. I know of your affairs." I was so mad and saying it out loud made me even angrier.

"I don't understand what you are saying, Liz," he said in his most innocent voice.

"Don't you dare call me by my nickname!" I shouted. "I can't believe you are already hitting it off with another woman so hard! My mother just DIED and you look like you don't even give a crap!"

"Elizabeth Maranda Thompson, how dare you speak to you're father in such a way?"

"You," I said in a shaky voice,"are NOT my father."

End of Chapter 1

Hey guys! Noodler16 here! I am SO SO SO sorry for such a short chapter. This is my first book and when I was writing I didn't realize how short my chapter was. Because of my stupidity I will make an oath to all my readers. I will be updating twice a week and If I can I will do more. I am a reader too so I know how intimidating it is to wait for an update so I will update AOAP (as often as possible). Thanks for the understanding. Before I move on I also want to say when I will be updating. Sundays and Fridays.
OK, before I say my farewells I want you all to know this book is about racial discrimination against blacks and\or whites. I am black BTW so don't call me a racist for using mean terms to blacks. It is entirely fictitious so don't take it too seriously. Also, I will update no matter if I get 0 votes or 1000 because I love y'all. I don't do early updates If I get a lot of votes. I update early if I can but if I can't I will make sure I do on schedule. Please don't plagiarize anyone's book because that is just lazy. I am not going to report or anything because that will just be a waste of time but I will let all the readers know I wrote this book first so don't waste YOUR time. Lastly, I want you all to know I will make shoutouts after every Chapter just because everyone deserves a shoutout. I might do a shoutout of my first voter of a chapter or my fav author of another book, you never know. Thanks again for all your support guys and that's it. Toddles Noodles! 😎
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