Bates & Landon [Wattys2015]

LANDON

Shauna Case will play for Alice. (Picture to the side.)

Landon

We didn't paint in art class. We watched a documentary of Vincent Van Gogh and his famous paintings. His paintings were beautiful, his talent was one of a kind and I liked it all. Some students fell asleep, like Cece Jakes, but Bates didn't. She didn't sit beside him, she ignored him and sat beside Ryan. He was an athletic guy who loved to study. He was nice, after all, but I have never really talked to him much.

Now while I'm sitting at my house, feeling alone and sad. My dad isn't home and I despise my step mom, I'm an only child anyways. Sighing, I pull myself off my bed and head to the kitchen to grab a drink. My step mom is cooking dinner when I enter. "Oh, are you actually going to help me with dinner like a normal daughter would?"

"No one is normal, and I'm not your real daughter." I tell Mandy while grabbing a Dr. Pepper out of the fridge. "You are my step mom."

"Hey! No caffeine until dinner." She ignores my last comment. "Hun, hand me the spoon to stir up the noodles. Now!"

"I'm thirsty. What am I supposed to drink?" I ask, handing her the wooden spoon hurriedly.

"Something not fattening, I'd assume. Like water," she says with tightness in her voice, "it'll not add pounds to those hips of yours, some water."

"Gee, thanks." I mumble and go to my room. I did not like Mandy at all, yet, my dad still married her. I don't know how he saw past the cold and bitterness of her whole being, I used to think. But when he's around, she's all sweet and loveydubby to him. I lounged in my bed, looking up at the ceiling lost in thought. My dad was at work, he'd be home for dinner anyways. He'd mostly flirt with his wife, Mandy. My dad finally found love after my mom left him when I was five years old. I was glad he did, but I wasn't glad that it was Mandy.

"Landon!" She yelled my name. "Dinner is done! Get down here."

While I made my plate, she scoffed. "Jeez, Landon, you are stacking you plate full of spaghetti like you haven't ate in years. Your dad and I won't even be able to eat!" She laughs at her "joke" and snorts obnoxiously.

I scowl, but stay quiet. Sitting down at the table, I look at my food. I didn't even have that much food on there. It just spreaded out more. I sighed, looking down at my plate.

Maybe I did get too much, I start to think.

Even if I wanted to go to my room, Mandy nor my dad would let me. We had to all eat at the table. They tried to make it as if we were a complete family. To my dad, we were. Mandy agreed with him, only for herself and him, not me. She didn't like me. At all. To me, we weren't a family. I guess my dad was, I mean, he is my dad. I've grown up with him. Mandy -- no, I didn't grow up with her. She's not a step mom at all. It's only written down from marriage that she is. Her actions speak louder than any ink on a paper would or what she says.

My dad enters and smiles at us. He kisses Mandy and sits down. She had already made him a plate. "Hello ladies," he grinned at Mandy, "how was your day?" He wasn't technically talking to me, so I stayed quiet.

"It was great, except I missed you." Mandy answered, smiling at my father flirtatiously. My dad was tall and had black hair with brown eyes. He was smart and outgoing and very social. I like to think I got my awkwardness from my real mom and he brown hair.

"How was yours, darling?" He turned his attention to me with a bright smile.

"It was okay." I say and take a bite of my food. Mandy gives me a disgusted look before smiling when my dad glances at her. I wanted to throw something. She was being such a fake.