Astral

Chapter 4: Home Sweet Home

       Back at home, I sit on my bed. Staring at the ceiling, I have a really big mushroom poster on my wall. It's blacklight reactive. Blacklight posters line my walls. Above the posters, there are two strips of lines. One line is my black light strip, and the second one is my regular LED light strip. My bed is sitting on the floor. I don't have a boxspring or anything fancy like that. My carpet is really stained from all of the spilled drinks and random sauces. My wall has a very large hole in it. I stare at the hole, and I have a flashback.

       I was about seven or eight. My little brother and I were upstairs playing around. He was about five or six maybe. We were little and very energetic. We were playfighting and punching each other when he decided it would be a great idea to push me into the wall. He grabbed me by the hair and pushed me into my wall, causing my whole back to go through my bedroom wall.  I was covered in dry-wall dust, and I had gotten a bloody nose. My brother tried apologizing, but I was in so much pain I couldn't think or barely even breathe. I had gotten up, and grabbed him, pushing him into the wall instead... I don't remember the rest, I get mad and forget things, I have ever since I was little. I'm not exactly sure why. 

       "Astralll! Can you come here real quick?" My mother yells from down the stairs, drawing out the L. 

       "Yes, Mama!" I respond, getting snapped out of my daydream. 

        I stumble out of my bed and make my way downstairs.

       Downstairs my mom is sitting in her bedroom, also known as "The Living Room". We don't have a living room though, there are too many people in my house and not enough bedrooms. So we use our living room as a bedroom! I live with my little sister, my little brother, my mother, my grandmother, and my mom's boyfriend. I look over at my mom, she's on her bed. Her bed is made and there are no wrinkles at all. I look around the room, there are blankets hanging over the windows and three piles of clothes and other junk up to the ceilings in the corners of the room. The floor is clean with nothing on it, not even a speck of dust or a piece of hair, until you get to where the piles are... Surrounding the piles, there is garbage and dust and who knows what else caked to the floor.

       "Listen, I don't know the whole story Astral, but I'm not impressed. You could have been the bigger person. I know you need to get out of that class. I know. However kiddo, you can't disrespect people." My mom tries to explain calmly. But, I can tell she's disappointed in me. 

       "I'm sorry, Mama. I got really really upset..." I say.

       "That is no excuse. You can't disrespect people, no matter how bad it gets. You, be the bigger person. You need to be." My mom says.

       "I am sorry. I will try to do better."

       "Oh, yeah. Azzy, you have a therapy appointment coming up. It's on Thursday." My mom has always had that nickname for me, ever since I was a kid. I smile at hearing it again.

      "Mhm, every Thursday. I still have two days. Today is only Tuesday!" I reply laughing a little bit.

      "Alright! Don't forget." My mom says to me as she looks behind me. I turn to see what she's looking at.

       "My favorite grandkid! My favorite of the three from hell! Why are you home?" My grandmother Rose says as she walks up next to me. I giggle a bit.

       "Issues with Mark again," Mama says to Gram before I get the chance.

       "She's still in that Mother Fu-"

       Mom cuts my Gram off, "Ma, is that necessary?"

       "I don't like that bitch. He makes my granddaughter uncomfortable, and treats the students in his class like shit." My gram says annoyed. She shakes her head a bit as she's talking, showing her unappreciation for Mr. Mark.