Elena's Dilemma

Chapter 7: Unraveling Mysteries

Hi, Wattpadders, been a while, yeah, took me a while to update a new chapter.. well, here you go..

I walk out of our three-roomed apartment with my bag slung to my shoulder, while ordering for a bolt ride on my phone.
I sigh as the cool breeze ruffles my hair, some of it covering my eye,and some gets into it and cascades down my shoulders... Ptt... The hair is becoming an annoyance..
Swiping the strands of my hair covering my eyes to the side of my ear,as I stand on the busy streets of MortVille, waiting for my bolt ride.
After a while, a cream Camry drive to a stop in front of me... Well.. that was fast.
I get into the car.In the comfort of the vehicle's soft chair, I bring out my AirPods.Laying back, I plug them to the my ears, listening to "Set fire to the rain" by Adele.
... I let it fall, my heart.. ,and as it fell you rose to claim it .. it was dark and I was over, Until you kissed my lips and you saved me....
Closing my eyes,becoming fully immersed in the lyrics,I reminisce on my first day in school.
The bolt rider voice jolts me back to reality:"We're here"
I remove one of my Airpods and look out the window_my destination, Verisidale college. I take out my credit card to pay.
I walk towards school as the car drives off. Walking steadily through the seemingly unending walkway as people stare at me as usual.Getting to my locker,I glance at my wristwatch, it's 8:10. Rummaging through my locker, I find a note, a baby pink folded paper looking appealing until I saw the cliche tag..:'Mulatto Elena'
Turning to the back, 'with love from Jason' is written on it. I cringe at the thought of it's contents.

Someone nudges me from behind and I turn to find the person I haven't seen in days.
"Oh.. Millie!!" I say as we crash into a bear hug. I hold unto her, tightly. She smiles on my neck:"it seems someone misses me"
"Jeez, of course, where have you been?" I ask as the white students stare at us weirdly, obviously suprised by our PDA-Public Display of Affection.Millie ignores them and turns to me. "I actually went to see my Greek aunt"
"Oh...
"Yeah, I guess we're having classes this morning..." Millie says heading to her locker.
"Yeah, Spanish class" We say simultaneously.
She widens her eyes. "Genes!!" She says tapping me, I quickly pack up my notebooks and chase her to class.

On arriving, I come face to face with Alex, he smiles at me.
"Good morning, Elena"
"Morning, Alex" I say shyly holding onto Millie's arm as she stares at both of us bemused.
We walk to our seat, she grabs my shoulders and looks me in the eye.
"What's going on, when did you guys start talking?"
"Umm ... Since yesterday,we pretty much friends now"
"Oh.. alright" She says unpacking her bag. Her facial expression changed weirdly in a way I couldn't fathom.
"Millie... You okay" I say staring at her, waving my hand over her face.
" Yeah, am good" she says snaping out of her thoughts.... Well that was weird.. I sincerely hope it's not wat I think..
Facing our grumpy Spanish teacher,Mrs Sara Mills,as she meticulously reels us on the rudiments of Latin American Spanish, I can't help but cringe at the thought of the possibility of her asking me a random question. This is just my first my first Spanish class in this school.

Luckily, we went through the whole class without any troubles... At least I took some notes.. incoherent ones though..
After class,I quickly headed towards the Girls lavatory.My abdomen hurt real bad because I'd been holding on for too long.
I walk in the ever sublime and narrow walkway, quickly rushing into one of the bathrooms.Relieving myself, I exhale. I hear footsteps,sounding ominously,my mind drifts to my recent asthma seizure.
"What's up with Camille? " A voice says.I recognize them to be a group of girls from the senior class.
" She's mad.. cuz some girl named Elena seems to be getting Alex's attention."
" What girl"
" Did you hear.. Elena's biracial? "
" What.. now wonder she's got such weird features"
" Yeah, a young Nigerian-bred Mulatto "I hear another girl say. My heart pound in my chest as I hear them talking about me, oblivious to my presence. I try not to breathe too loud as I position myself noiselessly beside the water closet,cringing my ears.
"Yeah,I hear her Mom is American but she's never around, I wonder what's her deal" Another girl says. The words the next girl says piqued my interest the more.
" I hear she's Partly Nigerian.. and her parents never wanted to give birth to her"
" Oh , really.. how'd you know?
"Her mom was a member of our school.. my mum told me when and how she got pregnant, after a one night stand with some random Nigerian guy at Sir Edward's send-off party".
...what .. the..
My mind raced as I absorbed the words.
"Omg..are you for real..what a joke,a product of a one night stand?" One voice says as the group erupts in laughter.
"My mum even said her mom tried aborting her but it was too late.."
"Quite stubborn."
"Yeah,but she can't be stubborn for long,we better deal with her before Alex is bewitched by her disgusting charm"
" Come on,camille,cheer up, we'll deal with her later,she's no good anyways"
" Just a good for nothing human being "
The ground beneath me became unsteady and my view blurred. I couldn't believe I was discussed as a mere spectacle, reduced to mere speculation and conjecture.
.. this better not be true..
I try to steady myself in the narrow bathroom.
I steadyly walk out of the bathroom coming face to face with them, ears full, some of their faces burn with embarrassment and guilt. Camille smirks when seeing my pale face.I wonder where I got the guts to come out.I walk out of the lavatory seemingly limping, very conscious of their stares on me.Finally coming out of the Lavatory, I burst into tears.
I can't believe my parents,my Dad kept this from me.... Me.. a product of a one night stand.
Well I can be sure of this yet, I gotta ask my Dad. Damn, how do I even broach the topic..
I walk to class shortly after the second bell is rung.
Laying my head on my desk, trying to process my thoughts. Someone nudges me, I raise my head to see Millie. She flinches seeing my red eyes.
"Woah.. what happened to you?"
"Nothing really" I said dabbing the few tears on my eyelids with my sweater.
" Then what's with the red eyes? "
" Nothing much, something got into my eyes "I say trying to cheer up, hoping she wouldn't see through my facade.I can't possibly tell her this yet.
"Hmmm, alright, suit yourself" She says sitting beside me,unpacking her sausages and cheese cake. Remembering the Lunch i packed up, I rummage through my bag , I sincerely hope it's still warm.
I open my Cat-faced food flask. Yeah.. I know what you're thinking.. childish huh? Well, yeah.. I love it this way.I dig into my meal. Thinking of the revelations I heard some minutes ago, I stifle a sob, the tears threatened to burst through me as they drip down my face into my food. I soon lose appetite.
"Oh , Elena what's wrong this time?" Millie says looking at me, with concern after hearing my sobs.She turns to me, giving me a hug, in efforts to comfort me. "I know there's something up, but you probably don't wanna talk about it now, so you can lean on me and cry all you want. "
I hug her earnestly, letting all the tears out. I'm glad everyone is at the cafeteria, I really don't want to be bothered with stares. I'm not a celeb.

I felt kinda better after crying on Millie. I was able to focus in Science class after break.The rest of the day remained bleak.
I sincerely hoped for the close of school.

Minutes after the final bell was rung, I walk out of school warily, wondering how l'l get home today.

Am obviously not gonna to order for a bolt ride again, I don't earn my own money. Remembering the MetroCard my Dad gave me some time ago, I rummage through my bag.On finding it, I walk to the bus station.

Getting there, I swipe my MetroCard on the reader and get into the bus.
Sitting down, I sigh, plugging in my Airpods as other passengers come into the bus.After a while, the bus is ignited and roars, heading forward.

After a few minutes,the bus arrives in MortVille street.I alight from the Bus and head home.

As expected, my Dad is outside reading a newspaper on a swivel chair. I greet him,he grunts in reply fully immersed in the article he is reading.I walk into the house with my head bowed.
Thinking of the mysteries unraveled today, my eyes sting.
Tears roll down my cheek as I take off of my Pink sweater.

Thinking of how and when I'm gonna broach the topic, I can't help but feel fatigued. I slump down on my bed, dabbing the few drops of tears on my face.
.. elena.. get a hold of yourself..
I try to cheer up, bracing myself up to ask my Dad, ready to deal with his reaction whatsoever.

I head to the kitchen, grabbing a few snacks from the fridge.
I sit on the couch, watching Bel Air, crunching on my snacks.
My dad walks into the house, holding his newspaper.
"Elena , how was school today?" He says facing me, adjusting his glasses and glancing through the newspaper once more.
"... Dad... How was I conceived... Probably was a one night stand... "I say staring at my Dad as my voice trails off.Looking at my Dad, he seems startled and his expression is that of shock.
... Well, I guess that explains it..
" I can't believe you kept this from me all these years!"
" Elena, please calm down. I never wanted to hurt you. Your mother and I thought we were protecting you by keeping the details hidden."
"Protecting me? How can keeping my own identity a secret be protective? I deserve to know the truth about who I am!
"Come on,dear it's not that simple, Elena. Your mother and I had a complicated history. What matters is that we love you and I've always been here for you."

"Love me? How can I believe that when you've hidden such a significant part of my history from me? I feel like I don't even know who I am anymore!, come to think of the fact that others know so much about my birth"
" Elena, I can understand your anger, but please try to see things from our perspective."My Dad says trembling walking towards me" We were young and made mistakes. We kept it a secret to protect you from the judgment and stereotypes that could have affected your upbringing."
" Protecting me from stereotypes? Well, guess what? I've faced stereotypes my entire life! Whether it's because of my appearance or the assumptions people make about me, I've already experienced the pain of prejudice. Hiding the truth won't change that!"I scream out of frustration,as my eyes sting, I try to hold in the tears that were threatening to fall.
" You know what? I ain't staying in this damn house no more.. I'll be better off in the dorm with the White kids ! "I say grabbing my Teddy from the couch and heading to my room.

" I never wanted you to feel that pain, Elena. I've fought hard to shield you from the hurtful views of others. Moving you to the dorm won't solve anything. It might even expose you to more stereotypes."
" I'm tired, Dad. Tired of being in the shadows, tired of not knowing who I really am. I want to choose my own path. If that means facing the stereotypes head-on, then so be it. I need to find my own identity, on my terms."I said ruffling my hair, sighing in resolve.

Getting to my room, I bang my door.Locking it,I slump down resting on my door, finally bursting into tears, trembling,hugging my Teddy bear.
... Her parents never wanted to give birth to her... Ha.. what a joke.. a product of a one night stand.. cheer up Camille.. we'll deal with her.. I cringe,as the conversation between the Lucky'5 resonates in my head.
My pulse races and i try hard to breathe, wondering where I kept my Inhaler this time. I gasp hard. I hear my Dad banging on my door, beseeching me to open the door. My world seems to blue as I pass out....

Hi!!!, Wattpadders, been a while, yeah, How was the chapter? Enjoyed this chapter?Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section. 🥰🤗