The Ordinary Adventures of Mandy Jenkins

Chapter 1: Piled-up Anger

It was a dreary day in Weavers Lane. A huge blanket of grey hung over the coconut trees and straw huts. Mandy Jenkins woke up as a breeze hit her face. She wasn’t so thrilled as her family vacation was a little less enjoyable than she expected. A sudden rush came over her; she grabbed the nearest pail she could find. Just as she was proceeding towards the bathroom, she heard Brahms Cook, her next-door neighbor calling her.

“Amanda!” He called. “Get me a pail of water!”

“Oh no!” thought Mandy. “Not this in the morning.”  Now, Brahms Cook was a father figure for Amanda Jenkins ever since her father left for Afghanistan on a foreign government mission. For now, it was just her, her mother, Lucky Goldstein, and her sister Sitara. Brahms was not the kindest of people and most of the time he couldn’t understand her. However, he showed a path to live for Mandy.

Trying to avoid the rudeness of Cook, she reluctantly walked over to his house with her pail of water. Once she got there, she placed the bucket on the threshold, and as she proceeded to leave,

“No, no, put it in front of the sofa!”

As Mandy lifted the pail again, the booming voice of Brahms was heard again.

“Why haven’t you put it there yet?”

Mandy fumed, lifted the bucket, and placed it in its place so angrily that half of the contents spilled over.

“That much rashness is not tolerated my dear child!” retorted Cook. “You need to control it.”

This was all it took for Mandy to scoff and walk back to her house.

“Who does he think he is demanding a bucket of water from me!” she thought. “Last time I checked, I wasn’t his maid. He has two hands and feet. Why I oughtta get two pails filled with water and pour it on his head. Yeah, that’ll teach him!”

Just as she was mumbling her usual complaints to herself, she bumped into her sister, Sitara. Now Sitara was not a morning person. She let out a huge grunt and whined,

“Eh! Get out of my way! I thought you were at least capable of walking!”

This statement added coal to the rising flame. Mandy marched into her room and sat down, not knowing whether the feeling she was having was exasperation, anger, or sadness. She spotted her ebony black violin case, opened it, and took of to another world as she place the bow on the strings. Just as she was deep inside her bubble,

“Come on kids! Breakfast’s ready!”

Lucky just came home from the grocery store with a bunch of ready-made waffles. Interrupted, Mandy stepped out of her room, mumbling to herself, snatched the waffles from her mother’s hand and shoved them in the microwave.

“Hey, chill down okay?” cried out Lucky. “I’m not going to take any of your crap today!”

Addie Warhead, another neighbor and a personal friend of Lucky dropped by to return a china bowl she borrowed a week back. Having placed the bowl in the kitchen, she sat down in the living room and let out a huge sigh.

“Hey Lucky? You there?”

“Yeah!” came a reply.

“Did you see Sadie’s daughter? Boy, she’s a dame. Her daughter gets straight As and now she’s learning French at that posh school, what do you call that?”

“I don’t know Addie.”

“I don’t remember the name either, girl. Plus, Sadie’s already got a scholarship to great college. It’s a shame, only certain people can get so much in life, certain special people.”

Tears welled up in Mandy’s eyes. She wasn’t one of the most brightest and prettiest people in the world, but having to be reminded of it over and over again, was the worst feeling she had at that moment. She walked over to the storage room, punched a few boxes, and shed a few tears. Brahms at that moment happened to walk by to borrow some sugar.

“Gossiping again aren’t ya?” Enquired Cook.

“What’s it to you pal?” Retorted Addie.

“I’m just worried about the poor sucker you’ve brainwashed and/or humiliated with your meaningless words. I swear next time I hear you gossiping about someone, I’m going to literally wash your mouth with soap.”

Addie grunted and slowly made her exit. Things started to look brighter that day.