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That day after school, Zoee took the bus home. She didn't see Peter on the bus and she was both relieved and disappointed. Peter was the first person interested in her which she liked and disliked. She liked it because everyone usually avoided her for thinking that she was a freak for not talking. She even got bullied for it in the past. Also because of that, she didn't like the fact Peter was interested in her. She would rather be alone and keep to herself than interact with people. Zoee was also afraid that Peter would turn on her and bully her too. She desperately wanted Peter to leave her alone but she didn't want to be mean, that wasn't who she was. So she was going to have to survive through spending time with Peter.
When Zoee arrived at the bus stop by her house, she climbed off and started her walk home. She passed by Peter's house and contemplated whether or not to go to his house then to get their project over with but Zoee remembered that it wasn't four and that she had to let her mother know that she was going to over at another house.
Zoee walks into her apartment building and finds her apartment on the first floor before going in. She enters the small apartment, placing her bag and keys on the small, rectangular, wooden table in the middle of the tiny living room. The living room consists of just two things beside the table; a two seat couch and a small television set. The couch is brown with rips decorating the fabric here and there. The back of the couch is facing the small dining room that is attached to the kitchen while the front of the couch is facing the television set.
Zoee looks around to find her small white board and black dry-erase marker. She finds it on the couch before uncapping the marker to write down a message. After she is done writing on the board, she walks through the narrow hallway to go to her mother's room. The door to her room is closed so she knocks before opening it and walking in.
Zoee finds her mother, Laura Atkins, sitting on her mattress surrounded by papers Zoee knows are bills. Some of the bills have bright red marks on them, stating that the bills are overdue or that it is a final notice to pay. Zoee frowns at how her mother sighs deeply, pressing a hand to her forehead. Zoee walks up to her mother and places a hand on her shoulder making her mother look up.
"Hey Zoee." Laura yawns, rubbing her eyes that have dark bags underneath them. "How was school?"
Zoee holds up her white board, showing her mother the white side. It was good, is it okay if I went over someone's house to do a project?
Laura drops one of the bills that was in her hand and it floats down to the mattress in surprise. "Boy or girl?" Laura raises her eyebrows, a trait she passed down to her daughter.
Zoee uses her sweater sleeve to wipe away the message she wrote before, uncapping the marker with her mouth, keeping the cap between her teeth as she scribbled on the board. She flipped the board so that her mother can read what she wrote.
Boy.
Laura gasps so loudly that it startles Zoee, making her jump a little. Laura scrambles down from the bed, accidentally knocking down some of the bills. She then walks up to Zoee and places her hands on her daughter's shoulders, squeezing softly. "O-Of course you can go honey! Wow, this is amazing, I'm so happy! How did you even..."
Zoee shrugs, her eyes widening a bit at her mother's excitement.
"Now, don't let me waste your time, go do your project! I'll just be right here when you come back." Laura still has her hands on Zoee shoulders so she turns Zoee around to face the door and pushes her to it softly. Zoee writes another message on the white board.
What about the bills? Are they okay?
Laura reads her writing when Zoee turns back around to face her. She then notices Zoee glance at the white papers on the mattress worriedly. "Hey," She says, wanting Zoee to look at her. "They're good, I promise, okay? Please don't worry. Just go and focus on your project, but be back by dinner, alright?"
Zoee is now back to looking at her mother and she nods, sighing out a deep breath. Laura presses a lingering kiss to her daughter's forehead before going back to her spot on the bed to finish examining the bills she needs to pay. Zoee, before leaving the room, glances back at her mother before going off to the living room.
Zoee knows that the bills weren't good and she knows that her mother was struggling to pay them. Her mother didn't get paid well since she works in a factory which made her along with Zoee, poor. They are fortunate enough to find a cheap apartment with two rooms or they would have had to share. Zoee's mother receives less than six hundred a week. That isn't enough to pay for everything like the rent, phone bills, electricity, gas, water and taxes that are way too expensive. With the money left over after paying all those bills and more, they barely have enough for basic necessities like groceries, clothes, shoes, etc since those things are also expensive as well.
Since they are poor, they don't have money for brand name things either, much less mattresses along with bed frames. Zoee and and her mother don't have smartphones like IPhones or Samsung Galaxies; Zoee had a phone similar to a Sidekick and her mother has a Motorola flip phone. They obviously can't afford smartphones, plus they both think that they don't need it anyways. Zoee's mother has an air mattress in her room while Zoee practically has nothing. In her room, there is a section lower than the actual floor. There, Zoee has placed a thick quilt her grandmother sewed. She treats it as her mattress so she has some small pillows and blankets in that small section. Her mother, Laura, wanted Zoee to have the air mattress but she refused, knowing that her mother needs it since she is the one who works out of the two of them.
Life is rough for Zoee and her mother but at least they are alive and well. They live with that and are doing alright.
just a short lil filler for you guys, sorry! next chapter is going to be longer, i promise.
