Unloved

Three

R A C H E L

I picked up Leah and Danie after getting ready for school and saying goodbye to my grand-mother. Leah's long, blonde hair was tied into a ponytail. Danie let her long, black hair loose over her shoulders. I looked at my two best friends. I was thinking about telling them about my problems and personal life - but I could not, I just couldn't. Even if they did know about my problems, they couldn't help me, could they?

I would just have to leave my personal problems to myself, I thought as I entered into my Mercedes Benz with Leah and Danie in the back seat. Soon enough, we arrived at Westfield High School. Lots of people were at the school's car park. It was not unusual. Megan was with her best friend, Jayda, and they were talking to each other. At our designated seats!  Was it always Megan's goal to get on my nerves or what? I hurried to give Megan a piece of my mind but Leah beat me to it.

"What are you two doing here?" Leah asked

"Yeah, shouldn't be receiving your award for the Worst Sense of Fashion?" Danie added.

"We don't need any awards, we're fine without them", Megan finally came with a comeback after minutes of silence.

The bell rang for homeroom. Everybody immediately dispersed.The rest of the school day passed by uneventfully. I thought about my grandmother. She wanted me to go to Christian Summer School (CSS) and it was necessary!! Ugh! I wish that there was a way I could avoid going to the camp. I wanted to spend my summer with Leah and Danie.

As soon as school closed, I went to the car park, to wait for Leah and Danie. I heard my cell phone ringing.I fumbled through my red tote bag and picked the call. I recognized my grandmother's voice instantly. I wondered how she knew my phone number. She had never called me when I was at school. I picked the call.

"Hello?" I said.

"Rachel, dear, your mother is on her way to Minnesota. So please do hurry up", my grandmother said and hung up before I could respond.

Just then, I saw Leah and Danie heading towards their lockers. Good, I thought. I rushed towards them and tried to tell them to hurry up but they were gossipping about Megan, as usual. Soon enough, they switched to another topic and we were ready to go home. After dropping Leah and Danie off, my mind began to wander and before I knew it, I was thinking about my Mom. My family life wasn't as wretched as it is now years ago. I have never seen my Dad before... that is another story. My Mum always and I mean always had time for me. She would even play with my dolls and everything.

But all that all changed one day when my mom got a new job.... as a supermodel. I was thrilled about it at first (who wouldn't) but then I realized that she did not have time for me anymore. She always had excuses - like she had to go for photo shoots or meet top fashion designers. She would try to make it up by buying clothes for me whenever I would become angry or sad. But clothes would never fill that emptiness inside me. And that emptiness was still there, that longing to be truly loved by someone.

 My friends only filled that emptiness temporarily, and I had a feeling, we were only friends just because of the money I had and my popularity. We never had heart-to-heart talks or sleepovers, we just made fun of people at school. I really wanted to feel loved, but didn't know how. Now, back to my relationship with my mother. It became nonexistent because my Mum was traveling frequently. That's how I ended up with my grandmother. My mom rarely visits me and I knew her visit today was going to be bad...really bad.

Mum was already in when I arrived. I could tell because of the numerous suitcases that were outside the door. When Mum always comes back from her travels, she carries lots of bags.

"Honey, could you please help with the bags?" my Mum asked me.

"Why do you always have to call me that?" I muttered under my breath so my mom would not hear me.

"I heard you", Mum called after me as I walked off.

Mum hadn't really changed. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail. I had  left my shoulder-length blonde hair loose over my shoulders. I guess I look more like Mum than Dad. We had the same blonde hair and baby blue eyes.

  I entered into the sitting room with my mom with millions of thoughts running through my mind.  I wondered if she wanted to take custody of me. If so, what was her motive? She sat on the sofa and crossed her legs. I did not exactly know what was happening. But I knew that this was what my mom always did when we  were going to have an "important" conversation. Granny was also there, reading a newspaper. All the suitcases and bags were scattered on the floor.

"I want to take my daughter to New York with me during this summer vacation. You know very well we have not spent any time together in quite a long time", Mum said frankly.

Quite? Quite? It was more like years.

I sat up abruptly in my chair when I heard Mum talk. Okay, so I had Christian Summer School, but still.. was there anything better than spending the summer vacation in New York?

"And I want her to go to Christian Summer School. I am her grandmother and I know her better than you do. You were in Paris.. busy with your career while I was sitting here, taking care of Rachel!" Granny said angrily. That was the first time I had seen my grandmother angry.

"I am the person who gave birth to her---" Mum blabbed on.

I looked out of the window, not caring about the heated argument that was taking place. I saw Megan sitting outside with Jayda. It seemed that they were reading a book. I raised my head a bit higher to see what book it was. I caught a glimpse of the words "Holy Bible". Hmmm... I had seen a lot of people carrying those books at church.

"What is your choice, Rachel?" Mum asked me. I looked from Granny to Mum, confused.

"I would like to stay with Granny", I said at last. The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. I wondered what had possessed me to say that.

"Mum, I would really love to go with you to New York, but maybe during the winter, we could both go to New York", I continued.

"Okay, whatever. Stay with Granny if you want to. I do not care about your stupid Christian Summer School. I'll come for you when you change your mind later", Mum said and left the room.

"That went well", I said sarcastically.

"Are you sure you want to go to CSS? You could change your mind anytime", Granny told me.

"Granny, I am 100% sure. I need to experience what it's like to be at summer camp. Plus, it might be fun", I said, when I totally felt the opposite way about the camp.