MAROONED

Chapter 5- Teenagers' Challenges

   Anabelle tapped me and said 'Hey,what are you looking at?' ' Nothing' I said carefully hiding the letter   'let's go home' Anabelle said and I nodded in agreement. when we got outside,I saw Justin and Nick on the way 'This could be an opportunity to bring Anabelle and Nick together' I thought 'Anabelle, let's wait for Justin,I need to tell him about tutoring me in Geography' I told her intentionally not mentioning Nick's name,she didn't reply,she just smiled and nodded. We waited till they caught up with us ' Hi Justin,I need to talk to you about something' I told him pulling him away from so that he and Anabelle could stay beside each other. ' I like Geography but I'm really bad at it,I heard you are a genius in that field, please will you tutor me?' I said looking directly to Justin's eyes ' Okay,no problem' Justin answered ' When should we start?' he asked me but I didn't answer him as my attention was where Anabelle and Nick was,I saw her laughing at him but I couldn't hear what they were discussing as we were quite a distance from them 'Hello?!!' Justin poked me 'Uhn?' I replied smiling ' When should we start the tutoring' he asked again ' What about next week before Master Alfred's class?' I asked ' What about this Saturday, come over to my house and I'll tutor you' he suggested 'Whaaatt' I gasped ' You can invite your friend over if you don't feel safe but it's completely safe,I assure you' he said with a cheery smile. I smiled too and said 'Okay, Saturday it is then' 'Alright, I'll text you the address' he said as we exchanged contact, he waved at me and called out to Nick from his distance. Nick signalled to him and they left.

I went to Anabelle and asked with curiosity  'How'd it go?' she didn't reply,she just shrugged and turned away  'Anyway, you need to follow me to Justin's house on saturday, he'll tutor me on geography I said sharply 'Saturday?,why Saturday' she asked impatiently 'I don't know, that's the day he suggested' I replied innocently 'Well, I'm sorry but I can't,I have agreed to go sightseeing with Nick on Saturday' she said with a blush 'Hmmmn, aren't you supposed to show good judgement?, you can't choose him over me!' I said shrewdly ' I'm sorry but you just can't imagine how Saturday is to me' she said glumly. 'Anabelle is irrepressible, the poor girl is so in love' I thought to myself 'I understand dear, good luck on saturday,' I said with a cheery smile. She looked at my eyes and smiled too 'Thanks girl' she said happily as we parted ways. On my way home,I kept thinking about going to Justin's house alone, though I hated the thought but the other thought of passing Geography and impressing Jason overcame the first thought 'It's just a tutorial not a big deal' I assured myself and went home.

* * * *Jason got home, greeted his mom with an upset look and went to his room. Mrs Baldwin noticed this and went to his son's room,she knocked and went in 'What's wrong sweetie, you didn't have a nice day  at school today?' she asked solemnly 'No Mom, just stressed out, that's all' he replied coldly.His mother gave him a glass of water and said ' Have this son, it'll calm you down' his mom said with an Angelic voice,he snatched the glass of water and retorted angrily 'Alright then, you can go out' his mom went out quietly and not quite happy but she couldn't show it . Jason took his clothes off and showered,when he was done,he went out of the bathroom and opened his wardrobe,that was when he had a flashback of when he went to the hospital, how the doctor showed him his test result informing him that he is hypertensive and advised him not to be depressed, not to eat some certain foods and how to surround himself with happy and cheerful friends and things that'll make him happy.He smashed his wardrobe's mirror at this thought ' Things that'll make me happy!' he echoed to himself again,he went to the smashed mirror and said ' How can a tall, handsome genius like me be hypertensive,I'm just Eighteen years old' he said aloud as he scattered the cosmetics on his mirror side  'A lot of girls have been wishing to date me,if I go out with a sensible one among them,I might feel happy and eventually fall for her too' he thought to himself and smiled as he had found a solution to his problem then he went to his mother's room and apologized for the fit he threw earlier,his mom smiled and hugged him,he found comfort in his mother's arms and he hugged her too.

  * * * * Julian also got home, greeted her Dad, Mr Cardew and went upstairs. Her Mom is late,she died when she was 12 years old so she lived with her younger 6 years old sister, Sally and their nanny,Mrs Veronica. She went to her room and took her backpack off and as she stood up to hang her backpack,she felt a silhouette behind her,she turned and saw that it was her dad. 'Dad, what are you doing here?' she asked knowing fully well about what her Dad is up to  ' Shit,I forgot to close the door' she thought. Her Dad said nothing,he just gripped her and ordered her to take her shirts off 'Dad please, not today' she begged. Ever since her Mom's bereavement,she has been constantly harassed by her dad who has vowed not to get married again ' So what if you are rich and all, do you think sleeping with your own daughter is the answer to your loneliness,marry another woman, give us a stepmom and leave me alone' Julian cried out as she confronted her Dad for the first time. Mr Cardew said nothing,he just moved closer to her and hit her so hard that she fell, then he grabbed her and said 'Why would I marry another woman when I have this beautiful woman to be, you'll stay here with me until your sister is grown up too' ' No!!!' she cried out 'Sally is just a little girl,I can't let her get ruined too' Julian thought to herself as she tried to push her Dad away but he is stronger than she is, he hit her several times and succeeded 'Next time, don't let me force you before you know what to do' Mr Cardew said as he left her room.Julian buried her face in her palms and wept ' I can't continue like this,I need help,so what if I'm one of the most beautiful girls in the school,no one knows what I'm going through' she thought as she wept bitterly.

* * * * Mia also got home after parting with her friends Jane and Julian.When she got home,she ran to the bathroom, dipped her hand in her throat and vomited the ice cream cake she ate with her friends on the way,she cleaned the bathroom and went into her room. A few minutes later,her mom entered and asked ' Sweetie, how was school today?' 'Fine Mom' she replied glumly,her mom looked at her and asked 'Hope you didn't eat any calorific food in school today?' ' No Mom' she replied without looking at her mom's face ' I don't believe you,come here' her Mom ordered as she took her to the weight-checking machine ,she made her stand on the machine as it checked her weight 'You are still 35kg,I'm proud of you girl' Mrs McCall said as she helped her daughter to her bed 'Remember, avoid any calorific food so that you'll not get fat' 'I know, that's why I kept throwing up if I ate any' Mia answered her mom in her thoughts ' If you get fat, you'll become what?' Mrs McCall asked looking at her daughter and expecting her to complete her sentence 'Obesed' Mia answered looking sad and miserable. Her Mom patted her brown hair and left. ' Because of my mother's pressure,I'm unable to eat my favourite food' she muttered as she imagined her favourite food, Dessert and carbonated drinks. Every night,she would dream of eating them,she went to the mirror and saw how scraggy she was ' Urg!' she shuddered as she left the mirror.