Livin' The Vida Life

The night wind blew and whistles into the night. No clouds were in sight, only the twinkling stars and the bright moon that illuminates the night.

Charlotte was in her bedroom, alone just as she likes it. Her room was messy, but not messy in terms of clothes on the floor and the sorts of rubbish; instead her room was messy of books. Books on the floor, books on the bed, books in boxes, well she can’t help it to keep her room from being flooded with books. Her cabinet was full of it and not one more book could fit in. She asked her parents if she could have bookshelves. She was still waiting for the answer and so to cooperate with the books that she already has, not to mention the books she wanted to buy; Charlotte keeps her other books in stacks on the floor, on her study table, underneath furniture and at the corner of her bed. Books are Charlotte’s one way ticket to get away from the chaos in her house.

“Do you know what time it is now?!” a man exclaimed. The voice could be heard inside Charlotte’s room, the voice was muffled but still audible. The man’s voice belonged to Charlotte’s father.

“Looks like Mum’s home late. They’re going to fight again.” Charlotte mumbled under her breath, letting out a heavy sigh.

Charlotte was not new to the quarreling that seems to echo through the whole house. Although the house looked so friendly and happy from outside. It must have been the paint, because inside the house was far from being called happy. Charlotte would come home from school everyday having her smile turned upside down by the time she reaches home. She knows the routine and she knows she won’t like it one bit.

“I had work okay!” a woman exclaimed. The woman’s voice belonged to Charlotte’s mother

“Working hours stops at 5 in the afternoon and you’re back at 9?!” replied Dad.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and stuck in a pair of earphones from her iPod with some of her favorite country rock songs playing. She rest on her bed, turned her position towards her window and stared at the night sky with the moon in its fullest. While her parents were still arguing outside her bedroom, she begins to reminisce of how all of this had started.

3 years ago

The house was quiet; there was not a sound of laughter or a conversation. Dad was always in the extra bedroom, not in the bedroom with Mum. He looked miserable every time Charlotte sees him. Charlotte could hear sobbing from Dad when she was getting ready for tuition. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but she didn’t dare, yet she was still curious.


One afternoon, Dad picked her up from school which was shocking for Charlotte as this opportunity was seldom. In the car it was deadly quiet, only the revving of the engines was heard and nothing else. Soon, Dad broke the silence.


“Charlotte dear, you know I love you right?” Dad asked.


“Of course Dad, I know. What’s going on Dad?” Charlotte answered


“Charlotte, I want you to know, whatever happens, me and your Mum loves you.”


Charlotte’s head swam. Her mind was filled with the worse scenarios she could think of. Death? Illness? Adopted? Her heart was thumping against her chest. She was waiting for the answer for the whole week but yet she was afraid to hear it.


“Your Mum is…with another man” Dad said.


The world suddenly stopped for Charlotte. Dad was still talking, she listens but kept quiet. Her heart begins to beat slower. Her head throbs as she takes in everything that she heard from Dad. Their whole journey home, Charlotte sat still and kept quiet and in her head the word DIVORCE kept showing in bold letters. When they reached home, Charlotte walked straight into her bedroom and finally cried. A kind of news like that was a shock and the journey from school to back home was long enough for Charlotte to hold in. She cried into her pillow, thinking that such a thing couldn’t be true. But then she looked back at the events that happened the whole week, it was all coming together to point out one answer, scandal and to think to what it leads which is divorce, Charlotte would cry again. After a few minutes, Charlotte sat up and tried to stop crying. She kept telling herself that everything would be alright, but it was silly and impossible. As she reached for a tissue, a flashback of the past  she had, her childhood life when her parents were always happy, always smiling and never fought and to think it won't happen again. That was it, her weakness. Charlotte cried even more.


Then, there was a knock on the door. Charlotte was sure not to make her sobbing audible. She sat up, went to a mirror and wiped her tears away, rubbing her face to make sure her face was not tear-stained. She calmed down and opened the door. Dad was there.


“Are you okay?” Dad asked calmly, knowing that she had been crying as he could see her eyes and nose were red, although no tears were visible.


“Yes...” her voice choked. Charlotte couldn’t hold it much longer, tears started to roll down her cheeks. Dad opens his arm and gave a hug. She cried in Dad’s arms. Dad explained to her that she needed to know the truth earlier before things get worse as he comfort her. Charlotte understood but she just couldn’t believe it.


Present day

Charlotte opened her eyes. Still gazing at the night sky and her list of country rock songs were about to end, a tear rolled on the side of her cheeks. It was half past ten and the quarreling had stopped with a slam of a door. She let out a sigh knowing, that day when she knew what was the cause of all that was happening was when things had never been the same again. It was also from that day on, Dad was more suspicious of Mum where ever she goes or what ever she does and the relationship between father and daughter became stronger from then on.

Afternoon came and it was time for lunch. The smell of food filled the atmosphere. A queue of students moved slowly as they got their food on their trays, moving up to pay at the cafeteria cashier. The tables were almost full with students eating their meal, either that or more of them were chatting away with their friends.

Charlotte squint her eyes hoping that there would be a vacant table in the distance. Scanning over the crowd of the cafeteria she finally found one, a nice setting at the corner with an outdoor view. Charlotte grabbed the hand of Nikki with her free hand while the other hand was balancing the cafeteria tray. She dragged Nikki through the crowd, passing by greetings and showing her smile that says “Hello”, pleading to walk quickly before someone takes the table. They were quick but unfortunately not quick enough. At the same time as they reached the table, a group of three boys reached the table as well.

“**Letty...” said he boy in the middle.

“Joe...” Charlotte said as she looked at him eye to eye.

“You know this is a big table just for the two of you.” Joe said raising an eyebrow. He was wearing the school’s varsity jacket, all royal blue and yellow. He has dirty blonde hair which is always messy, with a few strands hanging over his blue eyes.

“Well duh! I was going to ask you if you and your guys want to sit with us. What were you thinking anyway?” Charlotte questioned him.

“Oh, Uhh.. Nothing nothing. Yeah okay, sure. There no other place left in this cafeteria anyways.” said Joe, leaving an awkward laugh at the end of his sentence.

“Smile Charlotte!” said Adam again, who suddenly took out his camera.

“Do you have to take that out every time Adam? It’s seriously getting annoying.” complained the other boy. He wore a simple grey t-shirt and black cargo pants. His short black hair didn't block his view through his pair of spectacles . He had a pair of headsets around his neck, the wire of the headsets led into his pocket where one of his many iPod(s) would be connected to it. He was carrying his usual Mac laptop under his arms. Need any help with computers? Searching for the latest songs? It’s wise to go to him. He is Ian Lucas

“True that. Hey Ian!” Nikki greeted him. Nikki, a girl of her age she was rather short. But small things come with big surprises. She has long wavy brown hair tied up into a ponytail which reveals her mesmerizing green eyes Her personality seems too much to ask for, with the tons of sarcasm, has the best wits in the class, a party girl, quite a shopaholic, very random at times and absolutely 100% awesome. Awesome was her game and she wished it would be in her name.

“Okay, can we just get a seat?” Charlotte muttered than smiled.

They all sat down at the table, finally eating their lunch. Nikki’s lunch looked more like a dessert menu. Charlotte had the peas and potato wedges. Ian had the sandwich and his regular apple juice. Joe had the day’s special soup, chunks of different vegetables bobbled up and down in the red soup. It looked hideous but smelled tempting. Adam had the waffles and a can of coke. He took a picture of his lunch before he started eating it.

“Alright Adam, hand it in. That camera of yours, come on” Charlotte put out her hand at Adam who was busy drinking the last drop of coke in the can.

“Here”

The whole group finished their food and gathered around Charlotte looking through the pictures Adam took. Joe made jokes that made everybody laughed. Ian wanted to copy the picture into his Mac. Nikki kept being random with her comments on the pictures. Adam laughed along with them as Joe pointed out a picture of Ian with his nose being just centimeters from his Mac laptop screen.

These people are Charlotte’s best friends; her group basically holds almost all the different types of student in the school. She felt so lucky to have them and in a moment like this she wish it would go on and never end. Just like a picture that doesn’t move after it’s been taken, it just stays the way it is. If she were to take a picture of this moment, Charlotte would frame and hang it up on her wall in her bedroom. To wake up and see it as a first sight, see a girl in the middle of the picture with dark brown wavy hair, blue eyes and a smile that was true to the heart, a picture that would make her smile even  in a house full of gloom.



** Letty - a nickname of Charlotte used by Joe and Ian only. =)

“Smile~!” said a voice behind a camera. A click and a flash captured a portrait of a young girl with flawless skin and a smile that would brighten any person’s day. The picture in the camera would still look perfect, even though it was actually a candid shot.

“Adam! I told you I don’t like candid pictures, I wasn't even ready!” whined the girl carrying a stack of thick Biology textbooks in her arms.

“My bad Charlotte, my bad hahaha. Trust me you don’t need to get ready, you were always ready” said Adam, raising his arms up to show surrender with a smirk upon his face.

“Ugh... Alright, you better not delete it, I want to see it later” said Charlotte with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

BRIIIIIIIING!! Saved by the school bell, Adam was able to escape before Charlotte gets a hold of him with her attitude. He turned back and started walking away from Charlotte, gripping his camera in his hand ready for another shot of photography. Just few steps walking away, “Adam…… wipe off that smirk of yours” giggled Charlotte. Adam stop dead in his tracks, Ah! She did it again. How did she know that? he thought. He looked back and saw Charlotte showing her tongue out and stride away.

“She’s one…weird girl.” Adam said under his breath, as he scratched his head and watched Charlotte walking to her next class in the distance.