Chapter 4 You are rude

Past- One

Elsa

“I don’t like it here. I don’t!” I stomped my foot as Mama opened the small bag and started to take our clothes out. “Mama!”

“Hush, now, my pretty angel.” She always called me that but sometimes I wished that she wouldn’t, not because I hated it but because I never felt like an angel. And another reason was because my Mama named me after a Princess who became a queen, and because of that all the students at my previous school made fun of me. Spoiler alert, we lived in a trailer park and in no way I was a princess.

She grabbed a few clothes and went to arrange them in the big wooden cupboard near the window. When she turned around, she came straight to me and crouched down. My mother had hair like mine, silver with the hint of pink and our eyes were the same too, big and blue. She took my small hands in hers, her hands were rough from all the work she does. “You know we couldn’t live there anymore, don't you?”

I shook my head, because I didn’t know. I didn't want to know. Those big bad men wanted my father and for all I cared they could have him. My father was bad, he hit my Mama all the time and drank cheap alcohol that smelled very bad. I said so to my Mama, “But, Mama, they only wanted to hurt him. They wouldn’t have hurt us, would they?”

She squeezed my fingers, her smile affectionate as she said, “But what if they did. I love you so much, my sweet angel, I’d never let anyone hurt you, you know that.”

I pursed my lips and cupped her cheek. “And I don’t want him to hurt you anymore. We should’ve left him behind.”

She ruffled my hair. “Don’t talk like that. He’s your father and he promised that he’d do better, didn’t he?” He promised that all the time, but my Mama seemed to believe him so I didn’t say anything. She said, “And, you would like it here more when you start the new school. This is a very good school, sweet angel, you will get to study here and then one day you’ll go to college and make Mama proud, won’t you?”

I nodded. “Yes, Mama.”

Just then the door opened behind us and we both turned around to see a young boy standing there, he looked like he was my age. I was fifteen years old and we came to live in the small town of Black Mountains with its own scenic beauty and scary forests, and one such forest was outside our little cottage that was assigned to us, surrounding the estate we will now live on. Because in an attempt to give me a better education and to bring a resemblance of control to our lives, most importantly to run away from my father’s debts, my Mama had taken a job as a housekeeper for the Aaron’s, whoever they are.

Now as I stared at the boy in front of me, I wondered not for the hundredth time why Mama had to bring us here. This boy in his ironed jeans and branded shirt looked the same as the boys who had bullied me in my last school. I waited, braced for him to say something cruel and was surprised when he stepped inside and said, “Mrs Huxley, Mom is asking for you. She said you can come whenever you are done settling in.”

My Mama beamed at the boy and walked to him. “Oh, I should just check it now. What if she has something important to tell me.” And with that she was gone, leaving me alone with this boy.

And suddenly I was aware of the fact that even though he looked my age, he was taller than me. I swallowed my discomfort and said, “Why are you still here?”

He wrinkled his nose and took a step inside. “You are rude.”

“I am not rude. You are rude, coming into our rooms without invitation!” I snapped.

He smiled, a dimple forming in his cheeks. “But this is all mine, considering these lands belonged to my father.”

I gritted my teeth, because I didn’t have anything to say to him. He let out a chuckle and said, “Relax. What’s your name?”

“I don’t want to tell you.”

“So, I don’t want to tell you— that’s a mouthful by the way, I came here to be friends with you.” He said, coming forward and plopping down on the bed.

I glared at him. “I don’t want to be your friend. Now you can go.”

“Listen, I don’t want to tell you—”

I let out a frustrated scream and yelled, "Elsa! My name is Elsa!"

@Gupta