Bilateral ✔

Chapter 3 - Struggles [Daniel Quinn]

Friday – midday

     As always, school on Friday ended early, enabling Daniel to catch up with some of his homework, for which he had no time during other days of the week. Well, besides the weekends, outside of workhours.

Daniel still had tons of things to do for school, he needed to pick up his younger sister Hannah, and cook dinner, before showering and heading off to work.

And he still needed to go and get the food to be able to make dinner in the first place.

He checked his bank account to see how the financial situation was at the moment, sighing deeply when he noticed the bills for electricity had been paid, leaving a whooping 21 bucks on his bank account.

His mother's account wasn't much better after paying rent and healthcare bills. He was dreading his sister's birthday; coming up in three weeks. He would not be able to get her a decent present, for the seventh year in a row.

She would turn eight, and Daniel couldn't remember the last time she actually got something she asked for—and Hannah hardly ever asked for something in particular.

Hannah was getting older, nearing an age to start understanding they simply didn't have the money for expensive gifts.

Yet, this year, she specifically asked for a baby doll that could talk, move and had the size of an actual baby.

All her friends had the doll, and she wanted to be a part of that group too.

It would cost Daniel nearly 80 bucks, and he sighed at the thought of having to disappoint her.

He hated disappointing his sister, or his mother, and it always made him silently curse his deadbeat father.

He hardly ever thought back to the days in which his father was still part of their family; until one day, he simply decided to leave.

They hadn't heard from him ever again, and for all they knew, he could be dead by now. But thinking about his dad wasn't his main priority right now.

Getting food, however, was.

Daniel searched the desk drawers to find the social voucher to get a food package at the foodbank. He applied for it a couple of months ago, after his mother's welfare payment had yet again been less.

They were officially poor, and despite using all possibilities such as social welfare, they had no money left, ever.

And he would rather die than letting his mother know he applied for the foodbank, and they were approved, now receiving weekly support in the form of food.

He just needed to pick it up, while pretending to go get groceries, because he knew the response his mother would give if she'd find out he stepped in himself to pay certain bills that could no longer be payed with her income.

He didn't want to worry his sick mother even more.

So, Daniel pretended to go out for groceries, grabbing two bags and his bike, heading over to the foodbank to be there early and avoid the busiest moment of the day.

Of course, as soon as he walked in, he was met with the eyes of a guy he rather didn't want to see any more; his ex Mitchel.

"Hey there!" Mitchel perked up as soon as he recognized Daniel, and the smirk on Mitchel's face was one of the many reasons Daniel hated his ex boyfriend as much as he did.

He always acted a bit as if Daniel was less than he was, simply because he came from a troubled family. Mitchel had an air of entitlement around him that Daniel started to notice shortly after a year of being together.