Renee sat in the middle of her living room in a satin gown. Her hair was kept in rollers to keep the volume. Her legs were crossed with her notebook on her lap. Her thick eyebrows were furrowed with concentration as she read the lyrics in her notepad. She sat in the living room whilst her little brother Jason was in the room that he shared with Randall. Randall was probably still at school since he hung out with his friends playing basketball from time to time. He didn't have much time before he had to be home.
Her assignments were finished which meant she was able to clear her head and wrote some lyrics. She hadn't written in her journal for a full week now. Although she loved to write and sing, she couldn't stop thinking about what Luca said to her. He didn't think she should write poetry and music.
It messed with her mind.
Was she really that bad?
She believed so. But, she couldn't help the sudden urge to write in it.
"Food's almost done," Sandra called out from the kitchen.
Renee looked over at her and nodded. "I'm almost done."
Sandra watched her daughter from the kitchen. She sat in the living room alone with her notepad that was filled with writing. She knew that her daughter had taken an interest in writing. She loved to sing since she was a child and she was great at it. She'd been singing since she could talk.
Sandra was aware that Renee had dreams of singing in front of large crowds and writing music. She loved poetry as well. There were a few times where she'd gain enough confidence to show her mother what she came up with and to say she was impressed was an understatement.
Renee was a great creator.
"What do you have there?"
"Just something I came up with."
"Can I see?" Sandra smiled and sat next to her.
Renne handed her the notepad and watched as she skimmed through it. Her bold dark brown eyes were wide as she ran through the page with a light smile.
"This is great, Renee."
"Thank you."
Her heart swelled.
Sandra handed her the notepad and stood up from their brown couch. She walked into the kitchen and began grabbing the plates.
Renee smiled and placed her notepad aside. She stood up and helped her mother plate the food.
"Food's ready."
Coincidentally, Randy walked into their house along with Randall.
"Hey, mama." Randall called out to his mother. He rushed down the hallway whilst Jason walked out.
"Hey, baby. Hurry up and wash your hands so you can eat," Sandra yelled.
Randy walked into the kitchen to see his wife and his daughter plating food in the kitchen. He kissed his wife's cheek and wrapped his arm around his daughter.
"Hey, dad."
"The food smells great. I'm gonna go clean myself up."
Jason walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter as he watched his mother plate his food.
Once everyone's plate was filled, the two women placed them onto the dinner table. Renee grabbed the pitcher from the fridge along with some cups. Slowly, she sat in her regular seat and took note of her stomach growling. Sandra held her hands out, causing everyone else to grab each other's hands as they went into prayer.
"Amen," Everyone said simultaneously.
Silence took over the family as they dug into the spaghetti and ground beef. Jason looked up at Renee and squinted his eyes playfully. She rolled her eyes and smirked.
Jason was always playful. He didn't care about the time and the place.
He was just a kid and they allowed him to be that.
"So," Randy rested his fork down and took a sip of his drink. "How was everyone's day?"
"Good," Renee nodded. "I finished all of my assignments."
"That's good," He nodded towards Randall. "Junior, how's school and basketball?"
"Stressful. I have a math test tomorrow."
Sandra smacked her lips. "You better get to studying."
"Oh, he's failing that," Renee snickered.
Jason laughed and smacked his hand against his mouth.
Randall tried to kick Renee under the table. The table lifted and the cups, and plates shifted around. Randy rested his hands onto the table and glared at the three children.
"Renee, have a little faith in your brother."
Renee tilted her head and smirked. "You'll pass, Junior."
Slickly, Randall lifted his hand and stuck up the middle finger.
The family finished their meal and made sure everything was clean before they all went their separate ways. Sandra and Randy sat in the living room and conversed about their day whilst the kids made their way into their rooms.
The boys pushed each other as they tried to walk in front of one another.
Renee closed her bedroom door and threw her notebook onto her desk. She plopped onto her bed and leaned against the iron headboard. Her eyes lifted towards her small window as she heard the sounds of cars driving by and music playing from neighbours that lived above them.
Times like this she wished that she could just go on an adventure and be carefree. Times like this she wished that she would be whisked off her feet and float around, like she was a balloon.
Slowly, she leaned her head against her pillow and drifted off into a deep sleep.
-
"Renee."
"Renee?"
"Renee?"
Renee tossed around and turned towards the wall. She rested her hand under her head and continued her slumber as she ignored the whispers behind her.
"Renee?"
"Mhmm."
Suddenly, her eyes opened and she jumped out of her lying position. Jason stood in front of her with a smirk on his face and his hands behind his back.
"What?" She snapped. "Can't you see I'm sleeping?"
"Mama asked if we could go to the store and get some stuff."
"No, go away!" Renee frowned and went back to sleep.
Jason frowned and walked out of the room. But not before slamming her door shut.
The house was quiet until it was broken by her mothers loud voice.
It was a Sunday morning and she was already screaming her head off.
"I guess no one wants rum cake!"
Renee groaned and sat up. She threw her thick blanket off of her body and changed into jeans and a t-shirt. She unraveled her rollers from her head and stormed into the washroom to clean up. She rolled her eyes at the sound of her mother ranting about no one wanting to help her out around the house.
