Ann was rushed into the main living room, shortly pushed onto the leather sofa. Her mother glided over to the opposite chair, dragging it beside Ann and plopping down. Glaring at her daughter momentarily, she folded her arms, mirroring Ann's current posture.
"Ann, answer this honestly. Do you actually like it here?" She asked, out of the blue.
Ann hesitated, thinking it over. She eventually started to nod, "Yeah… it's fine."
"Are you sure?" She asked again, "You used to be such an angel before me and your father split up."
Ann frowned at the topic. She really disliked talking about her father, she didn't remember too much about him, though she probably should. After all, it was only four years ago since she last saw him. She remembered his short ginger hair, and his bushy moustache. She wondered if he had got rid of that monstrosity yet. He had a thing for old-fashioned clothing, something she never understood. Ann didn't have a thing for hip clothing, but she most certainly didn't like old-fashioned stuff. Sighing from her little memory, Ann looked back at her mother.
"Mum, I grew up. Of course I changed."
Ann's mother frowned, "But you can't have changed that much."
"Have you not noticed," Ann began, "That maybe the city's a tougher place. Maybe I need to be like this to survive."
"Now that's being a little dramatic, isn't it?"
"No, not really," Ann said, shaking her head.
She began to make herself comfortable, by unfolding her arms, and lifting her feet onto the table. Yanking out her silky bow from her tangled hair, Ann flung it across the room in disgust. Her hair fell in clumps down her shoulder, and she laid her head back into the comfort of the sofa. She could have almost falling asleep, if she didn't notice the hard glare from her mother.
The phone's annoying ringing rang throughout the house, and Ann's mother was quick to scurry off to answer it. Sighing quietly, Ann flung her whole self onto the sofa, deciding to take whatever little nap she could. Figuring her mother wouldn't interrupt her beauty sleep; Ann began to close her eyes. Distantly, she could hear her mother's rush voice on the phone, and it made her wonder exactly why she was speaking so fast. Ignoring her thoughts, Ann quickly fell back into a thoughtless trance. She heard her mother slam down the phone, and storm into the living room, which is exactly the moment Ann opened her eyes.
"Ann!" Her mother barked, heaving her daughter up, "Do you realise how much trouble you're in?"
"Why would I be in that much trouble?" Ann questioned, frowning, "All I did was take a half day."
"And miss your detention after school," Her mother added hastily, "All in one day."
"Oh crap… I forgot about that."
"To hell you did!"
"No really…" Ann sighed.
"You know what Ann?" Her mother snapped, "I'm fed up with you. Fed up."
Ann frowned. This was the first time her mother had ever said she was fed up with her. She'd normally say something along the lines of, "Please Ann, you need an education", "I'll give you one more chance." But never this before… This really made Ann worry, did her mother really mean it? Or was it just a one off?
"Ann, go to your room, now," Her mother ordered, "I need to think."
Ann, unable to do anything but agree, strolled up the stairs, to her room. She shut her bedroom door quietly, and plopped herself onto her bed.
Her room was similar to a box, having violet walls from when she was young. She had a plush bed to the right of the door, which had dark blue covers. Directly opposite the door was a computer desk, without a computer. Above it was a small window, which was the only light income, with its sunrays shining through. To the left was a pile of books, mostly fiction. The most common genre was romance, Ann's favourite genre of book. Also to the left was a worn cabinet that looked beyond twenty years old.
Ann laid back against the wall, closing her eyes in deep thought.
Her mother needed to think, but Ann wanted to know why. What was there to think about? She'd have to go to school the next day, live through another day of school, and then have a delightful detention with a furious Claire. Her mother didn't need to think of a punishment, school was good enough. Sighing, Ann could hear her mother once again on the phone downstairs, but her voice was quiet, unusual for her mother. Ann stuck her head against the cold wall in an attempt to hear some of the conversation, but it seemed it didn't improve. When Ann was just about to give up, her stomach growled extremely loud, only causing Ann to sigh even more. There was no way her mother would feed her whilst she was mad. Which only meant one thing; she'd have to go make it herself.
Jumping to her feet, Ann waddled silently down the wooden stairs, the hushed voice of her mother grew louder, but yet it was still impossible to comprehend. The quiet voice stopped, and Ann instantly halted, standing there perfectly still.
"Ann! Go back to your room now!" She heard her mother bark.
"I'm just getting something to eat!"
Continuing on, Ann reached the kitchen in an instant, and headed to the fridge. Yanking the door open, she studied the intents.
"Damn it, only butter?" Ann moaned, reaching inside, "Guess it'll have to be a butter sandwich."
It only took Ann a few moments to make the sandwich, afterwards dumping her dirty plate into the sink. Walking back through the door she came in, she sauntered to her bedroom, taking her only sweet time. To symbolize just how long, she had already finished her sandwich by the time she got upstairs.
"Ann!" Her mother called, "Come downstairs!"
"But I just got upstairs," Ann groaned, treading down the staircase.
She pushed the living room door open. Her mother was sat where she previously had lied, so Ann took the seat her mother sat in earlier. Her mother looked less then pleased, but there was a certain emotion Ann had never seen before, which instantly made her worry. It wasn't a sign of anger, but more of pain, or suffering.
"Before I tell you, I just want to say beforehand, it's for your benefit. Not mine, so please, just don't argue."
Ann stared at her with her arms crossed, expecting soon a punishment, may it be her mother grounding her, or to make her clean the bathroom toilets.
"I'm not exactly sure what happened to you the day we left Mineral Town," Her mother frowned, "Something changed."
"The environment?" Ann suggested innocently.
"No, not that. Something a lot deeper. Maybe you miss the town, I don't know."
"Miss that town?" Ann laughed, "Why the hell would I miss that town? It was the best day of my life when we leftit."
"That's not what you used to say…" Her mother said, "You used to say how you'd love to see your father again, and the town… I can definitely see you've changed."
"Mum, what do you expect? Seriously," Ann growled, "You can't expect me to be the same little angel you saw when I was little."
"Which is why I've came to a decision," Her mother sighed, staring into her daughter's eyes, "You're going to go to your father."
"What?!" Ann snapped, "There is no way in hell I'm going back there!"
"I've made my mind up Ann, you're going. And you're going tomorrow."
"You know what? I don't care. As long as I'm away from you," Ann bellowed.
Her mother frowned, obviously hurt by Ann's words, "It's what's best for you Ann, your father is a lot better then me, he can sort you out, he can sew up the patches which I can't."
"My life is fine here Mum!" Ann shot, going red, "I have a good life and I want to keep it!"
"You can have a good life there as well, now start packing unless you want to wear your fathers clothes."