C1 A wrinkle in time

8 years ago [Ma Cleo’s residence]

The sound of the ticking clock and my pulsating heart were the only things keeping my far too weakened body from shutting down as I continued at a hastened pace. I carry on cleaning the surface of the table till it’s squeaky clean making sure not to leave a single spot cause Ma Cleo hates that. The strike of the hand of the clock at 6 pm was my only indication that I was running out of precious time.

“Oh no! Ma Cleo will soon be back and I haven’t done all the laundry”. I whispered to myself in a panicked state soon realizing that no matter what I did today I’d still pay dearly. Increasing my pace till I could not feel my fingers anymore I was finally done and I hurriedly went to the laundry.

“Incompetent bunch of fools all around me, always have to clean up their dirty mess” a squeaky grumble I’ve grown accustomed to sounded from the front door. “Layla get your bony ass here this moment!” Ma Cleo all but screeched aiming it at me and my heart dropped several beats already resigning myself to fate.

With hurried steps I stood in front of her, my head and gaze already accustomed to the floor, and as my anxious gaze roamed around I noticed an awful trail on the ground that must have resulted when I finished tending to the garden. Tears began gathering in my eyes as I thought of the numerous ways I knew she would punish me.

“You look horrid when you cry, don’t u dare taint my floor with those pathetic tears of yours and look me in the eyes when I’m speaking to you child.” She berated in a stern voice. Almost immediately my head snapped up and my eyes dried up of any last remnant of tears I had left.

“I’m sure you already know why I’ve called you here you little demon. You were fully aware that I’d be having guests coming over soon yet you decided to make that horrible mess at the entrance of my house. You wanted to make a mockery out of me isn't it?” She snides at me with every bit of venom seeping out of her voice as she holds my chin up in a vicious grip.

“Go get your toothbrush from upstairs now” she spat at me. Not wasting any more time I ran up the stairs as fast as my tired body could carry me. I quickly grabbed my toothbrush and zoomed down the stairs making sure the sound of my steps wasn’t too loud. Ma hates that so I've learned to adjust. When I got down I went to stand before her showing her the toothbrush I had now in my hands.

“Now I want you to start sweeping the floor of the entire entryway with that toothbrush and make sure that everywhere is spotless when I’m back. I give you 30 minutes” she said as she exited the house again almost as soon as she came in not even giving me a chance to react or speak.

With a hardened gaze I robotically went into action firstly getting soapy water and a bowl and I bent down to begin the task at hand. Joining the tasks I did earlier in the day, any 16-year-old such as myself would have collapsed but not me. My body has given up on me far too long ago.

******

Present day

“Have you gotten the orders from the customers that just came in Layla” Samantha, my colleague asked over me over the chatter from the back.

“Table 7 requested 2 double-decked cheeseburgers, 2 scones, and 4 strawberry milkshakes, Table 12 requested just a chocolate mocha, and Table 9 requested a pumpkin pie and a creamy latte” I replied to her reading out from the little clipboard I wrote orders on. She acknowledges me with a nod while I round the corner to get into the kitchen.

It was around 2 pm and the eatery I work in, BiteBuzz, was having a rush hour and it was supposed to be my break time. At the sound of my rumbling stomach, I was immediately reminded that I'd had nothing to eat all day. With a groan, I began serving out the orders to each table with the best fake smile I could muster on an empty stomach. I've perfected the art over the years, wearing false emotion was akin to second nature for me. A smile can dissuade people from knowing what's going on in your life. Shaking reminisces of the past from my head I continued taking and handing out orders till the diner was almost empty. Checking the time on my phone I saw that my shift was over and a sigh of relief immediately left me. Pulling off my apron I grabbed my change of clothes and headed to the mart for some grocery shopping.

Shooting out a quick text to Melody letting her know I've got the groceries handled I headed over to Harrod's. I was mentally calculating the tips I made today to know how much I had to spare for a cheat meal, I easily picked out some Cheetos with a satisfied grin on my mouth. At least it's something to look forward to for the day. As I was heading over to the counter I stumbled upon Daisy, an excruciatingly painful reminder of my tragic past. My steps faltered a bit and my smile wavered but I carried on headstrong constantly reminding myself that I'm no longer where I was before and I've become stronger. I began walking between aisles in order to avoid her but my attempts proved futile.

“Well well who do we have here, Layla it's always a pleasure to see you,” Daisy says with mock excitement in her voice. Putting on a fake smile I turned around to engage her.

“Daisy it's been ages hasn't it, How have you been and Ma Cleo? Heard she's been in the hospital for a while” I say with false concern dripping from my voice.

“Oh drop the act. We all know you are delighted by the news of my mothers fizzling health, and to answer your first question I've been great actually, much better than you look thank God” she says obnoxiously, an annoying smirk plastered on her face.

“Looks like you haven't lost your bitchiness over the years Daisy, now if you’d excuse me I rather exit this conversation right now. Wouldn’t want those awful frown lies marring my face like yours now would I?” I threw at her as I began walking out not before seeing her hands flying to her frown lines.

Walking away with a small sense of victory I headed over to the checkout counter to pay for my groceries and got on my merry way. While waiting for the next bus to get here I heard my phone ping. I picked it up and saw a very distressing message from Melody and all the colour immediately drained from my face.

Life when would you just stop fucking with me?