Smack! "Jeremy, listen to the pastor." My mother whispered.
I was up playing games last night, so I kept dozing off in the church. The name's Jeremy. I'm currently at a mass around 6:30 pm at St. Paul Church, Auckland. It should end by now.
— 6:30 pm, Sunday: December 15, 2024 —
Ring. "Go in Peace!" the pastor announced.
"Thanks be to God!" the people celebrated.
The people stood up and left the church in an organised way. I always wondered what would happen if I ran along with the crowd as a child. Not that I actually did; my mom would give me an earful if I did.
"Jeremy!" My mom pinched my sleeve and pulled me closer to her.
"I'll talk to you later, you better not run off." She whispered, in a pissed tone.
Four years ago, I would be coming up with excuses as to why I dozed off. But nowadays, I just don't care. Not that it bothers me anymore, I can always say I was up studying.
It was finally our turn to walk out of the church. I can see the fake smile my mother gave away as we walked past other people. We walked outside where the nearby bus stop was.
My mom was feeling graceful, so she decided to take a taxi. It took a while for us to get a taxi on the way home, but I felt my mother's gaze on me. I sometimes envy Roddy, my little brother, for not giving a fuck about the world. It's like he has his own little world. Whenever these things happen, he'd be wandering his mind somewhere while I deal with these gazes. Must be nice to be young, carefree, and imaginative.
Click. "You better not run away, mister." A warning from my mother as we get in the taxi.
As if I have anywhere to run off, that is. We live in the middle of nowhere. All we have is a broken playground and a couple of small houses around us. The nearest school takes at least an hour to get to. So you can imagine how expensive that is, which is why I'm forced to study hard, so all that trip is worth every penny. And my mom works at the hospital as a cafeteria lady. Before you call me ungrateful, I like it, especially whenever she comes home with leftover food.
Hop. A sound my little brother made as we got out of the car. We head into the house while our mom pays for the taxi. Did I mention we were carrying groceries all day? My mom was going to make a Roast Dinner to celebrate her payday. Due to the turn of events, now that she's pissed, I'm not sure what we'll be eating tonight. I helped arrange the groceries while my mother walked in. To lighten her mood a bit, I asked Roddy to help me arrange them. As I expected, it didn't help much, her gaze was still as sharp as a knife.
My mom was quiet as she walked in. She started to prepare the roasting pan. I'm assuming the Roast Dinner continues. It didn't seem like she'd talk for a while, so I continued to lay out the ingredients for her. After that, my father finally came home. He's an angel, so my mom's mood eventually went up. The one time I actually liked to see my family.
My brother and I have been watching the news with my father as we wait for my mother to finish cooking. It's always been like this, I started being fond of watching life outside our little shack. It's amazing how life experiences can vary for different people, like— one would be arrested while the other has a new successful movie. Is it silly for a boy like me to dream about having an actual life? Experiencing adventures and achieving success. I sure hope not.
Ding. "Boys." My mother called, ringing a bell.
Now and then, my mother would press the bell to call us for dinner. Today happens to be one of those days. We sat down on our respective chairs and said a prayer of grace.
Once we said grace, my mother didn't move for a while. My brother started munching his food while my father was eating gracefully. I hesitated, but I started eating too.
When I finally thought my mom was about to eat, she lifted her hand, and…
Slam! "I told you not to stay up every time we have church day! Don't you have respect for the pastor and towards God? Jesus, Jeremy, how many times do I have to tell you? Do not stay up late! " My mom hollered.
My mother was never the type of person to scold me for a long time. She likes to calm herself down instead of bursting it all out—but I know, she's still screaming in her head. I like that about her, at the very least, she doesn't scream non-stop, unlike the mothers in the neighbourhood.
Sigh"Just.. please, sleep early next time. It is disrespectful to both the pastor and God." She added, in a calm tone this time.
I nodded. My father held her hand and managed to calm her down. The four of us continued to eat in silence.
As I finished eating my portion, I stood up and left the plates on the table.
I muttered, "No worries, Mom, won't happen again."
Seeing Roddy done with his food, I took him to brush our teeth and head to bed.
Clank, I imagine that's the sound of the plastic stars hanging by my brother's headboard. He likes to think he's in space so he can doze off calmly to his dreams. I, on the other hand, stare at the stars by the window. Ah, look, a shooting star. I should wish for something.
"I wish for an adventure, even just a small one. Just give me anything.." I mumbled. Slowly closing my eyes…
I think the news reported a meteor shower that night, and I was fortunate enough to witness one shooting star.
Beep beep beep..! The sound of my alarm woke me up. Great, it's Monday. Everyone hates Mondays, and so do I. I think our professor mentioned something about voluntary work as our final project.
Knock "Remy, dear, wake up. The bus will arrive soon.". My mom uttered.
I got up and stared at the wall for a couple of seconds. I almost started daydreaming if it weren't for my brother knocking on my door.
"Remy, Remy, Remyyy!" my brother exclaimed.
I stood up and started getting ready. I put on my sweater and grabbed my bag as well. Before I left my room, I happened to stare at my blank face in the mirror. It felt so fucking empty. I slapped myself and fixed my hair, and went out.
Sizzle. The sound I heard from the kitchen.
"Stopp!" My mom shrieked. "Don't make me hit you with this spatula." She added,
"Alright, alright. I'll back off. Madam." My father replied.
My father definitely lifted her mood last night, I'd rather not hear it, though. It's crazy to think they can still do it at this age. By "at this age", I meant around 38, which is still young.. right?
Wieee. My brother's playing plane while running around. I almost got hit for a second. How do kids have so much energy first thing in the morning? I'm barely awake.. if I hadn't slapped myself, that is.
"Good morning, dear, breakfast's on the table." My mom pointed.
I'm not an expressive guy, as you can see, so I nodded. I say that, but I have a lot of things going through my mind. I'm not that hungry, so I ate a little bit.
"We'll continue this later," My father whispered.
"Shh!" She murmured back while hitting him with her elbow.
I pretended not to hear while I ate my breakfast. I sometimes wish I could have Roddy's imagination to disable my ability to hear that. Roddy stopped by the table near me and opened his mouth. Assuming he wanted me to feed him, I fed him a spoonful of bacon and rice.
Beep beeep! "Kids, the bus is here." My mom notified us.
I had finished eating my breakfast, and Roddy stopped playing. My mom equipped him with his bag. Before we left the house, our mom gave us our lunch. I mean, who even brings lunch, right? But I'm grateful for that. I love eating my mom's food.
"Have fun at school, kids, especially you, Jeremy. I haven't heard any fun stories in a while." My mom said.
Did I mention our tradition? Ever since I was a kid, my mom would always have her ears open for the news about our day. However, I haven't been telling her anything other than "it was fine". If it weren't for Roddy distracting her with fun stories, I wouldn't be able to escape. Big thanks to him, I guess.
"Noted, ma'am". I replied. I'm definitely going to have some fun. Yup, watch me go home with a huge smile on my face. That was sarcasm if you couldn't tell.
We got on board and sat down. I plugged my earphones into my ears while Roddy was waving back to our parents by the window seat. Our trip takes about an hour, so I would normally go to sleep while the bus is still empty. But that day, a person was sitting in the corner. He's new, I haven't seen him around. Can you believe that? There's a person who lives even farther than me. It's none of my business, though, so I went and closed my eyes.