This chapter is obviously yet to be re-refined. I just have a habit of loosing my work, so here it is. Any future refinements or edits will be made directly to this post. I will have seperate posts for each chapter. As I always say, if you see anything that can be improved, let me know. I am always very open to criticism.
Chapter 1: Saturday
Tonia the Great galloped through the fresh snow on her fabulous steed, Astronaut. He sorted as he raised his noble head to the sky and neighed, as if telling the other horses how mighty he was. She pulled up to the pinnacle of her kingdom and surveyed the wide landscape. “This is all mine,” she thought. She could say a command and watch as everyone scrambled to meet her request. They all loved and respected her. Thinking this thought, she immediately sent out one of her servants to get her some strawberry sherbet ice cream. “HA!” She laughed to herself, “I don’t even want any ice cream right now” She sighed, content to watch the flurry of activity below from her perch above it all, relishing the strange quiet that came from watching something far away. There was nothing that she couldn’t do. The servant came back reverently holding a small silver dish of colorful, frozen, ice cream. Tonia the Great took it from him and bowed her head in thanks, then laughed and dumped it on the poor servant’s head. The servant walked away shivering in fear The servant walked away, mumbling to himself about a coupe that would never happen.
“Tonia, turn that music down! Are you ready to go or aren’t you?”
Tonia could barely her mother’s voice over the sound of the bass that rumbled through the house from her boom box. She sighed and closed her journal. She turned the knob on her boom box till she could no longer feel the thump of the rhythm under her feet.
“What do you want?” Tonia screamed down the stairs.
Shannon sighed and clomped up the stairs. In some ways, she as just as much a kid as the ten year old daughter that she tried to raise by herself. When she arrived at Tonia’s room, she saw the girl leaning out her bedroom door. Shannon got right in her face and said, “It is my birthday today, and I am going to enjoy it. I told you half an hour ago to get ready to go out. We are meeting John and Stephanie at the Chinese restaurant to celebrate my twenty-sixth birthday. I did not make any food for you, so if you want to eat tonight, I suggest you get your act together within the next five minutes, or I am walking out the door without you.” Shannon turned to stalk down stairs.
Tonia couldn’t believe the impudence Shannon was displaying. Imagine, a mother not wanting to provide food for her daughter.
“But I don’t want Chinese food, I want spaghetti!” Tonia shot back
Shannon took a deep breath to calm herself, counted to five, and turned back to Tonia.
“Today is NOT about you! Today is about---” Shannon couldn’t finish her sentence because Tonia had punched her square in the nose and was now smirking as blood dripped down Shannon’s face, onto her favorite silk blouse.
That was the last straw. She shoved Tonia back into her room and slammed the door. She so desperately wanted to slap the orneriness out of Tonia, but knew that it would just end up in tears and would do no good. Shannon's friends had told her to spank Tonia, and then accused Shannon when Tonia started being violent. So, she had given up on physical discipline. The fact was that even if she tried to spank Tonia now, or even slap her, Tonia was surprisingly strong and fit for a kid of her age. As it was, she had to struggle to hold the knob still as she worked to get the key in and lock the door. Shannon silently berated herself for letting Tonia get her way, again, when picking the type of lock on the door. Finally, Shannon got the door locked and jimmied it to make sure it was secure. Now, she could get out of the house and try to enjoy the night. Shannon was very aware that Tonia would not be held by the locked door for long, but at least it would give Shannon a chance to drive away first. At the last second, she decided to remove the trellis from beneath Tonia’s window. Maybe that would keep her in her room for one night. Moving the trellis only served to dirty and rip her blouse more, but it was worth it. She could hear Tonia banging against her bedroom door and screaming obscenities even as she pulled out of the driveway.
Down the street a few miles, Shannon stopped at a dingy gas station to see if she could get cleaned up before arriving at the restaurant. She called up Stephanie to tell them she would be late and to apologize for not being there already. Her friends were familiar to the chaos that Tonia somehow managed to pull off. Shannon went into the ladies' room and turned in the cool water and grabbed a paper
towel. She blew her nose and gingerly wiped the dried blood from around her nose and chin. She also tried in vain to blot any of the blood off of her blouse. The blouse wasn't real silk, of course. Shannon laughed at that thought. No, only imitation for this poor teacher's aide. She sighed and gave up. As she was leaving, she saw one of those detergent pens hanging by the cash register, so she bought that. Her shirt was already ruined. At least people wouldn't see the blood stains. There was no hiding a fractured nose, though. Shannon sighed again. She didn't want to have to explain to curious people that she was not, in fact, beaten by an abusive boyfriend, but rather, her ten year old daughter. It was so humiliating. She couldn't even claim that she had a younger brother, or son. No, she was always bruised up and bloodied because of her little girl. Shannon almost snarled at the thought as she got in her car and started the engine. She banged a fist on the steering wheel. Tonia had ruined her life! Even before she was born.
Shannon had been sixteen when Walter, the boy she'd (okay, everyone) had a crush on for a while, had finally asked her out. It was her first date, and she didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't have friends or even a very good mother or role model to tell her what to expect or avoid. Walter had been a dream. He was sweet and generous and kind of old fashioned gentlemanly. When the date was almost over, he leaned over and kissed her. Shannon was so overwhelmed that she didn't pull away. In fact, she didn't pull away when he took her to his house, or into his room, or even when he started touching her in intimate ways. Nine months later, Tonia was born, Walter was gone, and Shannon had to drop out of high school to get a minimum wage job. Even now, Shannon barely had any friends. Oh, sure, lots of people were attracted to Shannon, but as soon as they got even a whiff of Tonia's destructive nature, almost every single one had run for the hills. Shannon made it to the restaurant. She couldn't hide the tears or the broken nose fro anyone, and her blouse was now an ugly off white in places where the bleach had gotten rid of the blood. Shannon spent the next few hours eating low mein and getting drunk on sake.
Tonia continued to scream and yell until she was out of breath. She knew her mom had left and that the door wouldn’t unlock itself, but screaming made her feel better. She gave the door a disgusted kicked and then collapsed onto her bed. Tonia pulled out her cell phone from her baggy jeans pocket and dialed her best, well only, friend’s phone number.
“Hello?” a whispered voice asked.
“Hey, Maria!” Tonia replied. “Wanna go tag the bridge? My mom just left and I think I still got a few cans left.”
“I don’t know…My mom was really mad last time. You know she doesn’t care that it’s on your property. She says it’s disrespectful.” Still whispering, Maria answered uncomittedly.
“Oh, I guess you don’t want any of those Otter Pops then….” Tonia knew that if anything, Maria could not turn down an otter pop.
“Do you have any purple left?” came Maria’s meek reply.
Tonia snickered. Now she had her. “Of course,” Tonia answered smoothly. Purple Otter Pops were Maria’s favorite, and Tonia always had them on hand.
“OK. Meet me there in ten minutes. I have to sneak out.”
Toni snapped her cell phone shut in satisfaction. She opened her window and threw her legs over the ledge, but suddenly, she was only supported by her hands on the window sill. The trellis lay smugly on the ground two stories below her dangling feet. She shrugged mentally and let go of the window. She didn’t expect it to hurt so much when she landed, but after a quick check, found no permanent damage done. She quickly limped over to the shed at the east end of the yard, nearest to Maria’s house. Inside, she quickly grabbed a few cans of spray paint and two Otter Pops. Has hmmm, I need to bribe that hobo across the street to buy me more paint. There’s only orange and green left.
Maria snapped her own cell phone shut and sighed. She loved otter pops, but her real reason for sneaking out like a ninja at least once a week, was because her extra strict mom was not very supportive of her hanging out with Tonia. Maria liked Tonia because Tonia wasn't afraid of anything. There relationship was sort of Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn style. Tonia, of course being Huck Finn. Maria was not really rebellious, but needed an outlet, and her mom was way too involved in her everyday life, and always pushed her to be better. When Tonia was around, Maria felt free to e herself, if not a little more mischievous. She poked her head out of her bedroom door and looked around. She casually walked to the kitchen to scope out how hard it would be to just walk out the door. No luck, her dad was watching TV and her mom was sitting next to him. Maria sighed and walked back to her room. She winced as she opened her window. Not only was the window slightly squeaky, but there were bushes just outside under the window. Maria swung one leg over....and promptly fell head first into said bushes. She popped her head up and swiveled around to make sure that no one heard her. Nope. She scrambled out of the bushes and angled for the footbridge.
Tonia jogged across to the south edge of the yard, bordering a public park, and sat waiting for Maria. Maria arrived two minutes later, out of breath and with sticks and leaves in her hair. Tonia laughed and pointed at her friend. “Did you have to wrestle with the foliage to get out here or is that what all the kids are wearing these days?”
Maria huffed and grabbed an Otter Pop. She lifted her chin and stated, “I jumped out my window, thank you very much.”
Tonia was only slightly impressed. “All three feet of it, huh?”
She smiled and handed Maria a can of orange spray paint. Together, they laughed and painted for hours. Soon, their fingers and arms were covered in about as much paint as the underside of the bridge, and they breathed fresh air for a while, because their heads were so light that they could not continue until they had. Maria tended to write names and poetry when she spray painted, and experimented with art. For Tonia, it was straight gang signs and curse words. She was forever trying to get Maria to write bad words, but hardly ever succeeded. Tonight was no different. After some prodding, Maria was giggling as she started to spray paint a nasty word. Something stopped her mid-stroke.
With her hand poised in the air, she pivoted on her feet and came face to face with her mother. Maria would have frozen, but she was already paralyzed with fear. Unlike Tonia, who disregarded her mom and knew that Shannon could do nothing to punish her, Maria feared and respected her mother and knew that there would be a price to pay. Tonia, who had met Mrs. Waters last time there was mischief, was nonplussed but also knew that Mrs. Waters was not to be trifled with. Mrs. Waters crossed her arms and looked down at the children, frowning. Tonia, a mastermind of getting out of situations, drew a blank and said the first thing that came to mind, “So, what lovely weather we’re having, isn’t it?” Mrs. Waters raised an eyebrow at Tonia. “It would be if I weren’t out in my pajamas in the middle of the night.” She took a humoring glance at the sky.
Tonia took the moment and bolted. Her breath soon came in chugs as she ran through the cool damp grass. She could hear Mrs. Waters behind her. What Tonia had in youthful energy, Mrs. Waters had in height. Soon she felt a strong pair of arms circle around her waist and shoulders, lifting her backwards off the ground. Her legs kicked furiously to find traction, but even with her wiggling, Mrs. Waters’ grip held fast. Tonia felt Mrs. Waters breathing in her ear, as the older woman whispered, “You’re coming with me. I am going to take you home to have a talk with your mother.” Tonia froze. Her mind scrambled to think of a solution. She knew that if Mrs. Waters found out that Shannon wasn’t home, she’d have to spend the night with them. “Uh,uh…..Shannon isn’t available right now; please leave a message after the beep…..BEEP.” Mrs. Waters was gritting her teeth in an effort to hold on to Tonia who was now squirming even more desperately. She jerked her grip. “Tonia is spending the night with us. Enjoy your evening. BEEP!”
Tonia panicked “NOOOOOOooooooo!” Then she did something she hadn’t done since she was five. She kicked and squirmed and moved with as much intensity as she could, then relaxed all the way, becoming dead weight and surprising Mrs. Waters, who let go of her. Tonia bounded up and tried to get away, but soon found her ear between two very strong fingers. So, close. She looked to her right and saw that Maria’s ear occupied Mrs. Waters’ other hand. All three of them trekked over the bridge, across the yard and to the Waters’ family home. Tonia and Maria were only released once safely inside. Mr. Waters, who had answered the door, looked on in grim amusement. He enjoyed the free- thinking mind that Tonia had but knew that chaos awaited them whenever Tonia spent the night.
Mrs. Waters ushered them to the family room and pushed them onto the couch. Tonia and Maria both took a deep breath and sighed. Maria anticipating the upcoming doom, and Tonia, annoyed that she hadn’t stayed home. Tonia heard Maria mumble under her breath. “What?” “I told you we’d get caught” Maria answered. “Oh, grow up! It was only a few curse words and your pathetic excuse for art.” Tonia rolled her eyes and bobbled her head to accentuate her point. Suddenly their bickering was cut off. “Enough!” Tonia had never heard Mrs. Waters’ voice that deep or commanding. Both children looked at her in surprise. “It is two in the morning, I am tired and I had to get up out of bed, go out into the cold wet night to find my daughter that I was worried about. Only to find that she is not only fine and healthy, but that she deceived me and was out spray painting, like a hooligan! After I specifically told both of you not to.”
Maria hung her head in shame. “I’m sorry Mama.” Mrs. Waters softened. “Fine. Go to bed.” Maria got up, still looking at the floor and trudged into her room. After a pause, Mrs. Waters continued, “As for you. I can’t believe you would do that! I don’t care if half of that bridge is on your mother’s property. You should know better. And to bring my daughter into this? Are you mental?! I’m trying to bring her up right and you are undermining me at every turn. Do you even know what time it is?” Tonia crossed her arms and looked away. She didn’t need to hear this. She was under no obligation to listen to the rantings of some religious nut job. Mrs. Waters continued, “I’m worried about you Tonia. I worry about your well being…Look at me when I am talking to you young lady!” Tonia didn’t respond. She had drifted into her mind and was day dreaming about conquering a foreign land. Also, the time had finally caught up to her. She looked up to Mrs. Waters with half closed eyes and asked, “What time is it?” Mrs. Waters sighed and let her arms drop. She was too tired to do this tonight and knew that Tonia wasn’t going to listen anyways. “It’s a quarter after two.” Tonia let her head drop and her eyes followed suit. Soon her whole body was sagging as she slowly let her guard down and drifted off to sleep.
Sometime during the night, Tonia became aware of a weight on her shoulders. It felt like a hug. Tonia didn’t like being held by people much, but she did like the feeling of being wrapped securely inside something, in this case, a blanket. It reminded her of the story she heard about an autistic woman named Temperance, who built a hugging machine. All too soon, Tonia sensed light, and was forced to open her eyes to a brand new day. She slowly became aware of her surroundings. She heard voices and saw some movement in her peripheral vision. The Waters family was gathered around the table. At first, Tonia thought, “Oh good. Food”, but as she looked closer, she realized that they were reading. “What the…?” Tonia stumbled over to the table, rubbing her eyes. She could feel her hair sticking up in every conceivable way, and she knew her clothes were all rumpled. “What’s goin’ on here?” She asked groggily.
Mr.Waters half-way turned to look at her. He raised his eyebrows at her. Why does everyone here talk with their eyebrows up all the time? “We are doing our morning Bible study. We are reading from the book of John today. We assumed you wouldn’t be interested, so we decided not to wake you.” Mr. Waters answered.
“You mean, so I wouldn’t ruin your little family time?” Tonia replied snobbishly
“Basically” Maria quipped
Mrs. Waters shot her daughter a glare, and Maia withered into he seat.
“Hmmph,” Tonia sneered. “Well, la dee dah.”
She gave a little shake of her hips and toss of her head to emphasize her point. Mrs. Waters had left and come back into the room just in time to see Tonia’s performance. Only then, did Tonia notice the cordless phone in her hand. Mrs. Waters gave Tonia a strange look. “I just called your mother. She will be here in an hour or so.”
Tonia sniffed. “Well, I hope you two have fun together. I’m off to the park.”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Mrs. Waters tilted her head as she grabbed for Tonia’s shirt sleeve. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Well, I’m sure as hell not going to stay here and sing Kumba Ya with you folks.”
Mrs. Waters pursed her lips and took a deep breath. “You don’t have to join our Bible study if you don’t want to, but you do need to be respectful.”
“What?” Tonia asked as she scrunched up her face in confusion. Her tone was not incredulous, but revealed that she did not understand what Mrs. Waters had told her. Mrs. Waters gave Tonia a funny look and repeated herself.
“Well, what am I supposed to do until then?” Tonia asked with the tone of one resigned to fate.
“Why don’t you read or draw?”
Tonia loved to draw and was soon occupied with paper and pencil, while the Waters family finished their Bible study and waited for Shannon.
Shannon arrived two hours later and knocked on the door. Mrs. Waters answered and welcomed Shannon in.
“Tonia, your mother’s here.” Mrs. Waters called. She opened the door to a tear stained Shannon, with mascara and blush running down her cheeks.
“I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble,” she pleaded
“Nonsense! Tonia’s always such a…a….delight.” Mrs. Waters countered. Both women laughed at that
“But I would like to know what happened last night.” Shannon retold the story from her perspective.
Tonia skipped up to the front of the house and confronted the adults with a smirk. She looked at her mother with only thinly veiled contempt.
“Enjoy the party, SHANNON?”
Shannon gulped.
Mrs. Waters elbowed Tonia in the ribs.
“Maybe there’s something you want to tell your mother?” She prodded.
Tonia looked at the ceiling as if pondering the idea or trying to remember what she was supposed to say. Then she looked straight at Shannon and shook he head smugly.
“Nope” then she lifted her chin and strode between the two dumbfounded adults and headed to the park.
