The Lawes Girl

A middle-aged woman walked into a room and met the figure of a smiling young girl cradling a new school bag.

The girl turned back to see her, and her young, delicate face came into view.

"Mom I love this new school bag. It's beautiful!" She smiled.

Mrs. Tracy smiled back, shook her head, and stated,

"Beryl, get dressed, let's go see Uncle Smith."

"Huh!!! Why mum?!!" Beryl's voice transformed into a yell. 

"Don't ask questions." "Just do as I said." 

"Oh, mum, come on. Don't you remember how we were called names the last time we went visiting?" "For Christ's sake, we were humiliated by his wife, who is ages younger than you are!" She frustratedly yelled after dropping the new school bag she was holding on the floor.

"Look, Beryl, we aren't going to make any scene; we are going to plead," she replied softly, and she sat down on the bed with her daughter.

"Plead?, Mum, did you just say plead?" "Are we going to stoop so low and plead to those good for nothing Shelby's?" She lashed out loudly and sighed.

"Beryl, listen to me, we don't have a choice... "Besides where is Tyler?" 

        "Oh, bro Tyler? He went out with his friends while you were still sleeping. But, mom, this doesn't make any sense at all; gosh, they will treat us like a piece of rag," she groaned.

" Fuck! " She cried.

"Beryl," Mrs. Tracy said, sounded emotional.

        "Do you love me?" Mrs. Tracy said as Beryl came close and held her mom's hands.

"I fucking do, mum; yes, I do, but..." Beryl rethought again, looking at how sad her mom was, and felt like she made a mistake yelling at her mom, "Mum, I'm sorry for yelling at you." It's just..."

"It's okay, dear, Beryl, let's go, for peace to reign and also to have this house safe."

        "Mum? Don't you wonder why Uncle Smith wants to take this house from us? Huh?" She grumbled

"It beats me why he is so hellbent on taking this house from us." 

"Those bunches of annoying pigs."

"They are our family, Beryl."

"Who fucking cares?" she rolled her eyes and stood up to dress. 

"I'll be out in a minute, mom!" She said it aloud.

A few minutes later, she came out.

"Mum, I'm set to go." Mrs. Tracy nodded as they went out of the house and got a taxi straight to Uncle Smith's mansion.

Smith Shelby, a rich man who owns a company and a mansion, tends to take over the house of his late elder brother, who died four years ago.

When they reached her uncle's Smith mansion, the gateman opened the door as Beryl and Mrs. Tracy entered the terrace and sat down, waiting for his approval to come into the house.

"Ma'am, he said he would be here," the gateman said to Mrs. Tracy as she nodded.

"And who the hell came visiting?" Uncle Smith's loud voice echoed as he came out of the house with his wife. 

He looked over at the terrace only to see Beryl and Tracy.

        "What are these two doing here?" Mrs. Margaret, his wife, eyed them sarcastically.

"Let's go ask," he said, reaching the terrace as Mrs. Tracy stood up.

        "What are you both doing here?" He questioned, giving her a disgusted look.

"Smith, we apologize for our rude behavior last time. "Please I don't want anything that'll make us enemies." Mrs. Tracy pleaded, blinking her eyes, as Beryl, on the other hand, sighed, knowing fully well it would all be in vain. 

"We are not enemies; just give me the house and everything will be fine."

"Please, I beg of you," she knelt in tears. Even if it means crying her eyes out, she will surely do so.

"You can't have the house." "I mean, if you do, then where are we going to live?" 

"Oh, if that's your problem, then the Shelbys' are always ready to accommodate you," he smiled evilly.

"Hell no, uncle. "There's no way in this world it ever happens!" Beryl exclaimed. She was not muted in any way to let them walk all over her family.

        "Hey little girl, you better mind your words! "What the hell do you know about this anyway?!" Mrs. Margaret yelled.

"Oh, please, madam, I wasn't talking to you," Beryl retorted. 

        "What the hell? "How dare you?!" She yelled and rushed forward to give Beryl a slap, but her hands only swooshed through the bare air as Beryl had already dodged it.

"Margaret!" Mrs. Tracy yelled, grabbing her daughter in her arms.

        "What? Don't even Margaret me. I wonder where your child got this cheeky attitude of hers... "She's nothing like you!" blinks her eyes

"I can see you don't give your children proper home training, especially this thing," she mouthed, pointing fingers at Beryl.

"Point of correction, I am not a thing! "It's your wayward son that should be called a thing!"

        "Huh?!" She exclaimed in anger.

        "Enough!" Uncle Smith yelled out, making Mrs. Tracy flinch up. He was already getting fed up with the brawl.

"I apologize for my daughter's behavior," Mrs. Tracy pleaded as Beryl scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Look woman, I think your mouthy daughter needs proper mental care, or better yet, she should be chained because she behaves like a mad dog!"

"Smith, with all due respect, don't call my daughter names." 

"Hey, Tracy! She deserves it, and let me add to it in case you don't know, she behaves like a whore.

        "What?" This statement got Mrs. Tracy very angry; she dragged Mrs. Margaret's hair and slapped her hard on the face.

        "How dare you!" Mrs. Margaret shrieked, her powder-clad face imprinted with Mrs. Tracy's hand.

        "You dare hit my wife, huh?" He pushed Mrs. Tracy, making her fall, as Beryl sighed sadly, went down, and tried helping her up.

        "Uncle I don't know why you are doing this to us; you were never like this when my dad -- your brother -- was still alive.

"Oh, please, little girl, you know nothing but to disrespect your elders."

"I don't fucking care, how it hurts."

"And I don't give a damn about you poor things, but let me remind you guys, giving the grace of now until the end of this year. That's in six months, right? So if you don't vacate the house,... sighed, then continued,

"I will make your lives miserable."

Mrs. Margaret leaned on her husband's shoulder and said, "Baby, six months is too long. What about next week? Why give these shameless paupers enough time?"

"Well, I think they need enough time to find money and get somewhere else to stay; after all, they're still family."

"They don't need that; they have to suffer for six months, which is too much."

"Calm down, let's go back inside and forget about them," he whispered to her as she smiled.

"Please use the gate when you are tired of your stay here," she scoffed and left with Uncle Smith.

Beryl panted as she stood up and helped her mother stand up.

"Mum, you see, this was what I was talking about; pleading with these people will aim at nothing. "It's like chasing rainbows!" She sighed as her mother exhaled.

They went out of the house and took a taxi home.

********************************

"Bro Tyler, you need to see the way we got treated today," she explained everything to her elder brother as he sighed.

"Mum shouldn't have bothered going there, knowing how rude and stupid they are."

"I tried talking to her, but she still insisted, gosh."

        "He said six months?"

"Yeah, though, it's ok; we can come up with something within that period." You can imagine that his stupid wife was declining it, saying, "It should be shifted to next week." She puffed.

"Aunt Margaret is a pain in the ass." 

        "True bro" 

        "Tyler, Beryl, food is ready!" Mrs. Tracy yelled out as they sighed, stood up from the couch, and went to the dining table.

She prepared spaghetti sauce and cheese for dinner.

"Mum, I love the aroma; I'm fucking famished." Mrs. Tracy smiled and touched her hair.

        "Silly girl" 

"Tomorrow is your new day at BlueBell High School," Tyler announced all of a sudden as the atmosphere became livelier again.

        "Yeah!" She yelled out joyfully as they laughed.