It's D-Day!
1671 Words
Chapter 2
Just then, the sound of the door unlocking echoed through the house. Someone enters the passcode, and the door opened.
“That must be Dad!” Cherry said, jumping to her feet. She hurried to the door and threw her arms around Robert as he stepped inside, taking his suitcase from him.
“Welcome, Dad!” she said brightly.
“Thank you, my little angel”, Robert replied with a warm smile as he was also patting her on her head.
Rose walked over to them, hugging him before placing a peck on his cheek.
“Hey Darling, how have you been?” she asked, still wrapped around his arm.
“Not bad, not good. It would have been absolutely great if l had been with you all day” he replied sweetly.
“Ugh, please don’t start again”, Cherry groaned as she walked away and sat on the couch with his suitcase. Robert and Rose laughed.
Robert then noticed Annie sitting quietly. “Hey Bell, won’t you even say hi to Dad?” he asked as he walked into the living room.
“I’m sorry, Dad. Welcome back” Annie said, rubbing her forehead as she realized she hadn’t greeted him.
“Guess what, Dad?” Cherry said excitedly.
“What is it, my little angel?” Robert asked curiously.
“Annie’s results are out and she got in,” Cherry said, glancing at Annie, who ignored her.
“Really? That’s good,” Robert replied.
“And she got a scholarship into the school,” Rose added, standing beside him with her interlocked with him.
“Really? That’s wonderful. I’m proud of you, darling” Robert said warmly. “So why the gloomy look? This is something you should be happy and proud of”
“You really think so?” Annie asked, as if seeking reassurance.
“Of course, Bell” he said, walking over to her and sitting beside her, placing his hand on hers. “You shouldn’t feel nervous about whatever you’ve heard about the school. It’s just like any other school. And I’m sure most of what you heard isn’t entirely true. You can prove to them that you’re different.
“Alright, Dad” Annie replied, finally smiling.
“Don’t forget your promise to be a changed person and not to cause any more trouble”
“I haven’t forgotten Dad,” she said soberly.
“You know when a promise is broken, it……”
“can never be fixed” Annie completed.
They both smiled,Cherry glanced at Rose, and they shared a smile as well.
“We have more reasons to celebrate,” Robert announced cheerfully.
“Sounds like there’s another reason,” Cherry said curiously.
“Yes, Dad won a case today” Robert said excitedly
“Really?!” Cherry exclaimed, beaming.
“Congratulations Dad,” Annie said softly.
“Well done, darling. You’re always the best lawyer” Rose added.
“Thanks honey,” Robert replied, playfully throwing her a kiss
“C’mon Dad, she’s not the only one who congratulated you,” Cherry said sarcastically.
“Are you jealous?” Rose teased, pinching her cheek before heading to the kitchen.
“Aww, Mom that hurts” Cherry complained, rubbing her cheek as Annie and Robert laughed.
“So….. we’re all going out tomorrow,” Robert announced.
“I trust you Dad,” Annie said, giving him a high-five.
“That’s going to be great!” Cherry exclaimed, jumping.
“Dad, we’re shopping too, right?” Annie asked.
“Yes, yes! We have to go shopping too” Cherry quickly added.
“If you both say so” Robert replied with a smile.
Annie stood up immediately, she and Cherry clapped hands before Annie draped her arm over Cherry’s shoulder.
“Let's start preparing,” Annie said.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Cherry agreed.
“Prepare what?” Robert asked with a smile.
“Dad, you don’t need to know. It's girls stuff”, Annie replied as they both headed upstairs, laughing and jumping together.
Rose stepped out of the kitchen just in time to see them.
“They were arguing not long ago… now look at them”, she said, Robert smiled.
“Hey honey, don't just there. Go shower so you can have dinner” Rose said,
gesturing for him to stand.
Robert picked up his suitcase and followed her upstairs.
*******
(SCHOOL DAY)
On Monday Morning, Cherry was dressed in her school uniform, her long blonde hair neatly packed in a low ponytail. Her green eyes and sharp, slender nose gave her a striking, almost perfect appearance. Standing before the mirror, she carefully adjusted her hair with her favorite blue band, picked up her backpack and slung it over one shoulder before leaving her room.As she passed Annie’s door, she paused briefly, glancing at it with mild disdain.
“I’m sure she hasn’t woken up” she muttered under her breath, scoffing as she continued down the stairs. Reaching the living room, she dropped her backpack onto a couch and headed straight for the kitchen where she found her mother busy preparing breakfast.
“Hey, Mom” Cherry called, drawing Rose’s attention.
“Hey there, are you set?” Rose replied, giving her a quick glance.
“Yeah, Mom. Are you going to your shopping mall today?” Cherry asked, watching her mother closely as she handed her the next set of dishes, anticipating what she needed.
“Thanks,” Rose said quickly.
“Yeah, probably”. She paused for a moment before adding,
“I’m sure your sister isn’t awake yet. I’ll be done here soon, go wake her.”
“Alright”, Cherry replied, turning without hesitation and leaving. Cherry slipped into Annie’s room, an alarm clock in her hand. She paused for a moment, watching Annie lie peacefully on her bed as though she had nothing in the world to worry about. A faint smile crossed Cherry’s face before she stepped closer and gently placed the alarm beside Annie’s pillow. Without hesitation, she switched it on, letting its loud ringing shatter the silence, stepping back and folding her arms as she waited.
“Oh God! Who’s disturbing my peaceful sleep?” Annie groaned, half awake.
“Are you sure it was meant to be peaceful?” Cherry replied coolly, turning off the alarm and lifting it from the pillow.
“It seems you’ve forgotten you have school today,” Cherry added.Annie immediately rose from her bed and fell to her knees on the bed.
“OMG!” she gasped. “It’s D-day already? I’m not ready for this!” she groaned, running both hands through her tangled hair.
Cherry scoffs “You’ve got to be kidding me. After all the shopping and fun you had yesterday, you forgot you had school today?”
“I’m not ready for your nasty questions” Annie muttered as she got down from the bed and paced around the room. “Let me have my bathe first”. She grabbed her towel and headed to the bathroom.Cherry, watching every move Annie made she shook her head and left Annie’s room to join Rose in the kitchen.
“Mom, you wouldn’t believe she was still asleep and completely forgot she had school today, unbelievable!” she said firmly, rolling her eyes.
“As expected”, Rose replied calmly. “Breakfast is ready, let’s take these to the dining table” Rose said, picking up a few plates and handing them to Cherry.Annie already had her bath and dressed up, she took her bag pack and left the room heading towards the dining room.
“Good Morning” she greeted as she approached the dining room where Rose and Robert were eating.
“Morning darling” Rose and Robert replied.She drew the dining chair opposite Cherry and sat on it,
“Wow! My favorite meal, pancakes!” she exclaimed and immediately started eating.
“You’ll be getting your uniform today,” Robert said while eating.
“Probably,” Annie mumbled without looking up from her food.Rose raised her head looking straight at Annie
“You’re going to be meeting new friends today, so try to be nice, okay?" Rose said.
“If they choose to be nice to me” Annie replied with a grin before facing Robert.
“Dad, thanks for all the shopping yesterday, I had so much fun,” she said, smiling brightly.
“Sure you did have so much fun that it went straight to your head and made you forget things you shouldn’t” Cherry said sarcastically, grabbing the glass of water next to her and drinking it all.Annie shot her a mean look
“Cherry don’t get on my nerves, it's way too early for that” she said standing up.
“You’re done eating?” Rose asked as she watched Annie stand up.
“Yeah, I don’t want to eat too much and feel heavy.Rose stood up immediately to get their lunchbox and handed it to Annie and Cherry.
“Are you all set?” Robert asked, adjusting his wrist watch as he stood.
“Yeah,” Cherry replied, grabbing her backpack and lunchbox.Annie walked over to Rose and hugged her tightly.
“Mom, I’m nervous,” she whispered.
“It’s okay to feel nervous. It’s your first day at a new school!” Rose replied, gently patting her back before pulling away from the hug. Annie gave her a quick peck on the cheek before Cherry did the same.
“Take care Honey,” Rose said, facing Robert with a smile.Robert pulled her into a hug
“Take care, I love you.” He said and disengaged from the hug.They all headed outside to the parking lot. Robert chose the Rolls- Royce Phantom and everyone got in except Rose who stood waving as they drove out of the driveway.
Annie stepped out of her Dad’s car and he immediately drove off.
To be continued.
- Writer
