chapter 3

                                                                CHAPTER THREE

          "You decided to join me." Madge looked up from the book in her hands. Molly didn't respond. Instead she walked straight past her mother and into the kitchen, where she opened the fridge and pulled out the milk. She reached up to take down the cereal box from inside the cabinets when she heard her mother's heavy footsteps coming closer.
          " Cereal isn't good for you." Molly turned around to see her mother standing in the doorway of
the kitchen. One foot on the white tiles of the kitchen, and one foot on the dark wood floors of the living room.
          "I always eat cereal." Molly turned back around and took out a bowl from another cabinet, then pulled a spoon out of the drawer.
          "Your going to have to stop eating it then." Madge walked over to Molly and gently tucked the cereal box under her arm and placed the milk back in the fridge. She opened the trash can and tossed in the box of cereal.
          "I've already made you a healthy breakfast." Madge smiled and walked through the kitchen and into the dining room, Molly following close behind. Molly was lead to the long wooden table underneath a large silver chandelier hanging above it. Old paintings were spread out along the walls and a sleek china cabinet stood in the corner facing the door. Molly didn't understand why only this one room in the house was decorated with paintings and expensive carpeting and cushioned chairs while the rest of the house was worn out and used. Molly had barely ever been in the dining room though. Madge rarely let anyone in unless it was for a special occasion. She didn't want Molly to brake anything, or so she said.
          On the table, Molly saw a large plate full of toast, eggs, bacon, fruit, and sausages, placed on a deep red table cloth. Beside the plate was the largest cup they had, filled to the rim with bright orange juice.
          "Sit down." Madge took the seat on the far side of the table, and Molly slowly sat down in the chair behind the breakfast fit for a king.
          "Mom. I can't-" Molly started, but Madge held up her hand.
          "Molly. I told you last night that things were going to change." Madge positioned herself more comfortably in her chair before she continued. "Instead of starving yourself with a tiny bowl of sugary cereal every morning, your going to sit down with me and eat a big healthy breakfast."
          "But mom. I can't eat all this." Molly stared down at the mountain of eggs and oily bacon and sausage.
          "Why not?" Madge asked as if it were the stupidest question in all of time and space.
          "Because, i'll get full." Molly lied. She knew she could eat whatever her heart desired, but ever since she heard Julie Crawford whisper to her, 'It's not a mystery why Margaret eats lunch alone. She doesn't want anyone to find out she's a fat pig, but just hides it with all those big sweaters. Doesn't she know she's not fooling anyone.' Molly felt like she had to always keep track of her weight. Since then, she hid a scale underneath her bed and weighed herself every day after school. If she found that she was over 110 pounds, she would have to start another diet. Deep down, she knew that it wasn't healthy, but she couldn't help but fall into peer pressure. Nowadays, skinny girls have the most friends, or so she has seen at school. If your fat, your thrown in the corner and abandoned.
          "Oh. You'll get full. That's a load of garbage and you know it. I've seen you eat a tray full of cupcakes in less then an hour."
          "That doesn't mean anything." Thank god Julie wasn't here to hear this.
          "What? Are you watching your weight?" Madge laughed and scratched her neck with her long pointed fingernails, leaving thick, white lines. Molly forced out a fake laugh, picked up the shiny fork, and began eating.
          "Mom. Aren't you going to eat anything?" Molly looked up, her mouth full of bacon and melon.
          "I already ate." Madge said. The two stared at each other for a few moments, Molly trying to hide the fact that she really was grateful for a full breakfast for a change, before Madge began explaining how the rest of Molly's life would go, in detail.
          "Your not going to be getting up at 7 or 8 anymore to go to school Molly." Molly swallowed the eggs in her mouth and looked up at her mother.
          "Don't stop eating. You need the weight. You look like a one of those models." Madge shuddered before she continued with, "I'm letting you wake up-"
          "I look like a model?" Molly exclaimed.
          When Madge saw the smile grow on Molly's face, she added, " Dont' be happy about that. Models these days are terribly skinny. I don't know who choses them, but when I was younger, Models didn't make young girls go on diets and feel bad about being a size 1 and a half." Madge cleared her throat and began again, ignoring the blush forming on Molly's cheeks.
          "I don't think children can learn anything if they're tired the whole day. I'm not sure what schools are thinking starting so early in the morning." At this. Molly thought, that maybe her mother wasn't so bad after all. From what she was hearing, it sounded as though Madge had an actual reason for ruining her life. Molly was no fan of early mornings either.
          "You might think that homeschool is going to be a breeze, but i'm not letting you off that easy. No."Madge shook her head. "I was worried that you would just end up sitting on your butt all day, but  now that i've taken away your computer and phone, I won't have to worry about that. Your going to learn whatever it is you have to learn on the computer, in my room." Madge saw Molly stop chewing and look up at her. "I know I said i'm contradiction myself because your going to be sitting at a computer learning, but I found the easiest, quickest, homeschooling site I could, so it shouldn't take you more than 4 hours to finish one days worth of work. And after that, i'm going to teach you my own lessons."
          Molly dropped her fork with a clatter and sat back in her chair. The plate was finally clear and she almost felt like throwing up. Almost.
          "Your done." Madge looked across the table at the empty plate set in front of Molly. "I knew you'd finish." Madge stood up and walked away from the table and out the door, back into the living room. "Wash your plate."
          Molly wasn't sure how to feel about the events that just took place
       
       

Chapter 2

         
                                                          CHAPTER TWO

          The next day, Molly gained consciousness. She felt herself laying on her bouncy mattress, the soft covers beneath her. Without opening her eyes, she could see the bright sun burning in the deep blue sky outside her window. She could feel sweet warmth fill her face. She could also feel her pants bunching up underneath her, until she couldn't stand it anymore and had to open her eyes and stand up. The second her feat touched the floor, a soft burning sensation traveled up her legs, torso, arms, and face until all the blood inside her was settled. She looked down and saw her pants button had disappeared.
          "What the-" Moly asked herself as she inspected her pants. "Oh." Molly exclaimed, and spun her pants so that they were facing the right direction. Without thinking, she pulled off her clothes, and changed into a pair of tight yellow skinny jeans, a white crop top, and pushed in her dangly silver earrings that reminded her so much of the beach. As she passed her dresser on her way to the hall, she saw the clock.
                                                                   8:38
          "I'm late!" Molly cried, and ran down the hall into the bathroom, slipping on her way. She grabbed onto the mirror to steady herself, looked up and saw a blotchy red face looking back at her. Her hair looked like a rat's nest, her face was colorless and drab, and she had two minutes to get ready, eat breakfast and walk the 7 blocks to school.
          "Hurry up!" Molly rushed herself and reached across the porcelain sink and opened the cabinet above it. Inside were piles of powder splattered brushes by the dozens. There had to be at least one hundred different palates of eyes shadow, blush, lip gloss, and whatever else she thought she needed to look good. Soon, her face was colored in all the right places and she thought she might just be able to pull it off. So, she pushed through her hair with a thick brush, then patted down the bumps with her hands. She filled the cabinet with her brushes and make up palettes and swung the mirror shut. She quickly looked at her bland reflection in the smudged mirror, leaning in closer to inspect the uneven lines of her eyebrows. She was so close, her reflection filled the mirror, so she didn't notice the shadow growing larger and larger in the hall behind her. A cold fingered hand rested on her shoulder, making Molly jump.
          "Mom!"
          "Molly. What are you doing?" Madge slid her hand down Molly's arm, causing sharp goosebumps to form.
          Suddenly, light dawned on Molly and she remembered the conversation of the night before. Her life had changed. She no longer was able to see her friends. She had to stay home all day, being taught by her terrible mother.
          "I was, um, getting ready for homeschool." Molly pushed out a smile on her face, but that the was exact opposite of what she felt inside.
           A smile steadily grew on Madge's face, but her's was genuine. "Molly, you didn't forget about our new deal, did you?"
          Deal? Molly thought. No deal was made between her and her mother. As she remembered it, she was told to never see talk to her friends again, never go outside, and become the laughing stock of the whole world, but of course, she would just have to forget all about that wouldn't she. Who cares about my feelings and friends? The only thing that matters is the rules my mother comes up with. The only thing I ever have to do is listen to her, act like her, do whatever she tells me, and still, stay popular with the people at school. Molly pushed aside the thousand of snide remarks about her mother, and said, "No mother."
          "You haven't? Madge mocked Molly, and put her hands on her hips, towered over Molly's head, opened her eyes wide, and her mouth pursed, in a you better not be lying to me kind of way.
          "No, I haven't." Molly stood up straighter and looked her mother straight into the black holes she called eyes.
          "Alright then." Madge straightened up too. She noticed Molly's strong gaze into her eyes, so she stared her down until she had nothing to do but move her gaze down to Madge's nose. "Then, you will change out of those clothes and into the clothes i've laid out for you on your desk. You'll wash off that -" Madge paused for a second, then said, " maquillage off, and come downstairs for breakfast." Seeming proud of her herself, Madge stepped out of the bathroom, and walked away down the hall.
          Molly rolled her eyes, and turned back to the mirror. She gazed into her own eyes. They were dark just like her mother's. They were small and sharp, just like her mother's. Her hair was straight and dark brown, her lips pale and thin, just like her mother's. Why did they have to be so similar? Why? Once the blush and tan left her face, she was back to her pale, normal self. All that trying to stand out and be someone was now being thrown out the door. Soon, she was walking out the bathroom door and back into her room. The last time she had her outfit picked out by her mother was about 6 years ago when she was 7. Even then, she thought she was a bit too old for her mother picking out the outfits she should wear. As she walked into her room, she slipped out of her short baggy shirt, and threw it on the carpeted floor by her dresser. She then sat down on her bed and wrestled with her pants until they fell past her feet and down on the floor beneath her. Molly stood up, wrapping her arms around herself, then running across the room to shut the door and lock it, when she realized, the silver lock on her door was missing. She was so used to locking her door everyday. How could she have noticed it was gone? With distressed tears forming in her eyes, she walked to her desk and stared at the drab clothes her mother had lain out for her. Looks like she's been out shopping.
          On the desk lay a pale pink dress with white buttons down the front. How did she miss this atrocity before? Molly slowly walked towards the dress and picked it up by the two shoulders. She carried it with her to the mirror on the wall, where she hung the dress up over her thin body. There were frills along the chest, neck, and shoulders. There was no arguing with her mother. She would have to go along with what she said. But what if she told her to jump off a bridge? She was sure that wouldn't happen, but the idea never left her mind. She would have to learn to stand up for herself to somebody who won't listen.
          After the dress was on, she felt shivers run down her bare legs and arms. She hadn't worn a dress in ages. Dresses were a big change from skinny jeans, but I guess she'll just have to get used to it. Her bent over to get a good long look at her legs. They sure were something to be proud of. Molly looked at them and smiled. After years of dieting, she was finally a size 3. She no longer had to feel self conscious of her fat thighs when she sat down. Now, she could wear skinny jeans and feel proud. The pink dress went down past her square knees and stopped in the middle of her shins, which she was quite thankful of. She couldn't allow anyone to see her knees after the fall in the park last year leaving her with an inch long scar smack dab in the middle of her left knee. The ruffles along the neck, shoulders and chest could drive a person insane. No matter how many times Molly tried to flatten them down, they would pop back up. Soon, she gave up with the ruffles, slipped on a white pair of socks, and slinked down the stairs and into the living room, where she saw her mother sitting on the couch flipping through an old book in her hands. A recurrent sight of which Molly would soon be used to.

chapter one

                                   CHAPTER ONE 

            The bland sounds of laughter and simpleminded perverted jokes wafted through the thin black wires and into Molly's ears. Her eyes wouldn't leave the screen no matter how hard Molly tried to move them. She had decided that her mind was too strong for her, and she would just have to give in and watch as many pointless videos of strangers trying so hard to be somebody, that they would stuff their faces with food, and dress in a fairy costume. Just as Molly chuckled at a snarky comment, she felt a bony, cold, hand grab onto her shoulder, sending a cold shiver down her long spine.
          "Mother." Molly slowly turned around, the ear phones falling out of her ears and clacking on the desk. Her eyes were level with a small silver button holding together a thin black sweater wrapped around the narrow built body of Molly's mother.
         "Homework." Madge said simply. Looking into Molly's dull gray eyes. Her average red hair puffed out of her head on all sides. Her lifeless cheeks quivered and her colorless lips twitched, but no sounds escaped.
          "Homework." Madge repeated again, louder than the last time.
          "I um. What about it?" Molly asked, buying time.
          "Don't play stupid. Did you do your homework or not?" Her grip grew tighter on Molly's shoulders and her eyes narrowed.
          "Yes." Molly lied, trying not to laugh, she kept her face as straight as possible.
          "Where's your backpack?" Madge asked, finally releasing Molly's shoulder, and placing her hands on her hips.
          "Nowhere." Molly said, trying hard not to glance at the far corner of the room.
          "So, you finished your homework huh?"
          "Yes." Molly repeated.
          "Alright. Get off that computer and leave your phone in here, and come downstairs." Madge leaned over Molly and pressed the round power button, as the bright, glowing screen went black.
          "Wait mom!" Molly pawed at her mother's hands.
          "Come downstairs." Madge stared at Molly for a few seconds, then stalked out of the door and into the hallway, down the stairs.
          Madge was never the kind of person to sit around. She couldn't understand how someone could stand being sitting in the same spot more than an hour. She was the kind of person who was constantly moving. She might sit and read a book, take a long walk, call the neighbors, all in the matter of an hour or two. On the other hand, Molly often sat in front of her computer for hours on end. She didn't think about like her mother did. She thought it was just the average thing to do, which it was. Her friends at school always talked to her about videos they saw last night, songs they listened to, and pictures they saw. She wouldn't have friends if she couldn't relate to them, or talk to them about interesting things, but of course she didn't think about that too much. She came home every day from school and sat down at her computer, not because her friends do the same, but because that was just what she had to do.
         Molly sighed, rolled her eyes, and stood up. "She always does this." she quickly ran to the far corner of her rom and unzipped her bag and pulled out a thin purple binder. She dropped down on the ground and opened the binder to reveal a small day planner full of round, neat writing. She flipped to November 3rd and read down the list of homework written in a column. Luckily, her teachers didn't give too much homework. The most work she ever got was having to finish an essay they had started in school, at home. In the planner, she had written
- write 10 sentences in french using the past tense.
- Read a chapter from book club book
- print out an article of agriculture history
- TextBook page 87 numbers 10-23
          She quickly reached inside her bag and pulled out a black and white notebook with the word FRENCH written in blue pen on the cover. Molly grabbed a pen off of her desk and opened the notebook to the next fresh page and began writing a list of past tense sentences in french. As she finished writing the 8th sentence, her bedroom door opened wide and Madge stood in the doorway staring down at Molly.
          "Didn't you finished your homework?" Madge asked, a faint smile just begging to show.
          "I thought I did." Molly lied. "I just remembered this." Molly watched as her mother bent down and picked up the binder off of the floor. She flipped through the pages as if she had done it a thousand times before. She found today's date and read through the list.
          "Did you write 10 sentences in-"
          "Yes mom. That's what i'm doing right now."
          "Don't interup me." and Madge shot her daughter and dirty look, then turned back to the binder in her hands. Did you read the chapter for your book club?" she looked up at Molly's twitching face.
          "I'm um, 'im going to read that when I go to sleep."
          "You can't read when your sleeping."
          "No mom. I'm going to read in bed, right before I go to sleep."
          Madge gave a soft, but convincing chuckle and went back to reading the list. "And an article?"
          "Okay mom. I didn't do any homework yet. I'm doing it now."
          As if all the bubbling anger inside finally burst, Madge's face scrunched together and turned red.      
          "Next time I ask you a question, you're going to tell me the truth. Do you understand me?" Madge tried hard not to yell.
          Molly, used to being scolded so often, turned her eyes back to the notebook in front of her and went back to writing out the 10 sentences.
          "You will look at me when i'm speaking to you." Madge stalked over to Molly, grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face her. She bent down and put her face inches away from Molly's, and whispered, "Do you understand me?" blowing minty breathe into Molly's nose. Molly rolled her eyes and turned away again.
        "That's it, Molly." Madge yelled, grabbing the notebook and pen out of Molly's hands and throwing them onto the ground at Molly's feat.
          "Go over there." Madge pointed to the other side of the room. Molly stubbornly stood up and walked to the other side of the room where her mother had pointed, getting ready to be sent downstairs to sit on the couch with her mother until it was time for her to be sent to bed. But instead of sending Molly downstairs, Madge bent down on her hands and knees and crawled underneath the desk. Molly bent down so that she could see what her mother was doing, before Madge jumped back up and wrapped her arms around the large computer screen. She waited a second, then lifted it up and carried it to where Molly was standing.
          "Here." Madge dropped the desktop into Molly's arms. Molly's knees buckled and she dropped down a foot before she could catch her balance again.
          "Mom, stop! What are you doing?" Molly yelled.
          "Don't raise your voice at me." Madge said as she wrapped the thick white wires of the computer around Molly's arm.
          "Come." Madge said leading Molly out of her room and down the hallway and into her room.
          "Mom, this is heavy." Molly wined.
          "I don't want to hear you complaining." Madge shoved open her door and pushed Molly inside of her room. "Put that on my desk.
          "Molly wobbled over to her Mother's desk and carefully placed her beloved friend on the wooden counter. She turned to face her mother, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do.
          "Plug it in." Madge said simply.
          "Plug it in?" Madge nodded, and Molly dropped the coil of wire onto the ground with a smack. She took the end and crawled around on the floor, looking for a plug. She finally found one and plugged in the wire, hearing the bright loud ding come from the computer above her.
          "Thank you." Madge pulled up a chair to the desk and sat down before Molly was able to stand up. She squeezed through the space between the chair leg and the desk corner, and stood up.
          "You are never aloud back inside this room again, Molly." Madge said softly as she adjusted the computer so that it was parallel with the wall behind it.
          "What?" Molly asked, surprised.
          "Have you gone deaf as well as bratty?" Madge asked with sarcastic confusion. She ushered Molly out of her room and into the hallway.
          "Go and get your phone." Madge said pushing Molly up the hallway to her room.
          "I can't use the computer?" Molly asked, turning around to see her Mother smile and shake her head. "But." Molly started, but stopped, because she knew there was absolutely no compromising with her mother now that her temper was up. "I need my phone." Molly said, hands on hips.
          "For what? Texting a stupid boy in the middle of the night? Watching mind melting videos all day? No. Go and get it." Madge pointed to the doorway to Molly's room and watched as Molly slowly dragged herself into her room, found her phone and came out, holding it slightly behind her back.
          "What if I get lost?"Molly asked. "How will you find me?"
          Madge held out her hand for the phone. When Molly slowly dropped it into her palm, she stuffed it into her back pocket and said, "I'm not going to have to worry about that for a while." Madge said.
          "What do you mean?" Molly asked, her heart beating quickly.
          Madge walked back into her room and sat down on her bed. Molly followed close behind, but when she stepped into the room, Madge held up her hand for her to stop.
          "What did I just say? Your not allowed in this room anymore. You'll stand in the doorway."
          Molly rolled her eyes again, expecting to be scolded once again, but Madge didn't say a word about it. Instead she said,
          "I don't like how you've been acting lately. I raised you better than this. Everyday, I see you walk into the bathroom at 6 in the morning and leave an hour later, your face packed with powders and awful blotchy colors. You go to school dressed in clothes that don't even fit you and you won't let me buy you knew ones. You've lost all respect for adults. You spend all your time on the computer watching stupid videos and listening to terrible auto tuned music. I barely ever see you anymore, and when I do, I always have to scold you. So, i've decided that the only way i'm ever going to be able to get my real daughter back is to teach her my own way. So, that means no more computer or phone or TV. You will not speak to any of those so called friends of your at school, and you will have an early curfew." At this, Molly's eyes widened, her hands twitched and she leaned onto the wall next to her for support.
          "Mom, how am I not going to talk to my friends?" This was just one of the burning questions inside of her at the moment.
          "I'm not sending you to school anymore." Madge said slowly and matter of fact-ly.
          "Your not sending me to school?" Most children might get a kick out of their parents telling them this, but Molly didn't hate school. Actually, she enjoyed spending time with her friends all day. She found absolutely nothing wrong with that.
          "Your going to spend time with the neighborhood children."
          "The neighborhood kids?" Molly asked. "Mom. They're all home schooled and weird."
          "You're home schooled too." Madge said smiling.
          "No i'm not." Molly yelled, angrily.
          "You are now. I've been talking to your principal about making the switch, and he helped me. You are no longer enrolled in Grantwood anymore." When Madge saw the frown and sagging eyes form on Molly's face, she added. "Don't get upset. I'm helping you. I'm expanding your horizons. Your going to meet some new people, and maybe they can teach you some things."
          "Mom." Molly complained.
          "Theres no getting out of this Molly. You brought it upon yourself. You know that don't you?" Molly stalked off into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She had no way to contact her friends and tell them the news. They lived too far away to walk, and she didn't have their phone numbers memorized. All their contact information was in her phone. As Molly sat down on her bed, she dropped her head in her hands and tears formed in her eyes. It was official that her life was now ruined by her terrible mother. She would lose all her friends now that she couldn't keep up with the videos and new songs. She had to stay at home all day with her mother instead.
          At least she didn't have to finish her homework anymore. And at that, she lay down on her bed, fully dressed, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
 
                                                                 

this is a blog. I made it one time. Have fun!