One Night (eBook)

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Mundane Life

“It’s the simple things in your life that make up the bulk of it. The mundane is where we live and we end up missing most of it. We find it again in the silence and in the attention of everyday life.”

— Eric Overby

Today marks the beginning of the last week of school for this year, so everyone is relaxing. Nearly everyone is loosening the screws except for me since I still have a course I need to work hard on to improve myself: physical education and sports, gymnastics. And it’s the class we have today, so I can’t be late. I look at my watch, it’s already 7:10 a.m. Oh my God! You gotta be kidding me! I run to the shower. This cold water gives strength to my muscles, and this liquid soap has never been poured so quickly on this washcloth. Five seconds later, my face is filled with soap and foam, I can’t open my eyes.

“Kimia!” My mother’s voice from outside startles me and I lose my grip on the handles controlling the water. Where’s the bathtub faucet?

By the way, my name is Kimia, I didn’t have the opportunity to say it before. I guess it means Peace in Lingala, which is my mother’s native language. KIMIA, yeah, five letters: three vowels and two consonants, it’s that easy. I continue my search, my hands exploring the wall, looking for the faucet. My eyes are filled with suds.

“Kimia!” She calls me again.

What’d I just touch there? The faucet! I quickly run the water over my face, I open my mouth as the foam leaves my face so I can breathe better.

“Mum, I’m done!” I shout.

I rush into my room, put on my gymnastics outfit, the blue one, with these new pants that my mother bought me. As I’m donning my shoes, I hear the door downstairs open.

“Kimia, we’re in the car, hurry-up! Don’t forget to lock the door!” Danny shouts from downstairs, and then I hear the door close.

I sprint down the stairs with one shoe in my hand, lock the door and run towards the car. It’s so hot here in San Antonio that my whole outfit is already wet with my sweat. I guess the gymnastics course starts at home!

As I near the car, guess what I see? Danny’s in the passenger seat. Urgh! Again! He’s beaten me for three consecutive days. He gives me that little grin that he does every time he wins over me, and I clench my teeth hard. We’ve spent our last five years fighting for that seat next to Mom. It’s true that he beats me from time to time, but I’ve also squeezed in some victories. So I’m here, alone in the back seat, wearing my shoes. My eyes are covered with my hair…oh, my hair! I forgot that I had hair on my head, so I start to try to make it look as presentable as possible, without any mirror.

“Seat belt, please,” Mom instructs. I run my hand behind and adjust the belt. I tighten my shoe and lower the side windows to get some air. Mom looks at me through the rearview mirror and giggles, as if she’s noticed something funny on me. Ah, I know: my hair! I touch it up again, hoping it looks better than before. She takes her eyes off of me and stares at the road ahead.

After nearly five minutes, she turns down the volume of her music, which is always loud, and reminds me: “Honey, I hope you brought your bottles of water.”

Oh my God! I hardly remembered putting those bottles in the fridge last night. I don’t even bother checking my backpack because I know they aren’t in there.

“Yes, Mom,” I lie.

“She’s lying,” say Danny’s big lips with a glint in his eyes.

“Shhhhhhhh!” I command, but his big voice seems to have been heard by Mom.

“Again, honey?” my mother asks, her eyes fixed ahead of her.

“Mom, I’ll take Abby’s,” I lie again. Abby won’t be coming today since her mother is having surgery.

Okay, Abby is my sister from another mister. We’ve been friends since childhood, so she’s not just my best friend, but also the only friend I’ve ever had. I remember when her mother and my mother used to hang out. My mother would drop me off at Abby’s house in the morning, leave me with her babysitter, and go out with her mother. We’d stay all day together, playing all kinds of games, and my mother would come back in the evening to pick me up.

It’s true that the Abby I knew from my childhood is slightly different from the Abby that I know now, but she’s still my friend. She’s a year older than me and a year younger than Danny. I remember that time when she had a crush on Danny and used to tell me that he was cute. Seriously? Danny, cute? No, I’m kidding, he is, but I have to admit that I’m a little jealous when it comes to my Danny. Unfortunately, I know that one day he’ll leave me for another woman who, I hope, will make him happy.

“How many times have we spoken about that Abby? I heard a lot recently about that girl. I don’t want you to hang out with her. I’ll even have to talk to her mother,” Mom threatens, her eyes still on the road.

“She’s on a trip,” I quietly add another lie while I’m contemplating the landscapes outside.

“What? I saw her yesterday in front of her house, and she didn’t seem to be preparing for no trip,” Danny says, trying to turn his head around to look at me.

“What do you even mean by that, she didn’t seem to be preparing for no trip?” I shout in his ears. “How can you even tell that someone is preparing for a trip by their looks?”

“I’m just saying…” he raises his two hands while he says “that she didn’t look like it,” and he laughs.

Yeah, I know he’s sometimes annoying as a big brother but he’s the only one I’ve had my whole life, so I gotta deal with it. I feel jealousy getting the best of me every time a girl talks about or to him.

My mother parks in the school parking lot and of course we’re late. “Be careful, guys, I love y’all. Kimia, tell Mister Jack that I’ll see him after my shift today,” she reminds me as we’re getting out of her car. “Danny, take care of your sister.”

She doesn’t need to say this because Danny is even more overprotective than she thinks.

“I love you guys,” she adds again as she speedily drives off.

“We love you too,” Danny and I exclaim at the same time.

“I hope your phone is fully charged,” he says as we’re walking down the school hallway. I keep my mouth shut. Anyway, he knows that it’s not fully charged.

We arrive at his class entrance. He takes the earpiece out of my ear, then hugs me tightly in front of all those girls’ faces full of makeup. With my head on his chest, he gives me a kiss on the forehead. I feel his saliva on me, and I like that.

“Aight, I gotta go. Call me when you’re done. I love you,” he tells me as he enters his class.

“Love you, too,” I say with my thin voice, so thin that I’m not sure if he heard me.

Breathe! Breathe, Kimia! Come back down to earth! My little feet touch the ground again. I sigh heavily and continue on my way. It’s 8:10 a.m according to the clock on the wall in the corridor: You gotta be kidding me! I rush towards the gymnasium.

“Kimia, you’re late!” Mr. Jack shouts loudly as I walk in, his hands on his hips.

I keep my head down and sigh, “I know, Mr. Jack…”

“Why? You know today’s the last session of the year.”

“Baah, she was being washed by her mother,” a familiar voice sneers next to Mr. Jack. Everyone laughs out loud as if I was a joke.

Jada is that girl who doesn’t care about anything at school; she’s the strongest of the class when it comes to appearance. She looks older than all of us, so I guess no one has ever had the courage to ask her age, especially me. So here I am, standing in front of everyone as they laugh at me for being late. Without any doubt, I have “Shut your mouths” going through my head, but I can’t get it out. I prefer to remain silent while they continue to laugh.

Gymnastics isn’t my strong suit. My feet are trembling from running and jumping, my whole body’s already drenched in sweat, so I breathe through my nose as I run behind Jada. I’m thirsty like I’ve never been before, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I take it out and see Danny’s name, so I run quickly to the bathroom without a word to anyone.

“Hey!” I say to Danny.

“You done?” he asks.

“No, almost,” I hope so.

“Is Abby there? You got some water?” He plays the big brother.

“No, she didn’t come. She’ll definitely come to the house. What’s up?”

“Mom just called and said she’s picking us up after school to go to church.”

“Oh! I thought she said she’d meet Mr. Jack after her shift.”

“I don’t know about that, I’m just telling you what she told me,’’ he says.

“Oh, alright, no problem. I’ll let you know when I’m done,” I reply in a hurry, as I hear someone coming into the restroom.

“Aight, bye.” He hangs up.

That’s been my whole life’s cycle: class in the morning - church - dinner at home in the evening. Sometimes we’re three, sometimes we’re four. It all depends on my father. From an early age, I learned that life here on earth only lasts for a moment: we’re pilgrims. Our real life awaits us after death. I learned that God doesn’t only come before all things and all people, but He is All, The One and Only; that He is not the first on the...