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My mom had gotten used to finding me passed out on the couch, after seeing the sight so many times, she gave up on the idea of forcing me into my room. As long as I was home and cleaned up afterward, she was fine with it. The same, however, cant be said about my father. My is a stern man. In every sense of the word, he was disciplined, and he expected me to be the same way. Every night, he would squeeze through the frame of the door and yawn. He carried not only the bags under his eyes but his briefcase holding all sorts of legal documents.
There's not much I can say about him. If I'm honest, I don't know him. He works all hours of the day, and when he returns, he's nothing but a husk of the man my mother married. I'm not upset by that, I understand that he's doing it to support us, but to me, I don't see the point of working so hard for something I don't enjoy. He pushed me awake. Without energy, he sighed " James, go to your room". His lack of energy forced me into submission. Looking at the heavy bags under his eyes, I couldn't muster the strength to fight him.
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Before I left the room, he stopped me. " James, wait". His usual tired eyes were replaced by an unfamiliar softness. " you can't just sleep all day". I expected this type of conversation sooner or later, but why did have to be so soon? I'm a high school freshman after all. He continued, " James life happens whether or not you want it to. You can sleep all day, but it comes at a price, everything does. I'm not going to tell you to ship up or ship out, but I will tell you this, live your life while you can". We spent a moment locking eyes, I didn't know what to say. He was right, I know he is, but what does living life even mean? When he realized I wasn't going to say anything, he walked into his study.
I walked to my room, thinking about his words, but the only words I actually thought about were his last ones. What does it even mean to live life? Even when I fell on my bed, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I spent the night thinking about his words. Before I realized it, dawn had set in.
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Even though my mother banged my door to wake me up, I had already gotten dressed for the day. The look on her face was priceless. Her sea-green eyes had a twinkle in them. Her usual smile was several times larger. Filled with excitement, she asked, " Honey, what's the occasion!". She typically had to drag me out of bed, but she was right, today felt different. Mostly because I had stayed up the entire night.
Tears began to swell in her eyes, she sobbed, " don't tell me my baby is going on a date!". When she finished crying, she raised her eyebrows, " so who is this mystery girl?". Then frustration filled her voice, " you better who's trying to steal my child!". It's difficult to get used to her quick shifts of emotion, but I've had my entire life to get used to them. I typically wait to let her calm down, but this time was different. " oh, is it Lilith! I love Lilith!". Her cheeks turned scarlet as she smiled with giddy.
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Even I heard the desperation in my voice, "I'm not going on a date!". My outburst only called more people to my room, namely my three-year-old sister, Jamie. She bobbed her head through the door to ask, " what's a date?". Despite her air of innocence, I frustratedly responded, " it doesn't matter!". My mom chuckled at my reaction and Jamie copied her. When my mom finished her laughter, she wiped the tear from her eye and sighed, " okay, okay, eat breakfast then drop your brother off at school". My sister and mother giggled their way into the kitchen and I followed after them. Len was eating a bowl of cereal, but when he saw me fully dressed, he nearly gauge out his food. His eyes widened, when he swallowed his food, he panicked, " what's James doing up?". I wanted to hit him on the back his head, but I knew my mom would get after me. Instead, I glared daggers at him.
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