Dad had me standing in front of him. I showed him my latest exam where I received a grade of B. Despite it being one of the highest grades in the class, he was not satisfied. He told me that he expected that I would get an A. This was the same as he always said. Nothing below getting an A was acceptable. Despite that was one of the million times that my parents were not satisfied with me, it still hurt and I felt like screaming and crying. I studied hard for that exam, and the teacher even said that she was happy with the results. Of course, this did not mean that my Dad would be happy with them.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Laura and I am a 12-year-old girl even though many thought that I was much younger. I was not like other girls. I did not go dancing or do any sport. I went a lot to the library or studied at home. Otherwise, I did chores like dusting and washing floors. I cannot remember the last time that I went to the beach. My parents of relaxing were going to some museum where it was a productive experience and I would learn something.
My parents were career people and had very good jobs. They were also very materialistic and we lived in a designer house with the best furniture anyone could have. Things came easy to my parents. They were very intelligent and good looking. They thought that happiness was what a person could achieve in life. They were winners in everything they have done, which was good... as coming second place was the same as losing.
I was the only thing that they did not plan. Despite that they were so intelligent, they had no clue how to raise a girl. They expected me to be a carbon copy of themselves. It was like I was never allowed to be a child, I had to be a winner and a success like they were. I think that is why you would not find any toys in my room unless they were educational. The problem for my parents is that I was not like them. I was better than average at the things that mattered, but I was never the best.
I know it sounds like I am a complainer and feel sorry for myself. This is far from the truth. I lived in a good home and my parents did not hit me or starve me or abuse me in any way. I was proud of their achievements and I loved them more than anything. I am not complaining that they do not show their love and they cannot accept that I am not perfect. This was the family that God gave me. It was a better family than many children in the world!
After Dad had me standing attention, I went to my room and looked out the window. It was a lovely spring day and I could hear the birds singing. This made me smile. Despite that I did not get an A, the world was still smiling and telling me not to worry. Things would be fine.
Mom came in and told me that she looked at the exam result and wondered if I studied enough. She told me that she was quite confused as she thought that anyone could do this exam with their eyes closed. I tried telling her that I tried my best. Mom just sighed at this and said that was not good enough. Both her and Dad expected me to do a lot better the next time. There will be no excuses.
I tried to hug my mom. She got this strange look on her face as she thought I would hit her. She asked me if there was something wrong with me, and walked out. I do not know why I expected to get a hug. I never got a hug. Why would I start to get hugs now?
I lied when I told you that I was not complaining or whining. I do love my parents, it's just I was always unsure how much they loved me. I was unsure if they wanted me to be happy or did they just want me to be good at everything. There was no feelings or emotions in our family. It was all about hard work and results. Of course, I wanted to be like other families.
I cried myself to sleep that night.
The next day, I was at school and I knew that my parents wanted better grades, so at lunchtime, when the other children were in the playground, I was in the school library with a stack of books. Usually, time would fly by as I would bury my head in the books. I would enter another world, where I could be a princess in some history book or Africa studying about animals. I was not afraid of study, as it always took me away from reality. It was a place where I could find friends. It was a place where I could find peace.
Some of the others in my class would peak in the library and ask if I wanted to play some game with them or just sit around and chat. I would look up from my book and tell them that I had to study. They all gave me a weird look. Some laughed and called me names while others had no patience and told their friends to leave me with my books. It was the same things they always said. I was no fun and I was boring to be with. They could not understand why I prefer to be with books. They did not think that I was normal. They were probably afraid that they would be infected by me and end up studying themselves!
I was teased all the time and I still did not like it. It made me sad that I did not have friends. It was lonely at times speaking to myself and not being with others. I looked out at the library and seen the children playing. I do not remember a time that I just let myself be free and have some fun playing games. I was jealous of them. They did not worry about exams or their status and job in the future. They just wanted to have fun and play. As for me, I was in the library trying to study and day by day becoming more bitter!
When I went home, mom and Dad were working with their laptops. I sat down and watched an old Shirley Temple film. It was so sad about a girl that went to a boarding school while her dad went to war. When the girl was told her Dad was dead and she would only be allowed to stay at the school if she was a servant and do all the dirty work. Despite that hard work and people being mean to her, the girl never believed her Dad was dead. She searched the hospital for him every day. I will not tell you how it ended, but I was in tears that the story was so sad.
Dad looked and saw me crying and wondered what was wrong with me. He could see that it was a film and sighed. He wondered why I could not control my emotions and also why I would waste time watching some fiction that in no way could help me. I could have explained but known that this was a waste of time.
I tried to change the subject and asked mom if we should have a mother-daughter day this week, where we visited the mall and shopped. Mom looked disgusted when I said this as if she wanted to know why she should spend time with me. She ended up with a hysterical laugh and asked me why on earth would she waste time doing that?
I stormed out of the room while shouting at them that there is more to life than what a person owns and what a job a person has. A family is about love and acceptance and being there for one another. A family is supposed to be a safe place where children feel loved and wanted. I told them that I was still a child and yet did not play like other children. I did not smile like other children. I was always under constant pressure to prove myself.
I ran to my room and hid in the corner and cried. Maybe I was feeling sorry for myself and being too emotional. I cannot help in the way that I felt. I love my parents as I said many times. It was just at times that I doubted that they loved me and I wondered if they wanted me. I wanted to know why we were not like any other families. I tried to remember the last time that I had fun or even smiled.
Mom came into my room. She did not hug me or suggest we talk about things. I suppose that is only done on TV. She told me that my little outburst confused her and she did not understand why I would get so emotional and not being logical. Mom suggested that I did some study.
I asked mom if she loved me. She just sighed and walked out.
I had enough. I went past my parents and told them that I needed fresh air. I did not wait for permission or an answer. I found my bike and just rode and rode it.
I pedalled as hard as I could. I had no clue where I was going. I had this urge to sweat my frustrations out and hope that something would cheer me up. I was soon outside the small town where I lived and stopped by a small picnic area. I got off my bike and laid down at the picnic table. I looked up in the clear sky and found peace looking at the stars. I wondered what the stars were. Were they our ancestors or were they prayers from someone? They were so beautiful. I could have been here for hours as it was so peaceful.
My peace was broken when I saw a strange light in the sky. At first, I thought it was a shooting star, but shooting stars do not zig-zag in the sky. At times it seemed like it moved fast and at times it moved slow. In a way, it was quite hypnotising.
I had to investigate it further, so I got on my bike and follow the light. It was getting closer and closer and seemed not to be so high in the sky. I pedalled as quick as I could as I wanted to know what it was.
The object was soon just before me and I could not believe my eyes. It was a UFO! It looked like a small space vehicle from Star Trek. The problem was that I forgot my phone, so no one would ever believe me. I could not take a picture.
It's not as I had time. There was a lot of noise from the space ship and this hole appeared and looked like it was spinning around. A ray of light came out from the hole and shone on me. Then It seemed like it had power over me, as it pulled me up from my bike and I was floating in the air. As much as I tried to struggle. The light was pulling me towards the space ship.
It was then I screamed as I realized that I was being kidnapped by the UFO
To be continued
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