✨ Please take your time reading. ✨
I returned home with a stupid smile on my face, but a few feet before opening the door, I heard several screams from my mother and my father's hysterical laughter in response.
Intrigued, I walked around the yard and approached the window closest to the kitchen. I saw both my mother and father arguing.
At this point, I must pause.
Since I was little, I've been fascinated by human psychology, things like manipulation and everything related to human behavior. It attracts me like a bear to honey. Because of this, I've been an apathetic person and rarely show my feelings to my family.
For this and other reasons, I always see, think, and analyze.
Seeing my parents' faces, their exaggerated gestures and screams, I realized that a lot was going on and this was more than just a normal fight.
To begin with, there's no anger, hatred, or annoyance on either of their faces, only pride, and their shouts are intended to keep them from being trampled on by the other. —"Well, go now. I already have my ticket out. No one needs you here."— my mother replies.
—"Oh, yes, that's what you want, that's what you want. Well, in a week you'll ask me to come back and see who the hell can put up with your damn whims."— With that, my father turns around and walks toward the door.
I run to the door in a somewhat desperate rush, and when I get to the door, my father opens it. Seeing that I'm visibly agitated, he doesn't give me a second glance and snorts. —"I'll see you later, kid. Take care of your mother and sisters."— Then my father continues his way to his car and gets in. He adjusts the side mirrors before starting the car.
I wait until Dad's car backs out onto the street and takes the main road until it disappears into the streets.
[That slight smile on my father's lips tells me he wasn't 100% upset; it was like a smile of victory.] Remembering the triumphant smile on his face and his obvious haste to leave the house, I simply rolled my eyes.
I waited a couple of minutes to get rid of all the agitation in my chest from my short run.
As I entered the house, I went straight to the kitchen and found my mother sitting there, crying. I entered the kitchen. My mother immediately stopped sobbing and tried to wipe her tears with her forearms.
I stood there, not knowing what to do or say, but in my mind, those words my mother said next to the sink repeated over and over again. (His ticket.)
—"Mother, I have good news."— I said, completely ignoring her appearance.
Without waiting for a reply, I asked her: —"Do you need me to help you with something else.?"— She didn't respond, not understanding the meaning of my words, but made a strange face and finished. —"No, nothing at the moment."
—"Oh, well, I'll go for a run. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to let me know."— I emphasize my last words by looking my mother in the eye and adding a clear grimace, my eyes pointed to the corner.
Although I'm not 100% sure, this is a good start. With this in mind, I turn around and go change my clothes, because running down the street in slippers and pajamas is not a good idea.
I leave the house 10 minutes later and start running aimlessly, while thinking about my possible future life, if this really works.
As I run along the sidewalk, I see my neighbor, Mrs. Palmer. She's chatting with another neighbor. When she sees me pass by a few feet away, Mrs. Palmer smiles and waves.
I'm barely moving when I hear Mrs. Palmer's voice commenting about my father and his lover.
It's true, Dad has a lover, and it's an open secret.
All my neighbors found out thanks to my mother, who screamed for over two hours that Dad had a mistress.
From that day on, Mom's life as a housewife began to get complicated with expenses, and Dad is absent on weekends, breaks, and holidays, claiming he's behind on work.
And why they don't let him.?
Honestly, I don't understand either, and honestly, they're not the best parents in the world.
That's why my plan is to save enough change and move somewhere else. But that doesn't mean I'm ungrateful.
Simply help out in any way I can and then leave home without looking back.
Feeling like I've run enough, without exaggerating since this is my first day. I just turn around and jog back. This time, I don't go into the house; I stay in the backyard, do some push-ups, squats, and jumping jacks.
When I start to sweat, I rest a bit before starting again.
Being exhausted, I enter the house through the door in the kitchen. My mother is nowhere to be seen, and on the table there is a note with different household chores to be done.
Nothing happens on the system screen, and I even read the note a couple more times before going in search of my mother.
It doesn't take long for me to find her. My mother comes down the stairs wearing a pretty navy blue dress that reaches her knees, light makeup on her cheeks, a ponytail, red shoes, and a purse in her hand, ready to go.
—"I'm going to get the groceries with the money we have; this is going to be a tough week."— She tells me, as she finishes going down the stairs.
—"I don't think it worked out."— I comment, pointing to the note on the table and immediately adding. —"I think you should be more direct."— I indicate our distance.
—"Oh."— She comments and immediately nods before continuing. —"Honey, you can help Mom wash, dry, and fold clothes."— Before I can respond, three different alerts pop up on the system screen, leading to a big smile.
[ Help your mother with laundry. +5 ]
[ Help your mother with drying clothes. +5 ]
[ Help your mother with folding clothes. +5 ]
Maybe the ear-to-ear grin was what gave me away, because my mother took advantage and started giving me chores one after another, appearing like cabbages on the system screen.
[ Help your mother with cleaning the toilet. +5 ]
[ Help your mother with cleaning the bathroom floor. +5 ]
[ Help your mother with cleaning the sink. +5 ]
[ Help your mother with sweeping your bedroom. +5 ]
[ Help your mother with mopping your bedroom +5 ]
[ Help your mother with cleaning your bedroom. +5 ]
[ Help your mother with cleaning the living room. +5 ]
When my mother takes a deep breath, I seize the moment and turn around, then run up the stairs and shout. —"Sure..."— I don't look back, only hearing my mother's laughter behind me.
Upon entering my bedroom, I check each of the tasks on the screen before starting to do each one in the order they appeared.
They're household chores. "Yeah." But I don't consider it a problem. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I consider this a great help. The part-time job at the restaurant pays $30 for four hours of work.
This means that with the housework, I'm earning six grand. It's approximately six and a half months of work. To avoid any complications, I begin doing each household chore as they appear on the system screen.
I wash, dry, and fold the clothes, then my next task is to clean the bathroom, the bedroom, and finally the living room.
With each completed task, +5, +5, added to my account until I reached 50 + 10 = 60 system coins.
Converting system coins to dollars was simple, just by pressing a few commands, the entire transaction was completed.
For the first time, I had real change in my hands..
Excited, I started walking around the house with a notebook in hand, writing down and looking for any type of task I could do, making a list.
The next step was to leave that list out in plain sight. I waited for my mother to return home for a few hours. When her car parked in front of our house, I immediately left.
When she got out of the car, my mother looked exhausted and even massaged her shoulders.—"You can help your mother with those bags."— She said, pointing to the trunk of the car.
My surprise was to see only two shopping bags with the bare essentials.
Seeing the grimace on my face, my mother immediately commented. —"That's all I could bring with the money we have on hand. Tomorrow I'll talk to one of your uncles to see if they can lend us some money."—
Seeing several people walking near the house, I hold back the urge to comment on what I have in my bank account and simply press my lips together before grabbing both bags.
I enter the house first, followed by my mother, who closes the door. After entering, and seeing the clean living room, the green color above her head becomes clearer and more intense.
—"Why don't you go and check the chores you left me. ?"— I comment to my mother before heading to the kitchen.
I thought my mother would refuse at my suggestion, claiming she was tired, but she simply nodded and immediately went upstairs to the second floor.
I think my mother only confirmed each task with a glance, because minutes later she was back with a smile on her face and the green color above her head changed to a deep pink. [ 70 ]
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