Mother vs. Daughter

It's been a while since the maid said, Clara has already arrived, but Ciara chooses not to mind at all. She is glaring, deadly on her phone waiting for something to happen. It stays black and blank. She clenches her left fist. This is getting over to what has been agreed upon. She sent dozen of messages and even miss calls to his dad, but she received nothing in return. She only wanted to confirm with his dad if he happened to plan with her mom about sending her to school again. She has not completed her first day here in the Philippines, hence, it looks like she wanna fly back to New York, now. Why are parents always like this? Deciding without even considering what she would feel about it.

There are knocks on her door that make her stop from whatever she was thinking.

"Yes?"

"Ma'am Ciara, dinner is ready," the maid said. She doesn't know her name, yet.

"Okay," she answers, coldly. She is not being mean. It is just her mood right now. The maid didn't answer then, she hears footsteps going away.

After a few minutes of waiting, Ciara came down already with her usual blank expression. Clara and Joseph are now both sitting in their respective seats.

"Hi! How was your stay, so, far?" Clara asks her with excitement. She didn't answer at once and just stare at the other vacant seat. The sun has not risen, yet to complete her first day.

"Can I have a word with you after this?" She then decided to speak and looked at her mom. Clara didn't expect to get an answer like this and she can sense that her daughter is serious. She has no idea, why of a sudden change in her daughter.

"Why? Anything wrong?" Clara still asks.

"We have to talk." It is not a question, but already a command. When everybody got silent, Ciara, noisily pulled the empty chair and sit on it.

Joseph who feels awkward between these two women is observing them, silently. He notices that her aunt Clara tensed for a while when Ciara commanded the last sentence. It seems like, Ciara is more dominant than her mom, or is it because they are not just used to her especially since she has lived in a different culture than they do? But he would admit the truth that even him tensed with those cold words of her. Just what happened to her? Whenever she acts cold, he can barely say, he has known her back then.

"Ah, can we start eating now?" He says when he cannot bear the silence anymore.

"Okay. Will talk later," Clara speaks, finally. "But let's finish first our meal while it's still served hot," she added.

Joseph is the first to serve himself.

When dinner is done, Joseph excuses himself, consciously. He knows these two women need some privacy.

"In my office," Clara tells Ciara and the latter follows her.

Once they entered Clara's office, Ciara's eyes start to scan the whole place. It is tidy and is an office. There are piles of papers on the desk and books arranged on the shelves. There are two tables with computers for each and drawer cabinets on the sides.

"Mm... What's the matter?"

She then, remembers why she is here. She looks at her mom, seriously. She need not lie to her.

"Did you enroll me in any school here?" She asks, directly.

Clara's mouth was hanging open. She is analyzing if this matters to her daughter's sudden change of mood. Yes is the answer, but her daughter's serious face is confusing her about what to answer.

"Ah, that..."

Ciara's expression didn't change still looking at her.

"Yes." She is her daughter, but God knows every time she acts like this is still strange to her. She is way colder than her father does. No, she is the coldest one. She doesn't know how, but maybe it runs in the blood.

Ciara stays still waiting for her to say something more, but it seems that Clara has deep thinking.

"Did he order you to do it?" She asks again when she didn't say more. Clara just nodded and there is no need for her to ask who is that he. "Great! I haven't remembered agreeing with him on that." Ciara breathes, deeply looking away from her mom. "I thought I'm just gonna unwind here and going to school will not help with that unwinding process." She looks away from her then, hears her sigh.

"Still your choice. I won't tell your father," her mom says.

"What made you think he wouldn't know?" Didn't her mom know the capabilities her dad can do? The thought makes her annoyed at some point. Clara didn't answer. She breathes, deeply. "If ever... If ever I go to school, again, it will be my decision and I'm gonna do what I want to." If her mom can't stand a way for her, then, she better will. This is her own life and she has the responsibility for it. No one should control her or her parents.

Clara expected this to happen already, but still, she was surprised by what her daughter said. She is the only one who can go against the will of her father. On the other hand, Ciara already left the room after her last words.

Joseph who is going to his aunt's office, gives way, immediately and stands with a dumb expression seeing Ciara pass just right him. It was like, she didn't see him at all and looked like she is aiming for a battle. When Ciara enters her room and shuts the door, he hurried to Clara's office.

"What happened?" He asks upon seeing Clara standing while staring at the ceiling. He thought that she fought with her daughter.

"As expected, her decision is to be followed. The idea of schooling made her mad!" Clara sits on her swivel chair.

"Eh? Why? I thought she was studying in New York before she came here?"

Clara nodded. "But she dropped after a week."

Clara's answer got the interest Joseph. He never thought her cousin is a naughty girl, but it is not his point. He wants to know why.

"School was not good?"

"How did you know?" Clara's forehead forms a line.

"Well, schools nowadays are lacking some disciplinary actions. Bullies become the primed best actors," he stated the exact that is happening in his current school and all of his past schools. He once became a target, but to hell they were. He is a man who doesn't give a shit.

"Well, it's your own experience if I know? Her reason is different."

"And, what's the big difference?"

"School for her is boring. Students are nut-headed with lousy brains."

"Oh!" [Boring?] He never thought of it. What he knows is, the school has a lot of your life that it could even drain and shut down your entire being. Bullies around will not make your school days boring, but miserable if you don't know how to live a life out of it. He is wondering what kind of school did Ciara attend or the students there. [May be, why she's here?]

Ciara who is in her room makes a small curve in her lips after reading her dad's reply, "It's an order".

"Lick your nose," she speaks to her dad, but more likely to her phone that she is holding then, throws it on the table.