Not my favorite

Ivy suddenly came to an halt as she stepped on the car brake.  She searched her bag furiously as she felt the sudden urge to smoke. She quickly took out a stick of cigarette from the pack, and skillfully lightened it.

After taking a long controlled drag, she puffed it out and closed her eyes for a brief seconds. Ivy opened her eyes and stared deeply into the dark night, she let out a dry laugh devoid of any emotion.

She sighed inwardly, adjusted her mood, started the car and zoomed off.

"Mom, I'm home.", she yelled loudly as she made her way upstairs to her room.

"That's great, darling. Hurry up and go freshen up. I had the chef prepare your favorites tonight. " Her mom yelled back from the kitchen.

"Favorites my foot", Ivy mumbled to herself as she walked tiredly to her room.

She squinted her face in disgust and said sickly to herself, that's the real Ivy's Favorites, not mine. I don't have such bad taste.

Her mood plummeted at the thought of eating those foods, she so much hate shrimps and vegetables. But, she's left with no choice than to eat them. She sighed inwardly and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

Five minutes into dinner, Ivy raised her head up and stared questionly at her mom who had been watching her every little move since the beginning of the dinner.

Jasmine smiled sweetly at her daughter and asked, "Is the food not to your taste? I can see you're not enjoying the food as much as you used to."

"Of course not, the food is very much to my taste. After all, it's my favorites. It's just that, I had a very bad and long today at work." Ivy replied with a sad tone.

"Oh dear, sorry to hear that." Her mom comforted her.

Ivy smiled painfully and buried her face in her palms, and continued in a choked voice; "Mom, you know I wasn't that bothered or upset when that arrogant girl in my department embarrassed amd ridiculed me in front of my peers. What triggered me was when my car broke down on my way back home. I almost went crazy, because it felt as if even my own car was against me. I managed to adjust my mood before I got home, so as not to get you worried. But, look at me, I still failed to comport myself and ended up getting you worried.

Jasmine got up from her seat and moved closer to hug Ivy. She patted her back and wiped her eyes with her other hand. "It's okay, my princess. Big girls don't cry. You know what? We'll ask your dad to get you a brand new latest car when he's back from his trip."

Ivy smiled and hugged her mom in appreciation.

"It's so damn easy to trick this woman." Ivy thought to herself as she smiled triumphantly to herself while hiding her smile in her mom's embrace.