Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sammie came back upstairs and called Jess and I for dinner. I walked behind Jess down the stairs. At the dinner table I sat between Sammie and Johnny, my brother. I held Sammie's hand and let my other hand sit limply on my leg. I saw Jess "accidentally" drop her for on the ground. We let go of each other's hand and Jess looked mad when she lifted her head up. My mom excused herself from the table to get Jess a new fork. Jess handed her the old fork on her way to the kitchen. When she got back Jess said thanks for the new fork. I grabbed both Johnny and Sammie's hand as my dad said the grace over our food. It was Johnny's favorite dinner. Broiled fish, corn, mashed potatoes, and salad. My mom believed in vegetables. My dad believed in a full meal. I believed in pizza. So did a lot of teenage kids. My parents didn't order take out. Every day we ate inside the house. If we did go out to eat we only went to fancy places. Apparently McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, and Long John Silver's weren't fancy. Johnny was the only kid that I knew who has never tasted a cheeseburger. He was going to be homeschooled as I was told by my mother. He would get a private tutor. I was already in high school so she said I could stay unless I started hanging with the wrong people. Jess and Sammie weren't the wrong people and those were the only people I hung out with.

Anyways, dinner began. No talking. Just eating. My father and his strict rules. When Sammie and Jess were over he had friendly conversation. He asked about school and our future. Of course always made up some things. I still had no idea what I wanted to be when I go to college. I had some things I was interested in but my dad would never let me do any of those things. I wanted to be a guidance counselor for middle schoolers, and in the summer time be a book writer and get a part time job as a waitress. He wanted me to be something that pays a lot. Like a doctor, lawyer, or a dentist. No thank you. I don't want to look at people's bodies and operate on them. I definitely don't want to pull out someone's tooth and hear them scream at me because it hurts. Why doesn't he get Johnny into the profession when he's young? But the lawyer thing might work. I just don't want clients that lost the case to hunt me down after their days of jail and kill me. Dad assures me that won't happen, but we all know eventually it will.

When we finished dinner my mom announced that dessert would be in an hour because our stomachs would be fully digested by then. Sammie, Jess, and I went back up to my room. I didn't notice that the stereo was still playing. If I was alone my dad would punish me for being stupid. He punishes me the only fashioned way. He puts grits on the floor and makes me kneel in them.