Chapter 17: Just some usual frustration (1/2)
Each second in the fresh spring air left Sophie with less resolve to wait in front of the gym for her friends.
Albeit the pain felt to her like well deserved punishment for inciting her brother, over fifteen minutes of waiting were just a tad bit too much for anyone to change clothes.
It wasn't like she hadn't tried to wait inside, either, but Warren had kicked her out, while her friends were still somewhere inside.
He hadn't even answered the questions she had about Jacob's punishment, only giving her the gruntled noises he murmured usually.
She grabbed the door with her numb finger and pulled, desperate to escape the freezing weather and the nagging voice in her head.
What was going on in there, and why had she and the rest of the class to leave?
'They probably forgot about you, now that they know how awful of a sister you are.'
A different pain shot through her fingers as she punched the unwavering door.
"Shut up!"
Sophie pushed the irrational thought aside and pulled her phone out. They would surely have an explanation for their absence and what else went on inside.
It felt like an eternity in the abysmal arctic before Monica answered her message.
"Novie night at Izzy's lace falls flat. Emergency."
Her mind took a moment to register the awfully written excuse for an answer.
"Excuse me… what?"
Had Felix gotten his hands on Monica's phone, or did she have a stroke?
She shook her confusion off and called her instead, only to get pushed away.
Teeth sunk into her probably already blue lips, while she thought about the satisfaction she would feel when she got to knock some sense into Monica's skull.
What was this just for a day?
The phone in her hand ringed, while the name of her future victim appeared on it.
Sophie resisted the urge to push it away and got rewarded by the expected voice.
"… think going on my phone, Archimedes?! Oh… ugh, hey Sophie."
Monica's apologetic voice made some of her anger disappear, only to get replaced by confusion over the strained noises in the background.
"What's going on? Is Jacob still in one piece? When are you… is that sport you're doing in there?"
Somewhere in the background screamed Coach Warren at an unidentified fool who dared to provoke his wrath, while her friend struggled for answers.
"We… ugh… the message, an emergency, yes! Sorry Sophie, but… the... electric caught fire! Warren obliged us to help clean things up. It's probably better if you just go home. We speak tomorrow."
The call ended as quick as Monica had stammered her lackluster explanation and Sophie stood once more in the cold like ordered and forgotten.
'See? That was obviously a lie. She just wanted to get rid of you.'
She dialed the next on her list, now with less success in neglecting her second thoughts.
"Of course, that was a lie. No fire alarm. Doesn't take a genius, you dumbass…"
Instead of Max's greeted her a distinct voice that was almost as disgruntled as herself.
"Go home Tailor. I'm having already enough troubles inside theses walls, so don't make me come out."
Warren ended the call before Sophie could even think about giving him a piece of her mind. Which was probably better that way.
An aggravated growl filled the almost empty parking lots before the freezing teenager stomped away, not passing the opportunity to kick some loose pebbles towards the car of her teacher.
It was time to get home, heat the rest of her coffee up and eat the chocolate that she had kept in the fridge for days like this one.
Before she would do some actual damage.
Who needed enemies, by friends like these…
[---][---][---][---][---][---][---][---]
Light shone through the windows of the living room when Sophie reached her home.
She concluded only one could be back from work, since there was no second car standing in the driveway.
A careful step onto the loose stair seemed to give her right.
Her father couldn't be back, he would have repaired the step.
'Or he just forgot… you know him.'
Either way, she would know after entering. Not like she had anywhere else to go if it was Karen waiting for her, either.
The door gave way to the warm, welcoming hallway, and Sophie made her way to the living room.
She already expected her father to take a nap on the couch, judged by the heated air that flowed right into the floor, like they had the money to blast it.
Instead, it was Karen who snuggled into the furniture. She must have attained the same careless attitude from her father, what the open doors regarded.
"Hello Sophie. How are you?"
Sophie ignored the superficial greeting, already bend on retreating into her own, probably still cold, room if just to avoid having to deal with this woman.
At least until she recognized the chocolate bar, Karen nibbled on.
She sat here, in the warmth, drinking coffee and relished all innocent each bite, while Sophie froze her ass off out there, ditched by her friends and only the promise of exactly that pricy sweet that she had kept on her own fridge shelf, bought from her own money and carefully labeled so that nobody would take it at the day she needed it!
"How hard can it be to read you fucking illiterate? There's my name, right on the damn foliage!"
Surprised by that justified outburst turned Karen the chocolate around to confirm the claim, only to see Sophie's name written on its front in fat red letters and with an exclamation mark.
The feigned ignorance Karen displayed did nothing to reduce the pounding pressure that build up in her head.
"I'm here having an awful day out in the cold, and you're making yourself a cozy day in my home with my damn chocolate! While blasting heat throughout the entire house, just to mock me!"
As righteous as her anger felt, it did not replace the warmth her body needed, albeit seeing Karen's speechless face certainly did its part to make the pain bearable.
"What?! Nothing to say to your defense, Karen?"
A smile formed on her face, and she could feel her right eyelid twitch as she stepped closer to the table.
"Ugh... wait. Listen, I'm sorry, Sophie. Sebastian..."
The pained expression on Karen's face meant she had her right where she wanted. Time to hammer the last nail into the coffin and clear the conditions in this house, once and for all.
"Oh, you better be sorry, Karen! Because I don't intend to tolerate your bullshit like Jacob, just because you share a bed with our father!"
Like said hammer going down, slammed a shoe on the ground right next to the kitchen as her father revealed his presence.
"Excuse me?!"
Sophie felt like her blood froze all over again.
'Shit…'
For a moment, all that anger that had felt so righteous to throw at Karen disappeared behind the mere shock of getting caught.
"In your room Sophie, now! And you better think about your word choice."
There was a thick vein pulsating in his temple while he emphasized each of his orders with widely exaggerated hand gestures, which forced her to take a reflexive step back.
"Word choice? She is the one to take what isn't hers! That's not my fa…"
Her reflexive defense got shut down before she could finish it.
"No, I don't want to hear anything! There's no excuse for your temper tantrums, Sophie, and I expect an apology if you want dinner, internet or electricity for that matter!"
With the surprise slowly settling, came Sophie's courage and rage back to her, and a deep sitting spite to stay her ground.
The anger seemed to fight a few moments with the fear of his threat while she remained in place.
Her eyes locking with those of her father, the nails of her fingers digging into her palm, until he raised his hand to point to the still open door.
"Out! Now!"
Without being able to tell which side won, Sophie stormed off, shouting frustrated, while slamming the door as she left.
[---][---][---][---][---][---][---][---]
Barely with the door thrown behind her, turned Sophie the heater up, flung her school backpack with force against the wall and fell onto her bed in full winter clothes.
She closed her eyes forcefully, while pressing her nose with thumb and index finger.
Soon filled her forehead with wrinkles as she cursed the dilemma she had brought herself into.
"Fuck me… this entire week is for the drain!"
Despite the pent up frustration, forced Sophie herself to relax, now unable to do anything against the source.
'And it's just Tuesday…'
The sound of the water that rushed through the heater helped to calm her blood pressure.
At least it would get so much faster warm if it wasn't the entire house that got heated.
In fact, she could already feel the heat rise to her face.
'That's called shame, you genius…'
Having that side of her exposed by her own father was certainly no pleasure.
"No shit Sherlock! Who of us was it again that discarded the possibility of two people driving in one car?"
Sophie's thoughts swirled around like a whirlpool as she tried to cope with her fit of rage.
Why did her father even hide when she caught Karen right in the act?
Did he wait to see how Sophie would react?
Except…
How did Karen even know of the emergency chocolate? She had only shown it to Jacob and her father, to warn them from taking it.
She slapped herself for overseeing that earlier.
"He waited in the kitchen because he was the one taking my chocolate! That damn coward!"
Driven by her newfound righteous anger rose Sophie up from her bed.
"And then he has the guts to blame me, just to get away himself! Choice of words? Pah! Hypocrite!"
Gone was the question of whom to blame and instead came a need to relieve herself with some violence, or the more harmless pendant.
Her hands grabbed the video game Felix had gifted her and soon fell the first shots against some poor digital targets that had to serve as replacements for her father.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Verhygo
Verhygo 24. March
Tuesday
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone