Chapter 5

• “Why am I just learning about this supposed mountain trip?” she asked and Zurie sighed, turning to her mom while throwing her arms upwards in the air.
• “Mom, we go for school trips every year; why are you freaking out because I’m telling you the night before?” Zurie asked not understanding why her mom was acting so worked up.
• “You go for school trips every year and this year, it’s some freaky mountain? And you are telling me a few hours to the trip? You must be kidding me?!” her mom yelled as she walked towards the table and grabbed her phone.
• “I’m calling your school authorities. They must be crazy to think I’ll let my daughter go some mountain in the same of some stupid school trip” she muttered while Zurie’s mouth dropped agape. She quickly rushed towards her mom, collecting the phone from her and ending the call.
• “Mom, what are you doing?” she asked while her mom turned to her with a frown on her face.
• “Give me my phone, Zurie,” her mom replied firmly.
• “Mom, are you trying to embarrass me in front of the whole school? It’s just a mountain trip for goodness sake!” Zurie yelled as both mother and child stared at each other without saying anything. Zurie watched her mom adjust her clothes before swallowing her saliva.
• “You won’t be going for that trip Zurie” her mom said and an incredulous look appeared on Zurie’s face.
• “Mom, what did you say?” Zurie asked.
• “I just said; that you aren’t going for this school trip. Go and sleep” her mom replied and attempted to walk away but Zurie was quick to block her way.
• “I won’t listen to you. you can’t just decide that” Zurie said, her veins bulging through her forehead.
• “I looked forward to this school trip for so long and yet you are telling me I can’t go?” Zurie asked, shaking her head.
• “I won’t listen to you. I don’t care if I have to jump through my window and run away from home but I am going to go for that school trip” Zurie revealed and her mom stared at her; her eyes wide with shock.
• “You would rather jump through the window or run away from home to disobey Zurie?” her mom asked and Zurie swallowed her saliva.
• “Mom! I looked forward to this school trip so much; why won’t you let me go?” Zurie asked in reply.
• “You would disobey your mother because of a school trip” her mom said again while Zurie swallowed her saliva.
• “Mom, I need to go for this school trip. Everyone else is going and besides, I’ve never gone up the mountain before. This is a chance to see how it looks like” Zurie said, trying to convince her mom.
• “And in the first place, I’m yet to understand what this argument is about,” Zurie said.
• “I have gone to the mountains before and it is dangerous. You won’t be going for this trip to Zurie. I am not joking” her mom repeated, sounding even more firm.
• “Mom, I have to go for this school trip. If the mountains were dangerous, the school wouldn’t have chosen that location in the first place. Besides, it’s Mount Mollejo, it's a place where everyone goes to take pictures and skate during winter. I still don't understand why you are claiming it’s dangerous” Zurie replied while her mom pursed her lips.
• “I won’t be changing my mind about this trip Zurie, you won’t be going” her mom said and Zurie scoffed.
• “It’s not my fault that you met with a mishap when you went visiting in the mountains. Why are you tying me down with some mistakes you made? I’m sure you were careless and that is why something happened to you” Zurie muttered but her mom could clearly hear everything she had said. Zurie turned to see her mom staring at her with pained eyes, she instantly wished she could take her words back.
• “Zurie!” someone yelled and Zurie sighed softly before turning to her Dad.
• “Dad, will you talk to Mom instead? She won’t let me go for the school trip” Zurie complained while her mom swallowed her saliva and wiped down the lone tears that had slipped down her eyes at that moment.
• “Do as you wish,” she muttered before hurrying up the stairs.
• “Thank you mom” Zurie hollered after her turning to see a frown on her Dad’s face.
• “Is this how we raised you up? You talk to your mother like that? To use her past experiences against her; Zurie?” her Dad asked while Zurie swallowed her saliva.
• “I’m sorry Dad. I didn’t mean to talk to her like that. It’s all her fault for trying to stop me from going for the school trip” Zurie replied, trying to defend her actions.
• “Is it her fault? Zurie can you hear yourself?” her dad asked his voice a top notch higher.
• “You insulted your mom and it’s suddenly her fault?” her dad asked again, scoffing.
• “When did you start thinking like this, Zurie?” he asked again while Zurie swallowed her saliva.
• “Dad, it’s not that serious” Zurie replied but seeing the change of faces of her Dad, she wished she never spoke.
• “Not that serious, Zurie?” her dad asked while nodding his head.
• “I want you to ask yourself; if there has been anything you wanted in your entire life or anywhere you wanted to go that your mom didn’t give you or didn’t allow you to go” her dad and Zurie froze.
• “Just this one time, and yet you insulted her and made fun of her” her Dad added, sighing softly.
• “We are keeping you away from a damned destiny but you are running to it” he muttered as Zurie sighed.
• “Dad….” She started but her dad was quick to cut her off.
• “You can do as you wish , Zurie. No one will say a thing” he said interrupting her before walking up the stairs without another word.
• Zurie rubbed her forehead while leaning on one of the seating room chairs sighing softly. She needed no one to tell her she had messed up big time. She and her parents had barely had an argument in years, they always gave in to her no matter what it was.
• The last time this kind of argument happened was when Zurie wanted to wear a sleeveless dress for her school Christmas party and her mom disallowed her because she thought her breasts were on display. They had a little argument but after persuasion, she agreed.
• And even when Zurie thought about it, it wasn’t an argument, it was plainly her mom not liking her dress and that was all. Zurie placed her head in her palms wondering why she had blown up at her mom like that without thinking.
• Anytime she asked, she had gotten it, they gave her, they gave in to her and this one time that her mom said no, she wouldn’t take it; after all they had never said no to her before. Remembering her parents' faces when they walked to their rooms’ Zurie wanted to rewind time and speak to them properly.
• She snapped her fingers turning off the lights while climbing the stairs and walking towards her own room. The silence of the house seemed to choke her even more as she pushed the door of her room open and she stepped inside turning in the lock before flying towards her bed.
• She scrolled through her phone and sent Eileen a message. That was the only person who could help me amend her relationship with her parents. After a few minutes that Eileen hadn’t replied; Zurie quickly came to the conclusion that she was busy playing games with John because on no account would Eileen ignore her messages and Eileen never slept as early as nine pm; it was always the latter.
• Zurie turned uncomfortably on her bed feeling bad and horrible with her emotions all over the place. Her words came rushing back to her and Zurie palmed herself on the forehead.
• “It’s not my fault that you met with a mishap when you went visiting in the mountains. Why are you tying me down with some mistakes you made? I’m sure you were careless and that is why something happened to you”
• Zurie mentally slapped herself again recalling those words. What had she been thinking? Recalling all their family trips and world tours; they had never gone on a mountain before, they had even gone binge flying and water skating in high waterfalls but never the mountains. The thought that something terrible might have happened to her mom on the mountain further increased the guilt that she was stifling inside her. And then she blamed the older woman for whatever misfortune had happened to her.
• “Zurie; what were you thinking?” Zurie whispered to herself rolling her eyes for the hundredth time.
• Turning on the bed, she decided to apologise to both of her parents the next morning, without even realising it, she gave in to the god of sleep.