Notes

Maya

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep at our house tonight, Maya? It is a Friday night, after all." Mother said for the tenth time tonight through the phone and I shook my head as I drove through the dark alleys of Nottingham. "Yes, mother. I am sure. Besides, Jenna is alone at home and I have to study for my upcoming midterm exams" I told her. Truth was, Jenna did not mind being alone and I had not even received my midterm exam syllabus. I just did not want to spend my weekend with my mother. Don't get me wrong, I loved her dearly and with all my heart, but she was incredibly...picky. I knew that if I spent my night with her, I would have to iron my night gown to perfection before going to sleep every night, straighten my hair once I woke up, put on a load of makeup even if we would stay inside and she had this new thing were she read the Bible before going to bed and I knew that she would tape the Bible on my face if she had to. I knew that if I did anything wrong, she would scold me. It was like I could not even breath near her without being corrected. "Oh, fine. Just let your poor old mother be alone. Its not like I will die one day and it will be too late" She dramatically spoke and I saw that coming. She would always do that to get what she wanted. "Daddy and Jackson are with you. That way you will certainly not feel lonely." I gently said. I understood my mother, though. Both my father and my younger brother were messy and she needed some female company, too. I knew it affected her the most when I moved out to live with Jenna. "Oh, those uncultured swines, you mean? It is like living in a pigsty!" She dramatically said and I stifled a laughter. It was always mother and I who were the ones cleaning up the house. "I promise, I will visit you for dinner in a couple of weeks like tonight" I promised her and I knew she smiled on the other end. "Thank you, dear. It tends to get a little lonely for me...Anyways, drive safe. Are you home, yet?" She asked me as I drove through the ghetto streets of the town. There were tons of nightclubs around me, the walls were spray painted with graffiti and I heard daddy telling me that most drug dealings happened in the dark alleys of the road and it gave me the most unwanted shivers. "I will be there soon. I am only a few minutes away from home." I informed her. The conversation went on for ten more minutes and she was mostly gossiping about her neighbor. I had 'Yesterday Once More' by The Carpenters playing on the radio and it put me in a light and joyous mood. It was in fact mother who introduced me to the song which happened to be my all time favorite. She hung up eventually and just three minutes after that, I saw a figure waving his it her hands at my car, shouting recklessly and jumping around. I nearly forgot that there was a nightclub here. Should I stop? Do I need to stop? The stranger had already seen me and I knew that I would not be able to sleep at night if I drove past him and left him alone in the cold darkness. I parked my car and rolled down the window. He walked weirdly at my car and I instinctively leaned further away as I saw him next to my car. He was tall, somewhere around his early twenties, there was a mop of pushed back, long and brown curls on his head. He had metal on his eyebrow and lips and there were a few tattoos that could be seen around his neck. He had a sharp angular face and dark eyes. He seemed incredibly relieved that someone stopped for him. I gulped as he asked me for a ride. He was drunk and I did not know his intentions. But, I was not a mean person either. "Um...certainly" I gently smiled at him. "W-What is your, um, address, sir?" I stuttered shyly as I pressed a button to unlock the passenger door for him. What did he mean by ride him? "I-I don't get it..." I stupidly admitted. As he got in, I searched for my GPS in my car compartment. I was all thumbs and his presence made me feel shy and nervous as I dropped the GPS numerous times on my lap. A small blush settled on my cheeks as I tried not to make a complete fool out of myself.