Acanthus #9, Zing #8

[kay_brooke]

Name: kay_brooke
Story: Unusual Florida
Colors: Acanthus #9 (fireplace poker), Zing #8 (I'm not being rude, you're just insignificant)
Styles/Supplies: Canvas
Word Count: 337
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Summary: Amy doesn't want to deal with it.
Note: Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.


Her aunt ambushed her before she could remove her coat, hat, and scarves, and slink back into her bedroom. Her bed and her space heater were calling her, and Any ground her teeth in impatience as her aunt tried to shove a mug of tea at her.

"I don't want it," said Amy. "I'm going to my room."

"Your sister is asleep."

"I won't be loud." It took every ounce of will the eleven-year-old had not to snap at her aunt. Her family had been staying with her aunt and uncle for months, and she knew her aunt well enough to know what the tea and the mention of her sister's nap really meant: she wanted to talk to Amy.

Well, that was too bad. Amy didn't care what her aunt had to say. She had come to think of the woman as her own personal prison warden, a poor copy of her mother, and--worst of all--useless in helping her father. Dad wasn't getting any better, and all Amy's aunt could do was wring her hands and keeping trying to "talk" to Amy. Except what was there to talk about? Nothing that would make Amy's life any better.

Shoving past her aunt, she continued on her way toward her room, but her aunt's hand landed heavily on her shoulder, keeping her in place.

"Let go of me!" Amy shrieked.

"Would you keep your voice down?" her aunt hissed. "Cassie was up all night with nightmares. Do you want to wake her?"

"Yeah, I know!" Amy said. "I share a room with her, remember? But no one said I could stay home from school because I didn't get any sleep."

This cowed her aunt long enough for Amy to wriggle out of her grasp and continue down the hallway.

"Amy," said her aunt. "I'm sorry. I just need to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you."

"Amy--"

But that was all Amy heard before she slammed her bedroom door shut.

Comments

[shipwreck_light]

This captures what it feels like to sneak around something so well. It actually made me shudder at "would you keep your voice down". most excellent!

[kay_brooke]

Thank you!

[settecorvi]

I can really feel Amy's tense defensiveness here, and while I don't know the whole situation from her aunt's POV, you really made me sympathize with Amy's frustration.

[kay_brooke]

Thank you! I think her aunt is sympathetic, too, because she doesn't have kids and never wanted them, and suddenly she has to deal with three whose remaining parent is incapable of taking care of. So she really just doesn't know how to deal. Which makes a bad situation for everybody.

[bookblather]

Wow, poor Amy. I can see how upset and scared she is, and how she doesn't feel like she's getting any support; lashing out seems like the only option. Poor kid. I feel bad for her aunt too, but mostly Amy.

[kay_brooke]

Yeah, it's a bad time for the family.

Thanks for reading!

[auguris]

Oof, poor Amy. I'm sure her aunt means well, but there's only so much you can say.

[kay_brooke]

Thank you for reading!

[clare_dragonfly]

Poor Amy, and her poor aunt. I have a feeling the house is too small for all five (six?) of them, in more ways than one.

[kay_brooke]

Yep, there's six of them in there, when previously it was a house with two people.

(More details than you want, but in my head the sleeping arrangements are as follows: two bedrooms, with the aunt and uncle in their room and Amy and Cassie in the spare, and a den where James and Kevin are sleeping on couches/air mattresses to start. There is also an unfinished basement that later gets divided into a couple more bedrooms, so that relieves the crowding a lot, but here at the start it's kind of miserable.)

Thanks for reading!