Abby walked down the spiral stairs with her hands deep into her jacket pocket and her hoodie on her head. She passed a group of girls talking about their upcoming prom event,she laughed to herself as she thought of how irrelevant it was at that period of time in history. The world was changing, for the worst and people still took it as a joke. She vacated the school building and felt some sort of weight lifted off her shoulders. The sirens of police cars were sounding all over the streets,the whole place was so cold and so were the faces of the people. No one should even smile in that type of situation, it was a matter of who was strong enough to survive. She had to meet her father in the nearby security agency company, there had been a robbery there. She had walked for over 10 minutes when she got there at last. There were several police cars and newscasters outside. The secret forces cars were also parked there. As soon as she reached the main building's door,a huge man stopped her. She raised her ID card to him,he read it "Abby Walker". He knew who she was,he muttered a sorry before letting her pass through. It was a matter of who you knew or who you were in the country
maybe the whole world too
. She walked into the busy building, investigations were being conducted. Amidst some men talking,she spotted her father,with his serious face and authoritative attitude. How would it ever be hard for him to stand out in a crowd? He spotted her then took an excuse. He walked over to her and kissed her cheeks.
" Hey daddy" she said to him and took her hoodie off
"How was school?" He asked her
"It was fine" she said
"Are you sure?" He asked her
"Yes" she said and smiled
"Okay,I'll be done in a few minutes. Just go wait for me in the car,okay darling?" He asked her
"Sure" she said and nodded
He handed her the car keys before going back to join the other men.
She got into the car and sat in the driver's seat. She rested her head on the steering wheel. She got her head up and her eye caught the scratch on her left arm,it was a good thing her father hadn't seen it. She searched her backpack for her hand gloves and found them. She put them on quickly before she would sight her father. She got into a fight earlier in school,she was peacefully having her lunch when she sighted a few of her mates bullying a junior. She had to do something so she got up and intervened. They had a piece of her wrath but she ended up being scratched with a fork. She chuckled as she thought of how she would have been stabbed. It wasn't a funny thing and she knew that. Her father wasn't the type to take it easy when she fought. A few months back,she had ended up getting a boy in the hospital and it was a big problem for her dad. She had been bullied since when she was very little,she knew what it was like for people to make you feel worthless so she never let anyone do it to someone else. She heard a knock on the window and it was her father,she opened the door and moved to the other seat. He got in and sighed.
"Sorry for taking long" he apologized
"It's fine. You didn't take too long" she said
He drove them home as they talked about the weather. Since it all began,the weather had been cold all year round. No sunny day,just snowy days and rainy days. Abby liked it but the issue was that she easily caught flu. Every now and then,her father would get her thick sweaters,hoodies,hats,socks and gloves. They got into their apartment to meet it's usual silence and warm lights. He dropped his gun on the table before going to the kitchen to wash his hands. Abby was already there washing her hands. When she got done, she took off her hoodie and her father gave her his usual questioning look.
"What? It's hot" she said as she picked up a washed apple and bit it
"I'm just worried about you. I don't want to deal with your sick head again" he said as he picked up an apple
"I won't fall sick again. Go rest for a while,you look tired" she said
"I really am tired and worried. Let me settle down first then we'll prepare dinner. How about that?" He asked her as he smiled sweetly at her
"Deal" she said
He left to his room and she sat and made sure she ate two apples before she headed to her room. She changed her clothes and slept for a little while.
Abby sniffed in the sweet aroma of her father's cooking. She hadn't helped much since she woke up late,he did 80% of the cooking himself. He had prepared a pot beef stew and she absolutely loved it. It was one of his specialties and he knew how much she loved beef.
They weren't the type to eat in silence so they spoke about their day.
"So,what exactly happened in the agency?" She asked him as they ate
"Well,a few people robbed the agency of their weapons" he said
"That's one crazy thing to steal" she said
"I know right. They would probably use that for defense or to rob" he said
" the government should consider distributing arms to the people. We need it,you know" she said
"We really do. Everyone is just selfish these days. Self interest first before that of the people" he said
She had emptied her plate completely and her father was looking at her.
"What?" She asked him
"You eat a lot these days" he said
"I have to. I don't want to die hungry" she said
"Stop talking about dying. No one is dying" he said and ate the last piece of beef in his plate
She picked the plates up and took them to the kitchen sink. Her father came beside her to help her wash the dishes.
"No,daddy,no. I'll do it myself" she said
"Stop being like this. I'll help you wash them" he insisted
"No,I'm old enough to do things by myself" she said
"You're still a child,my child,irrespective of how old you become. You're just 17" he said
"But I will be 18 next month. That's making me an adult" she said
"You're growing up so fast. Seems like yesterday when you were a little cute baby in my arms" he said
She smiled at him and he smiled back. That satisfying look they both had on their faces whenever they were around each other was the one thing that lightened both their lives.
They began doing the dishes and the wrist of her shirt was getting soaked with water. She dragged them up and that was when her father saw the scratch on her wrist. He held her left hand and inspected the wound.
"When did this happen?" He asked her
"Today,I mistakenly injured myself earlier" she lied
"Ate you sure it was from an accident?" He asked her
"I'm sure" she said and he let go of her hand
"When we get done,apply something on it. Does it hurt?" He asked her
"A little bit" she said
"Just make sure you apply something on it" he said to her
