“Casey, relax; it won’t be that bad.” Mom said from the driver's seat.

I rolled my eyes and looked outside.

Mom sighed, “You know your dad’s temper is certainly not in control, especially around you. So, stop acting like a brat now. You being at home this whole summer will make everything wo-”

“I know, I know.” I interrupted.

“Well then, I hope you can understand that this is good for all of us that you stay out of the house for the summer vacation.” She said while gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“I could have stayed at dorms. That could have solved the problem. My chance of encountering him would have been zero.” I told her while observing the trees passing us.

“That could have made our family look bad. What would people think of us? Our daughter stays in dorms when home and school are within walking distance.”

“It does not matter what others think of us. Those people who come to community fests are nobody just like us. They will talk of us for one week or so, and then they are off to other gossip when they are bored of it.” I argued back.

“You know that behavior of yours is the reason why Thomas is so angry with you all the time.” She said.

“It’s not my behavior; it’s his anger issues, which he keeps denying. Not everyone throws around the stuff, just because of some slightly harsh words or due to some slight smudge on the fridge, seen from a certain angle due to light.”

The car was picking up its speed. I saw a billboard passing by us, but I could not tell what it was about due to the car speed.

“Casey, Thomas works hard for us. You are disrespecting him now. I will make sure he knows what you have to say about him.”

I flinched, and she looked at me from the mirror. She definitely saw that.

She continued, "Look, you are just a teenager, and this time is surely complicated for you. We, that is, me and Thomas, are here to help you. His actions are just for the sake of your betterment.”

My betterment? When did they start thinking of me?

“I doubt that statement.” I said.

“What did you say now?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

I took a breath in and then exhaled. If she is going to report my every error to him, well, that means I was in trouble already from the start. No matter what I do, it’s never perfect. So I decided to say whatever I wanted to say. “I said, I doubt that statement of yours.” I told her again.

“CASEY STELLAR! MIND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING.” She shouted. The car speed was now definitely exceeding the prescribed limit.

My body stiffened; I tried to breathe in and exhale. I told her, “I don’t know what you are talking about. That guy of yours does not have any concern for me or for you. But maybe he has some for you if it were not for your help.”

“CASEY, SHUT UP!” She shouted.

“I am just stating the truth, and you just don’t want to accept it.”

She ran her fingers through her brown hair in frustration. “Casey Stellar, Behave yourself. You have NO IDEA HOW PEOPLE ARE IN THIS WORLD.”

I almost bit my own tongue. I told her, “Maybe you should first take your own advice.”

“STOP THAT YOU BRAT.” She shouted again. She pressed hard on the bakes. I could hear the wheels screeching against the road. The car came to a halt, which would have made my upper body throw in front if it were not for the seatbelt.

Breathe in and out, in and out. It took me some seconds to realize I was breathing unevenly. Mom was also still shouting something along the lines of me just talking nonsense, but it was not clear because she herself was trying to absorb the shock of what she had just done.

The road we were driving was narrow; luckily it was not used frequently as it was in the middle of woods. I could hear voices of birds chirping in the distance. “SAY ANOTHER WORD, and I will make you walk to the house.”

I almost bit my tongue again. I stared outside the window. There was a signboard stating to be aware of bears; below it was an arrow pointing ahead, “Noletown 5 km.”

~~

We began driving into the Noletown. It was the usual crowd of people one would expect any town to have. Mom sometimes looked in between her phone to look for directions. She began driving towards an isolated part of the town. Then we stopped near a convenience store.

“Get off and take your bag.” She ordered.

I did what she told me. She adjusted her hair and warned me, “You better behave yourself. Don’t make trouble here.”

We headed towards the store’s entrance when we heard a hoarse voice. “Jane, is that you?”

We looked at our side and saw an old man sitting on a bench which was placed against the store wall. He was wearing a dark blue varsity tee and joggers. “Good afternoon, Arlo. Yes, it’s me, Jane. It’s good to see you.” She said with a smile that she always puts up in front of her so-called friends.

“Good afternoon. I assume you are Casey?” asked the old man to me.

“Yes, it’s her.” Mom replied.

He looked towards my mom and then at me. Then said,  “Let’s go now. It will take us some time to reach my home.”

“That’s so sweet of Arlo, but I have to be somewhere else tonight, so I cannot come with you two.”

“Oh, I see then; be careful on the road." The old man motioned for me to follow him.

I began heading his way when mom said, “Goodbye Casey, I love you.”

“Bye.”

She stood near the store with her signature smile and waved at me. I got in the old man’s car. If that woman expects me to wave back, then good luck with that. I knew she was just pretending to care about me, to show others that we are 'happy', a 'happy family'.

The old man began to drive towards the other side of town, which was further away from the population, but there were some houses or cabins in between the forest-like area. After around 10 minutes of driving, we were surrounded by forest but still on the cement road. Then the old took a turn and began driving on a dirt path. After some time, we arrived at his cabin. The area around it was fenced, and the gate was closed.

“Could you open the gate? It is not locked.” The old man asked.

“Yeah”

I opened the gate, and he took the car into the cabin area. I closed the gate. There was a tiny farm near the edge of the fence. There were some gardening tools lying scattered. A well that was fenced by stones coming up to my knee was at one side of the cabin. There were some clothes hanging outside on ropes. The porch had a lot of space compared to the porch of the house I lived in back in Jayk. A dog was coming towards me. The cabin had 2 floors. Wait a dog?

The dog was staring at me with hostile eyes. It still kept some distance from me, trying to not make any eye contact with him. But it was approaching me slowly, like I was a threat to it, or it was because I had intruded in its territory but that was not even my intention.