Read The Withered Heart | Tapas Web Community

Silence was a surrounding noise as Kayla sat on the cold bench. The hood of the bench, thankfully, was enough to shield her from the sun that stood above her, but she knew it wasn't going to be enough for later. Yes. Kayla Hatcher, eighteen, never had a situation like this before. It must have been her first for all she remembered. Never once was there a red pen mark on her math test reading "50" in bold. Just that gave her more assurance of just how useless she was. If she couldn't even get a simple 90 or higher on a math quiz, then was the point of her existing?

Staring at her test, she knew it was pointless going back home. Just useless.

Time had past as she sat there pondering over what was the best strategy in this situation. She could have just gathered up courage to go home and listened to the lectures her mom would give her once she entered the house, or she could just stay and die from the cold instead. Staying out in the night wasn't the best option especially how cold it got in her town.

Mom's going to kill me, huh, thought Kayla.

It was obvious her mom would, figureatively (possibly litteraly too). Kayla never knew one day where her mother wouldn't yell at her older brother, Jacob. He was the rebellious one of the two siblings. Kayla found it as a "norm" to sit out on one of the steps of the long staircase that led to their rooms upstairs just to watch her brother get yelled at before he graduated from high school. It was normal for there to be back and forth yelling as if it were some sort of fencing competition, minus the masks. Everytime it would enter her ears, her stomach would turn. The thought of her going through that same situation as Jacob made her sick.

Kayla closed her eyes, trying to rid of that bad memory as she let out a sigh.

"Well, I wouldn't say it's that bad. I've gotten worse." A voice said, causing Kayla to open up her eyes again.

Looking up, she saw a tall man in a suit looking down at her test. From what he said, it must have been the "50" he was specifically viewing.

"Ah, I'm sorry," the man apologized, looking quite flustered to Kayla. Kayla began to worry if it was her staring that made him uncomfortable.

"You see, with a score like this, my mom will kill me," Kayla explained after the man took a seat to the right of her. He looked at her with calming eyes, giving the assurance that he was listening to her. "There's this guy in my class," Kayla continued, "who gets really good grades."

The memory of the classroom formed in her head from a pixel like image to one that was as clear as day. The sight of her classmate Kyle Flemming lingered in her head. He was always charismatic and was surrounded by many people. Completely different from herself. He was one of the only three in the class who would get a 100 on every test.

"You got a hundred again? You have the brain of a god, Kyle." That was just a normal compliment that would be thrown around whenever he would be seen.

"He's also good at sports," Kayla recollected. It was like he just walked out of some teen romance novel. Perfect grades, perfect athletic skills, perfect looks. Everything about him was just perfect. "He is perfect. The type of kid my mom wanted. Not someone like me. With a score of 50, I could never be like him nor reach her expectations."

The man sat there in silence, thinking about what Kayla just said. But Kayla, on the other hand, felt a tingle in her chest. The thought of him judging her passed through her mind. She knew he probably thought the same thing as everyone else thought about teen problems, that they were just birds; they come and go.

"I guess I'm useless, huh?" She chuckled.

"I don't think so," he startled Kayla, "When I was your age, there were many similar problems that I had too. Growing up, I learned that it's best not to compare yourself with others. Sometimes there will be things they are better at physically or even academically. But remember each person is unique. There may be something we are talented at that can be used."

Unique...Someone like me, Kayla thought. She had never thought of it that way. In school, it was always just who's better at math or who is most athletic.Teachers didn't care unless the student's score made them look better as a teacher.

"With something like this," the man took the test paper out of Kayla's hand and looked at it, "Maybe we should do something about it, huh?"

Looking over to his right, the man noticed a lingering puddle that was left over from the rain that had passed a few days ago. Standing up, the man walked over to the puddle and then dropped the test into it.

"Whoops! Oh no. The wind seemed to have dropped your test in the puddle." He acted out the scenerio. Kayla was amazed at his actions, leaving her in awe. "Seems like we have to throw it away now, huh? Now your mom won't be able to see your score."

"I guess not..." Kayla replied with her mouth dropped.

Walking the rest of the way home was silent for Kayla. Even her thoughts were put on hold as she couldn't think of what to think at all because of the man. "I'm home..."

"You're home? It's late." Kayla's mother walked out of the room separated from the living room. Her mother spent most of her days huddled up in there due to the accident. It was the main reason why her mom had to quit her job in the first place. "How about today's test? Let me see it."

"I..." Kayla stuttered, "I can't give it to you. The wind...kind of blew it out of my hand, and it fell into a puddle."

The excuse seemed a bit far-fetched, but her mom took it. "I can't believe that even happened. Whatever. Just go make dinner. Your father is coming home soon."

Kayla clenched her shirt in her hand, waiting for her heart to calm down a bit. Lying wasn't something she enjoyed doing, especially as a person who didn't like talking much in the first place.

After her heart calmed down for a bit, Kayla made her way to her room, grabbing the ralling as she pushed herself up the stairs. When she walked into her room, she quickly turned around and grabbed the door handle that faced the inside of the room and began closing and opening the door. "One...two...three..."

Counting helped her keep track of how many times she opened and closed it. When reaching "three," Kayla then closed the door and began changing her clothes. She never liked wearing her school uniform so taking it off felt more like a treat than anything.

After changing into comfy clothes, she made her way back down stairs to the kitchen. She opened up one of the cabnets and grabbed a pot out of it. Placing it onto the stove, she began chopping some carrots, onions, and potatoes. Cutting the onions was the worst part, causing her to tear up.

"Hi, Kayla," a familiar voice greeted her as she looked over with teary eyes. "Oh boy. You're cutting onions?"

Nodding her head, Kayal made out the figure of her father after blinking a few times to release a tear. She liked her father compared to her mother, but what she didn't like about him was how nice he was. He was too nice. To the point where if her mother would say something mean to him, he would just take it in and reply, "Yes, honey."

"I'm making curry." Kayla informed him.

"Oh, my favorite." He grinned, exposing all the wrinkles on his face.

"You better go change before mom comes out."

"Yeah, I better."

I hate her so much, Kayla thought to herself as her father left to his room. This family wasn't happy at all, and she knew it. But she had to live with it. Live with graduating from high school with a GPA higher than 3.0 and going to college. It wasn't her ideal life, but it was still her life.

Am I really unique if I'm just following what my mom wants?

Kayla then remembered the man's face. She had never talked to a stranger like that before and never did she intend on telling her mom or dad about it. It would just frighten them. Her father had a long day and she didn't want to ruin his mood anymore than her mom would later that night. All she had to do was cook, stay quiet and listen to her mother's lectures. That was all she had to do, right?