Hope's Chance by Jennifer Foor
Chapter 1
Hope
It was finally the first day of summer, officially. I couldn’t wait for the dang school bell to ring yesterday. Everyone in my Chemistry class must have been staring at the large black and white clock at the front of the classroom. As the second hand made its way to the twelve, I gently grabbed my bag off the floor and wrapped it around my shoulder.
The halls were crowded as my peers ran around like maniacs. Papers were flying around in the air, like kids had just tossed them as they exited the halls. It was funny how on the last day of school the halls became empty within seconds. I however, lingered through them, knowing I wouldn’t be returning. I had doubled up on classes and spent the last two summers enrolled with the misfit kids who couldn’t pass during the normal school year, just to be able to graduate a year earlier. My birthday was late in the year causing me to have to be a year behind all of my friends.
It wasn’t that I loved school, because I hated it, in fact all I wanted was to never have a homework assignment again. What pushed me to the decision was my parents. They used to have such a great relationship, but two years ago my father decided to start banging his secretary. Shortly after, he decided that even she wasn’t enough for him. Now the bastard was entertaining the notion of remarrying again. The woman was just five years older than me, and to make matters worse, he didn’t see that there was anything wrong with his actions.
When my parents first separated, my father moved all the way to Pennsylvania, to start over. He left my mother with a steep mortgage she couldn’t afford and eventually we had to move in with my grandparents. According to my mother, which was usually not a good source of information, he hadn’t even paid child support for nearly a year now.
My dad had worked in Real Estate and always seemed to move somewhere new when the market went dry. To my astonishment he called me last month to inform me that he and Buffy, were moving back to Virginia. I never realized how much I missed having my father around until he called to say he was moving home. My mother wasn’t thrilled, but even through her animosity toward him, she seemed happy he wanted to make another go at having a relationship with me. All of my friends had dads that did everything with them, while I was the girl whose dad abandoned her for women close to her own age.
I looked around my room and wondered what I would wear to go see my father after nearly a year of him being absent in my life. Would he care what I wore? Did I need to make a good impression around his new girl-toy? I was overwhelmed with anxiety over this morning’s brunch with him. Finally, after a few hours, and an empty closet, I decided on a light blue sun dress. It made my olive skin pop and my blue eyes shine. I was going to curl my entire head, but noticed the clock and settled to throw my light brown hair up in a subtle pony tail with a blue bow that matched my dress. I had to smile when I took one final look in the mirror. For someone that had a diploma, I’d managed to make myself look about twelve years old.
My mother reluctantly handed me the directions to my father’s new house. She gave me a million eye rolls before kissing me goodbye. I could tell she hated the idea of him being happy, and I had to admit I hated it too.
When I pulled into the community I noticed how large the houses had gotten. Long private driveways separated every yard. I took a double take when I looked at the address my mother had written down. When I saw the matching numbers on a stone pillar leading down a matching stone driveway I figured it had to be wrong. My little Volkswagen Jetta putted its way down the driveway until I came to a stop behind a Land Rover SUV. The house had a stone front and ivy was growing up either of its sides. The windows and doors were trimmed in large white wood with black shutters.
I stepped out of the car and made sure the wind wasn’t blowing my dress up above my ass, before making my way toward the door. It unexpectantly flew open and a young girl who resembled a plastic Barbie doll came walking toward me. She was wearing a form fitting dress that could have been made from only spandex. It was bright pink with giant yellow flowers scattered over it. Her platinum blonde hair was curled as if she were going to model in the next issue of playboy, in fact, she kinda looked like Kendra, one of the ex-playmate girlfriends of Hugh Hefner himself.
“Ohhh yay! I’m so glad you’re here.” The Barbie doll squeaked. “Come here, let me get a good look at you.”
Oh my God this was a bad idea!
I stood like a statue while this large breasted bimbo tugged and pinched every part of me that I had assumed was a private place. When I finally thought she was finished, I started to move forward. That is when she reached over and grabbed both of my breasts.
“Oh my, what the?” I said shocked.
“Your breasts are so perky and natural. I told the doctor that is how I wanted mine, but he must have misunderstood.” She admitted.
“Um, I don’t know what to say to that.”
“Oh sweetie you should know I am just joking. Come on in. Your father is going to be so happy you are finally here. He has been talking about you non-stop.” Before I could say yes, or even Hell no, she grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into the house.
She never let go of my arm as she pulled me through the large foyer and into a family room. My father was sitting in a leather recliner watching a golf match on television. He never even turned in our direction, even with the volume level of his Barbie up higher than my radio played. “Baby, look who I found outside.” She said as she let go of me and bounced herself onto his lap. Before he could even turn in my direction, she was slapping him with a kiss that may or may not of contained her entire tongue.