Every Minute Counts

By

Allanah Hunt


Copyright 2010 Allanah Hunt

“Russell and Diane are coming.”
Those five fatal words rang around in my head for a while before they sunk in. The words seemed to burn into my mind, torturing my very being. What had I done to deserve this? Had I been so evil in my short lifetime of thirteen years?
“Why?” I blurted out to my mother, unable to hide the contempt in my voice.
My mother frowned slightly. “They’re our friends and they’re coming to visit us,” she said in an annoyed tone. “What’s wrong with that?”
“What’s wrong with it?” the words screamed inside my mind. “Russell and Diane’s prom dates in high school could have been Adam and Eve, soap is a foreign invention to them, and brushing their teeth is a momentous occasion that takes place about once every three years!”
Of course, this whole rampant was all in my head. If I would’ve said half of what I was thinking, my television privileges would have been taken away for the rest of my life.
I tried to muster up the best smile I could, even though I felt it must have looked more like a snarl. “There’s nothing wrong with it at all,” I said through gritted teeth.
Mum gave me a strange look, got up from the lounge chair she had been sitting on, and walked into the kitchen to start cooking lunch. I stayed where I was as if I were stuck to the chair. I felt weighed down by depression. Russell and Diane? I groaned.
“My life is falling apart,” I grumbled, crossing my arms. How the hell was I going to make it through these next few days?


“In Holland, we have a far more superior way of engineering. Take for example, our way of manufacturing cars. We …”
I could even hear Russell from inside the house. It was unbelievable. No matter what I did I couldn’t get away from these people. I felt worse for my father though. He actually had to stay there and listen to Russell. At least I wasn’t in the direct firing line.
I glanced out the window. My dad was changing the muffler on our car and calmly nodding as Russell rambled on about Holland’s superior way of engineering. I could tell by the look on my dad’s face that he wasn’t hearing a word Russell was saying.
“Allanah, could you go and keep Diane company while I fix lunch, please?” Mum asked. She was standing in the doorway of my bedroom and looked a bit frazzled. “I will only be a couple of minutes.”
I looked up from my sitting position on the bed. “Do I have to?” I pleaded.
“Yes,” my mum replied shortly. “Go. Now.”
I sighed and dragged myself up from my bed. I walked into the lounge room where Diane was sitting. She looked up and smiled as I entered. “Hello, Love,” she greeted me. “Come and have a seat.”
I sat down on a seat opposite to her. Her body aroma was disgusting. I tried to hold my breath as I talked. “Hi,” I replied in a tight voice which one does when holding one’s breath. “How’s it going?”
“Good, good. Yourself?”
“Oh, fine, fine.”
I couldn’t hold my breath any longer so I began to breath normally again. The stench was suffocating.
I heard the clock ticking away on the wall, which only added to the awkwardness of the situation.
“How is school?” Diane asked.
“Oh, wonderful. Just wonderful.”
Tick, tock.
“Have a good trip here?” I queried.
“Yes, it was very pleasant.”
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Then, like an angel saving my life, my mother called me. “Allanah, can you go tell your father and Russell that lunch is ready?”
“Of course,” I shouted and turned back to Diane. “Sorry, have to go.”
“That fine, Love. Thank you for the lovely talk.”
“No problem.”
I leapt up from my seat and made my way to the back door. Free at last! At least for the next five minutes, but to me, every minute counted.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 06.01.2010

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