Ella " wake up, sleepyhead, all you know how to do is sleep " my mom said tapping me angrily. I groaned " go wash the dishes " she instructed " but mom, we have a maid " i replied sleepily. " i must not meet you here when i come back " she said and with that walked out. I carried my legs sluggishly to the bathroom . I took my bath brushed my teeth and walked out. I applied my body lotion and wore my clothes. I headed downstairs, Mia my little sister was having breakfast, she looked at me and frowned, i ignored her and walked to the kitchen. I had already washed all the plates when Mia walked in and dropped her plate in the basin. She turned to leave " come wash the plate " i said to her She turned " i don't want to " she said rolling her eyes at me. " are you nuts " i half yelled " well do your worst " she sneered " I'm not going to repeat my words Mia, because I'm not your maid " i replied . " I'm not gonna wash it and that's final " she replied I raised my hands about to hit her when my mom walked into the kitchen. " what were you trying to do " she asked me. " i was about to slap Mia " i sneered " and you still have the guts to say it huh?, how many times do i have to tell you not to try to lay your filthy hands on Mia " she yelled. A tear escaped my eyes. She turned to Mia " go to school dear " she said Mia looked at me and smirked before leaving. " mum, what... " i started but i got interrupted by her. " you are grounded " she said " but mom, i have test today " i replied " i don't care, but you are grounded " she replied and walked away. I walked to my room and shut the door. "Oh God, why, why do i have to go through this all the time, why do i have to be the hated one, i can't do this anymore, I'm tired " i said crying I thought of running away but the idea, just frightens me the more . I can't miss this test, what do i do. I walked to my closet and took a black hoodie, i wore it and carried my bag." I'm going for this test and nothing is gonna stop me " i said to myself as i walked to the window. I pushed it open ,I climbed out and rested on the branch of the tree close to my window. I reached out to the window and closed it a little bit . I climbed down from the tree and looked around cautiously to make sure no one was there , when I was sure none was there I raced to my bicycle, wore my helmet and rode straight to school. I peddled as fast as i could and got to school at the nick of time. I immediately ran to my class and took my seat. " hey, you were late " Chelsea my best friend asked as I took my seat. "The usual" I simply said. Chelsea is my best friend, she's always there for me , she's everything to me . when I told her *the usual * she already understood what I meant. It was no secret how my parents treated me. We started the test and ended it sooner than I expected. After the test Chelsea walked over to me " girl ,what happened this time ?" She asked as she sat on my table " my mom grounded me " I sighed "Why?, doesn't she know you have test today " she replied surprised " I seriously don't know ,but I need to go now ,she must not find out I sneaked out " I replied as I carried my bag. " okay " Chelsea replied as we walked out of the class together " oh no " I muttered as I saw mia ,I ducked quickly before she saw me and hid . " where's Ella " I heard mia say as she approached Chelsea " don't ask me silly I don't live with you " Chelsea sneered " oh ,I thought she sneaked out after being grounded because of me " mia mocked as she and her friends laughed. " ha ha ,funny " Chelsea sneered and they walked away . When I was sure mia had gone I came out . " Thank goodness she didn't see me if not I would have been a dead meat " I sighed as we walked to the bicycle lot. " okay ,I'll come to your house after school " Chelsea said as I put on my helmet. " okay ,thank you " I forced a smile as I rode away faster than I did when I was coming. I got home and parked my bicycle carefully, I walked cautiously to my window ,climbed the tree , opened the window before jumping in. I shut it tight when I got in and flung myself on my bed. I sighed in relief, thank goodness I wasn't caught ,because I don't know what I would go throw if I was caught. I took off the hoodie and placed it in my closet. I took my favorite novel ,why!, actually that was the title ,it was like the novel was talking about me ,just that the girl was married off to a total stranger. I lay on my bed and flipped through the pages of the novel to where I stopped reading. Suddenly the door opened " mom" I whispered surprised " did you go anywhere?" she asked Oh my!! " no I was just in my room ....on my bed here " I managed to reply " someone told me he saw you " she said "Me ? ,me? No , I have been here the whole time " I replied " Really ? ,really Ella ?" My mom asked doubtingly making me to shiver in fright.......

Ella "Really ? , really Ella ? " my mom asked doubtingly making me to shiver in fright. " what do you think ,never left this room " I managed to say. " I came here earlier and you weren't here " she replied " em...e..I was probably in the bathroom " i stammered " I went there and you were not there " she said " then I was in the closet behind my clothes " " didn't care just checking to make sure you didn't sneak out " my mom sneered and walked out. Gosh , I sighed in relief , I was almost caught. I flung myself on the bed.my mom words echoed in my ears *I didn't care* as I read my nov el.so she doesn't care , is she even my real mother ,are they my real parent ,why do they treat my like this. I closed my book and cried on my pillow . I don't know how long I can take this. I cried for long that I didn't realize when I slept off. I woke up to Mia's yelling. I hadn't felt so refreshed in days. " where is my dress " mia yelled in anger scattering my clothes. I stood up and cleaned my eyes. " what the heck are you doing " I asked as I pushed her away from my closet.. She ignored me. " I said what the heck are you doing " I asked this time yelling. " I'm looking for the dress mom bought for me " she replied " so why are you checking my room " " because you stole it " she sneered " ummm....stole , ..that's a big word to use but why would I steal your ugly dress anyway " I mocked " how dare you " she fumed . " well it isn't here...so out " I said pushing her to the door. " just get your hands off me " she replied with a disgusted tone. " I'm gonna meet mom now and tell her you stole my dress so you better bring my dress out before mom comes " she threatened "Oh no , I'm so scared ....is that the worst you can do ?, huh , spoilt brat " I sneered. She glared at me and dashed out. Gosh ,she literally spoilt my mood, how could she think I stole her ugly dress , or maybe she his it in my closet , I don't trust that girl. I walked to my closet and began to arrange my clothes. Suddenly the door opened , mia and mom walked in. " what's wrong " I asked pretending not to know why they were here. " return Mia's dress now " my mom ordered " um..what " I asked as I closed the closet and walked to my bed. " you heard her dummy " mia yelled. " I'll act like I didn't hear you mia " I replied as I took my phone. " I'm talking to you Ella , don't get me angry " my mom said. " how would she accuse me of stealing her ugly dress ,what in the world would I use it for " I sneered " revenge " mia said " tell you what , I didn't take your ugly ,low rated ,cheap ,useless dress ,so get out " I replied angrily " Don't get me angry ,you wouldn't like what I would do to you " my mom warned " what's the worse you can do ?huh? , ground me ? , deny me of food ?,marry me off ? , seize my phone ?, huh...I don't freaking care anymore , I don't " I yelled angrily as tears ran through my eyes . " you know what ,I'm no longer scared of what you gonna do to me ,like you're my real parents " I added angrily and ran out of my room. I ran out of the house and walked to my bicycle ,I met Chelsea outside. " don't go in , let's go to your house " I said as I put on my helmet. She didn't hesitate . we rode straight to Chelsea's house. When we got to her house we parked the bicycle removed our helmet and walked into her house. " are your parent home " I asked as I sat on the sofa . " they traveled, didn't i tell you. " Chelsea said as she walked to the refrigerator . "To where " I asked. She came back with two bottles of cold orange juice and two glass cups. " Washington , they would be back next week" she replied " I'm staying here then " I said as I poured the juice into the cup. I gulped down the whole content and placed the cup back on the table. "What's wrong babe " Chelsea asked worriedly " it's mom and mia again " I sighed " mia accused me of taking one of her ugly dress ,like so unbelievable " I replied " this is serious " Chelsea breathed heavily " I have a solution to my problem " I replied " which is " Chelsea asked " I am gonna run away ".....

"I'm gonna run away " " what! , you can't do that " Chelsea half yelled. " I can " I grinned " I'm not going to let you run away , I know it's not easy living with them but...." she paused " it's not , that's why i have decided to run away " I replied " babe , you can do this , you don't need to run away , you still need to go to college , they are still your parents " Chelsea persuaded ,but I guess my mind was already made up , I can't continue to live like this , it's tiring and annoying. " I'll think about it " I sighed " you better do now " Chelsea replied " okay ,can we forget about my family and let's talk about school " I replied " we would be graduating next week ...so excited " Chelsea squealed " oh good " I replied excited " wait ,what about prom ? " " it's this week , didn't jess tell you " Chelsea said " no , so who's your date to prom " I asked teasingly " my date ? " Chelsea repeated , her cheeks red " spill it girl " I teased tickling her " okay ,okay , stop " she replied laughing " it's Andrea " she replied " oh my gosh ,Andrea " I called surprised " yeah , so what about you " she asked smiling " I don't have a date , besides I don't know if mom would let me go to prom " I sighed frustrated " huh , how sure are you " she asked " hundred and one sure " " I'm hungry , let me get something we can eat " Chelsea replied and walked towards the kitchen. I only nodded. I picked up my phone , just then my mom call came in . gosh , I don't wanna pick up this call . " go on , pick up " someone said behind and I turned. " Chelsea , what are you doing here ,thought you went to the kitchen " I asked surprised ,she just walked into the kitchen about ten seconds ago , now she's at my back. " I just came out , pick up the call , if you don't they would come here looking for you which I don't want " she said and walked back to the kitchen. I sighed and answered the call. " hello " I said reluctantly " you get your ass off where you are now and come home " my mom yelled from the other end. " why " I asked " because I said so " she replied " you have just ten minutes to get here " mom added and hung up. "Well come get me here " I murmured as I dropped my phone on the table. " what did she say " Chelsea asked as she dropped the tray she was holding on the table . " come home " I replied " what are you waiting for then " she asked as she took a bit of the sandwich " really Chelsea " " just go , call me when you get there " she said . I sighed , I took two pieces of the sandwich inside a nylon bag. " incase I don't get served tonight " I smiled . " I made it for you " she said . we walked out. " expecting your call soon " she said as she bade me good bye . I smiled as I mounted my bicycle and rode straight home ...