Voids Fill Up Differently by Students of IACT (books to read for teens .TXT) 📖

stood in front of me and mumbled: “Maaf, kak sorry mom and daddy angry at you.”, her head was down and she didn’t look me in the eye for a second. She made me scrambled eggs for breakfast, but I wasn’t in a savoury mood so I requested Hairul to stop by McDonald’s before school. They don’t have the best pancakes, but my favourite pancake place, The Good Batch, doesn’t start serving until 10 a.m. Since McDonald’s was 10 minutes away from Alice’s place I told Hairul to pick her up as well, I wanted to ask her if she’d changed her mind about my party. Alice doesn’t go to Sri KDU with me, she goes to SMK Taman SEA, a public school. I knew Hairul wouldn’t mind the drive. Alice got in the car and greeted Hairul with her enthusiastic “Hi!”,  Hairul reluctantly smiled and nodded at her.

 

And then I asked her

“ So will you be coming to Kyo next Saturday?”

“I think I’ll pass Nat, but you have fun okay!”

“ Ugh fine, I will, but you won’t so that’s your loss”

“Tell me all about it after okay Nat?”

“Ms Nat, we’re here,” Hairul said

“It’s Ms Natasha,” I stated clearly

I gave Alice a kiss on the cheek and left for school.

 

I laid on my bed, looking at that pink and black Chanel dress reminiscing my old life. I haven’t spoken to Mom and Daddy since I left home. It baffles me how they were willing to lose me as a daughter over a party, how selfish could they be? I reached for my phone from under my pillow, desperately trying to find an escape from reality. As I was scrolling through Instagram, I came across a picture of my high school friends. It was a picture of them having brunch in The Good Batch. I haven’t spoken to them in weeks, none of them has reached out to me. I felt my blood start to boil, my nails were digging into my palms because of how tightly I was clenching my fist. I gave them everything! I was the one who brought them to The Good Batch in the first place, and now they’re there without me? They even have the audacity to post it on Instagram. I clicked onto my profile, ready to delete any traces of our friendship off my feed. Instagram used to be where I go to when I needed to remind myself who I am, but every time I go on the app, all I see is my old life haunting me . My follower count dropping day by day.

 

I laid there worried. I’ve been to 4 job interviews in 3 weeks, and haven’t had a call back from anyone of them. How am I going to make rent? The landlord was clear about his rules when I moved in. If I don’t have the money by next Tuesday, that’ll be one strike. 3 strikes and I’m out. Mom and Daddy told me that they wouldn’t give me money anymore so I couldn’t ask them. I got out of bed and walked to Jia Yin’s room. As I stood in front of her door, I took a breath in and closed my eyes. I knocked on her door, she opened. I saw the shock in her eyes when I asked for her help to cover my rent this month. “I’m sorry Natasha, I’m a student myself. I don’t have that much money to spare.” Jia Yin replied.  I let out a sigh and walked back to my room without saying another word.

 

With so much time on my hands, I decided to take the LRT to the heart of KL. It’s been a tough week, I needed to feel like me again. I wandered around KLCC and malls nearby. It felt different compared to when I was last here. As I walk around the stores, I find myself looking at the price tags hoping that I’d find something I could afford. In the past, I’d see something I like and put in on the counter. I’d swiped a card and it was mine. I looked around the billboards and I see an ad for LimConstructions, Daddy owns one of the largest construction companies in Malaysia. I couldn’t help but smirk, it was nice seeing a part of him after so long. As much as I hate admitting it, I miss my family, I miss having a meal that isn’t frozen from 7-eleven with people I know, even if that includes kakak.

 

The last dinner I had with them was for my birthday. I told my parents that Alice and I were going to have a sleepover for my birthday, I couldn’t tell them about my party because I knew they wouldn’t approve of it. “How about celebrating with us?” Mom questioned, she seemed heartbroken. “We could celebrate before, just family” I stated while holding Mom’s hand. She smiled and agreed to it.

 

The night before my party was my birthday dinner with Mom and Dad. I was on the phone with Alice as I was getting ready for dinner, I was telling her how excited I was about my party. I heard the doorbell ring, Uncle and Aunty Lim must be here.

 

“I have to go, Alice, bye for now.”

“ Bye Nat, love you! Have fun tomorrow!”

 

I hung up the phone, adjusted my dress a little and went downstairs. “Happy Birthday!” everyone yelled in unison as I walked down the stairs. Aunty and Uncle brought Jamie along as usual. Jamie and I are cousins but we don’t really bond well, partially because of our age gap but also because of how shy he is. Mom made my favourite ricotta and spinach ravioli, it tasted exquisite, as usual. Jamie didn’t say a word during dinner, he ate so stilly it was as if he wanted to be unnoticeable. Aunty asked me what I was doing the day after “ I heard your Mom said you had plans of your own tomorrow? You sure have grown up!”. “ Yeah! I’m having a sleepover at Alice’s house, she’s a friend.” I explained while taking my last bite of that delicious ravioli. I tried making conversation with Jamie so that he’d feel more included. “Hey Jamie, how old are you again?” I asked even though I knew the answer. “I’m eight”, he mumbled. “ Wow, you’re getting so big so fast!” I expressed, but Jamie ignored it.

The night ended with kakak clearing the dinner table. I gave everyone a hug goodbye except Jamie, who was already waiting by the door with his arms crossed.

 

It was the day of the party, I packed my things and went downstairs. I told Mommy that I was leaving to Alice’s place, but the truth was that Ron was waiting for me on the next street. I gave Mom a kiss on the cheek before I left, Daddy was busy in his office so I didn’t interrupt. I got into Ron’s Mercedes and chucked my bags into the back seat. He took me back to his place before the party so I’d have time to get ready.

 

I sat on the floor of his room in front of the full-length mirror while I did my make up. Ron was laying on his bed explaining to me how clubs worked and what to expect. I don’t remember much of what he said because I was busy making sure every inch of my face looked flawless. I changed into my little black Givenchy dress that I found in the back of my closet, I could always count on a little black dress for every occasion, it’s a girl’s best friend.

 

Ron’s personal driver, Syaffi, drove us to Kyo. My friends from school were already waiting outside when I got there. I remember the music being so loud I could hear it from outside the club. Regina and Ching came to me with gifts, they gave me hugs and kisses on the cheek. The rest of them were waiting right in front of the doors, excited to get in. As promised, Ron got us in hassle-free. Drinks were all on me that night, I took my first sip and instantly felt the rush, I loved it. Soon enough, we were all having fun dancing on the dance floor. The music and the dancing made my heart pound, we were laughing and singing, we were happy.  We danced until close to 3 a.m., and then we heard screaming. Police barged into the doors of the club with flashlights, they shoved us and put us all into a line. My friends and I were separated, I was worried but a part of me remained calm knowing that Ron’s got my back. I saw them grabbing my friends by the arm and dragging them to the side, one of the policemen shined his flashlight on me “IC please miss” he demanded. I rummaged through my purse and handed him my identification card, he immediately grabbed my arm and put me with my other friends. I started to get worried “ Ron! Ron!” I shouted, trying to get him to realize I was in trouble. Ron saw me from the other side of the room, but he turned away and walked out the doors. The police took my friends and me to the station, when we got there, they asked for our parents' numbers. I was hesitant to give them mine because I knew how much trouble I’d be in. I asked the policeman in charge how much money it would take for me to walk away, thinking it wouldn’t be an issue. He looked at me as his eyes widened, grabbed me by the arm and shoved me into the lock-up cell. “You’re not getting out until your parents arrive”, he yelled. I agreed to give them my parents’ numbers, I asked the authorities for my cell phone to check their numbers in my contacts. As I wrote their numbers down, I thought about how much trouble I was going to be in, frantically trying to come up with solutions to lessen the damage.

 

20 minutes later, I heard my parent’s voices approaching my lock-up cell. The policeman unlocked the cell, and I followed behind him and my parents to the counter. I collected my belongings and went home. The car ride home was awfully quiet, it scared me that I got caught, but Mom and Daddy’s reaction scared me more. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. Daddy looked at me through the rearview mirror but neither of them said a word.

 

When we got home Mom asked me to go to their room for a chat. I went upstairs prepared for a long lecture from my parents. Instead what I got was far worse than a long-winded lecture. Daddy looked at me and stated “Natasha, you have a week to pack your things, you are no longer welcome in this home. We have tried for so long to make you a better person, but this is the last straw. We’ve seen how you treat Kakak and Hairul, Mom and I both think it’s time for you to learn some responsibility and gratitude.” I was completely and utterly shocked at what my parents had just told me. How could they just ask their daughter to leave? Aren’t parents supposed to be there for you through everything? At this point, I realized there was no point arguing back, it would just add more fuel to the fire and that was something I definitely did not want at that moment. As I walked out of my room, from the corner of my eyes, I saw my parents fuming with a hint of disappointment in their eyes. But as soon as I walked out of the door, I realized that I don’t need my parents to support me. “You wouldn’t be able to go a day without me. You love me too much, I’m your only daughter!” Natasha shouted with full of ego in