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She makes her way over to me and grabs me roughly by the elbow. "Not only are you stupid but you're also a klutz. You're an embarrassment, you know that?"
I can feel her fake nails digging into my skin. I don't fight her, though. She all but drags me over to the back corner of the basement. It's a place I know far too well.
I trip over myself as she forces me into the metal cage. It’s a large cage, but no cage is ever really large enough. Even with me still being shorter than a lot of the other girls at the school, I can't move around freely in it.
She closes and locks the door and doesn't say a word to me before turning to leave.
Time moves oddly in this place. In the past I've tried keeping track of how long I've been stuck inside this cage. It was always impossible.
Days can feel like minutes, and minutes can feel like hours.
True darkness swallows everything it touches.
My stomach growls and I lay on the floor, trying to transport myself somewhere else. Perhaps the only thing that's ever grown in the darkness is someone's imagination.
When I was very little, I used to cry and scream. I was afraid. I had hope then of being let out. But, over the years I came to understand that hope is a delusion and my crying only makes the situation worse.
I started finding other ways to pass the time. Sleeping is far too difficult on the cold, cement floor. But, laying down and closing my eyes and imagining that I'm in a beautiful rainforest, or floating on a cloud gives me some comfort.
I used to dream about a handsome prince who might come to save me. That was until I got to high school and I became old enough to understand that I don't want to rely on anyone for anything.
After some amount of time, a bit of stray light from the basement door cuts through the darkness. I can hear my mother's voice from just above me as she descends the stairs.
There are two sets of footsteps this time. My father is with her.
"I don't know what to do with her, Jim," she laments. "You work so hard to support us both and she's so ungrateful. For all the money we spend on her education, she comes home with near failing grades. What else am I supposed to do?"
"I know, my love," he replies to my mother.
"And now I find out that she's been dating some boy at the school? No wonder her grades are so poor. He's called the house no less than three times since she's been home."
My stomach drops as I hear those words. In my worry over my test, I'd completely forgotten that I was supposed to meet Constantino tonight. He was throwing some special dinner and had specifically asked me to attend.
Dating was a strong word for what Constantino and I are. Everyone at the school says we are dating and he never contests it. He seems to really value competition and I am currently ranked number one in my class as far as grades are concerned.
But, he and I have never even kissed.
"She's such a problem child," my mother says as she and my father stand in front of my cage.
I feel so weak. I haven't eaten in over 12 hours. I know I should sit up when my parents approach, but I just don't have the strength. I continue to lay on the floor with my eyes closed.
For the first time in a really long time, I feel like I might cry. Not only have I let down my parents, but I've also let down Constantino.
I can't seem to do anything right.
Maybe when I'm let out this evening, I can call him and come up with some excuse for why I couldn't make it. My mother never keeps me down here overnight.
As expected, she fishes the key out of her pocket and unlocks the door.
"Come on," she says to me. "Your father is home. The least you could do is greet the man who gives you everything you own."
I force myself up to a seated position and then crawl out of the cage. I find the strength somewhere to stand and address my father.
"Hello, sir," I say to him, not looking him in the eye.
"Your mother tells me you've been misbehaving again," he says. "And that some boy has been calling non stop since you've gotten home."
I don't say anything. There's nothing that I can say to make this better. I just wait patiently for it to be over, like I always do.
