No One Wants the Truth

Aunt Janice opened the door for Clarissa. 'Clarissa! How good of you to make it!' she greeted her rather spectacularly. She opened the door even wider for her and she stepped in. Aunt Janice was wearing a black sweater and blue jeans, a mini afro on her head. Clarissa on the other hand was wearing her white turtleneck sweater, jeans and pumps. Her hair, as always, had been pinned into a rabbit's tail at the back of her head. Her hands were loosely clasped just in front of her waist.

'Good morning, Miss Murphy, and please, call me Claire.'

'In that case, you can call me Janice.'

She gave her a half nod, grinning broadly.

'You can take a seat in the kitchen. Sineas is still in the shower.'

'Thank you, Miss…Janice.' Janice's half stern look had corrected her just in time.

A few minutes later, Janice had placed a bowl of peanut butter porridge in front of Clarissa.

She thanked her and took a spoonful.

Janice washed her hands and sat opposite her. Her chin was in her palm and she was grinning, staring at Clarissa.

'Aren't you hungry?' Clarissa asked her. She had noticed that Janice had not placed anything in front of herself.

'No, I'm good, Claire,' she responded without changing her posture. 'How's the porridge?' she asked her.

Clarissa nodded three times and smiled, 'It's good, good.' A silence followed afterwards except for Clarissa slurping her porridge.

'You remind me of my sister,' said Janice.

Clarissa stopped. 'How so?'

She looked reminiscently at the ceiling for a second before turning her eyes back to Clarissa. 'My sister was beautiful. Very beautiful. Just like you.'

She nodded, nervously. 'Thank you.'

'You must be proud of how you look. Slim body, attractive face, firm br…'

'How long do you think he'll be? Sineas, I mean?' she asked jerking her head towards the exit of the kitchen.

'Don't worry, Claire, not long.'

'Its just that we have to finish this assignment today and…'

'And you will finish today,' Janice said, her lips parting slowly to produce a grin. She dropped her arms onto the table. She broadened her grin. 'You like him, don't you?'

'Uh…' she pushed the half eaten bowl of porridge aside, 'Thank you very much for the porridge, Janice, but I…'

'Don't worry about it, Claire. I'm just grateful that Sineas finally found someone to confide in. The past few years haven't exactly been roses and strawberries for him…for us.'

Clarissa's skin turned pale. She looked like she was ready to leave.

As if noticing it, Janice said, 'He did tell you about his mother, right?'

She nodded. 'Yes, he told me about his parents,' Clarissa replied in a raspy voice. She added, 'His mother is a doctor at a hospital called Elproch in Breechwood and his father is a lawyer and you're a teacher at…'

Janice immediately burst into a shrill laughter. It was more mocking than joyous. 'His mother's a what..?!' She continued laughing.

Clarissa looked at the exit again, then turned back to Janice. She was aiming for it. One leap and she would be out of the room. Her lips made a slight tremble. 'What is it, Miss Murphy?'

She finally calmed her laughter down. 'My dear; Sineas' father shot himself in front of him when he was six years old. His mother lost her mind when she saw the body, attacked Sineas and has been in an asylum since that incident. And as for me, Claire, the only thing I teach is telling customers to get their feet off the table and to remember to leave a generous tip.'

'I'm sorry?'

'I'm a waitress,' she explained.

Clarissa gulped anxiously. 'But why would he..?'

'Lie?' She chuckled carelessly. 'My dear, what would you have done? No one wants the truth, Claire. No one wants the truth, especially if it's as messy as Sineas'.'

Clarissa looked lost as her eyes shifted from Janice to the door. She looked ready to bolt at any moment.

Janice sighed. Her expression had acquired a certain sternness. 'Nothing is as difficult as being an outcast, Claire,' she said tapping her hand on the table, twice. 'To have absolutely no one in your corner. To know that your body is in the world but your mind is isolated, stranded on an island. No one willing to give you a chance, judging you before they even give you a try. To be a reject. An unwanted product. To only have yourself as company. That kind of pain and isolation can destroy one's mind, body and soul. To cry and have no one to comfort you. To fall and have no one to help you up. To die and have no one to mourn for you. That's how it's like, Claire. That's the life of an outcast. That's the life my boy has been living. I'm even currently paying for his sessions with a shrink.' Aunt Janice stood up and walked slowly towards the sink. She leaned her back against it, facing Clarissa.

Clarissa's face had turned ghostly. Forget the exit, she was frozen stiff. She could not get up. She was extremely terrified now.

Aunt Janice smiled. She looked aimlessly at the kitchen exit. 'Growing up, my sister, Priscilla, was our parents' favourite. She never did anything wrong and even when she did, she didn't. I, on the other hand, never seemed to do anything right. I practically lived for my parents. Anything they wanted done I tried to do it quicker. Anything we were tasked with was where my focus always was. I stayed out of trouble, I finished my chores earlier, I did everything perfectly, Claire…everything. But it was never enough. I neglected my own needs for them. I abandoned my dreams and opinions for them, Claire. I lived for these people but it was just never enough. Meanwhile, Priscilla, the "angel". Priscilla, the "princess", the "cute smile", was performing mischief left, right and centre. Everything she touched turned into gold. Everything I touched was cursed. Despite my efforts, I was the outcast, the misfit, the rotten apple. My sister was the beautiful role model I was told to look up to. The role model they tried to force me to adopt. Eventually, my sister graduated from college with a medical degree, got a Masters in Psychology and she was awarded an Honorary degree in Philosophy. She started dating the man of her dreams. An architect called Abraham Jackson and they had Sineas, out of wedlock of course. Seemed like a fairytale ending until she started calling me to tell me that the nimrod was now beating her more often than he should have. I'm convinced he must have beaten Sineas too.'

Janice turned her back towards Clarissa, her hands still on the sink. She lowered her head, then continued, 'If only our parents could see us now. I may only have a high school diploma and move from job-to-job and town-to-town but at least I'm still alive…and I am safe. Sineas did tell you a little truth though. His mother was a doctor at Elproch Hospital but ironically, she's now a patient at Breechwood Asylum.'

Clarissa now looked beyond petrified. She was still frozen, her face pale like she had seen a poltergeist. 'Uh…ummm…Miss Murphy?'

Janice turned around quickly to face her. Surprisingly, she was grinning. 'Yes, dear?'

Clarissa got to her feet. 'You can tell Sineas we will do the uh…the uh…the assignment some other time.'

She narrowed her eyes. 'But isn't Monday the due date?'

'We'll…' she glanced at the door, 'We'll uh…we'll figure something out.' She headed for the exit. She did not look back, not even to say goodbye...