I stand up from the bed squaring her with my lips formed in a thin line.

She smiled at me acting innocent and moves to slide the curtains of the window for letting the sunlight peep into the room. "Keep those beautiful glaring eyes for the man of your dreams and start getting ready to the college. For today, your dad will drop you as you are already late." 

Those radiating silver and gray optics are the most beautiful feature I inherited from my mom. Rolling my eyes at her untimely sense of humor I went to the closet to bring out a face towel. "Mom, the hell wouldn't burst up if I skip the boring business lecture of Mr Reynolds."

Her bright features instantly turn glum. "Okay, tell your dad everything you just spoke to me. Actually he was the one, who told me to wake you up this early in the morning." There was a hidden irritation in the last five words of her sentence. 

Shit! I messed up even before hitting the target. Listening to the lecture of Mr Reynolds is much better than to hear the lessons of dad. It was my prudence that often intervenes giving me a timely warning. Plastering a fake smile I turn back and spoke too sweetly to her surprise. "Mom, I will be down within the next ten minutes."

"Good, you are a very intelligent girl." She pats my head but looks at me in an interlocked warning.

Ten minutes later…

"Mara, eat your breakfast and don't you dare to skip it." My dad beckoned standing a few steps behind while I was trying to escape the distasteful pudding. Fuck! Why has this day started so difficult for me? I gulped my breakfast at my dad's orders within 5 minutes and was all set sitting in the car waiting for him to come and drop me in the college.

I am really frightened of dad at times though all of us love and respect him for things he does to us. We are a middle class family but my parents never let us run short of anything in life. My dad works as a manager in a private bank and my mom is a home manager. I have a younger brother who is still doing his school.

****

Hey...Hey...my friend Anshi jumped beside me and smacked my back "Are you late to the college again?" I shake my head looking morosely towards her. "I got up late and invoked the irritating attitude of my mom followed by the threats of dad for trying to skip breakfast." 

Anshi mocks at me with her best pitiful looks and suddenly bursts to a laugh.  "I am sorry, I couldn't control myself." She squirms a little in trying to escape my hits. "There is no soul yet born in the world to remedy you, Mara Benjamin." 

I look at her, projecting my fake anger but she could already guess it and smacks my arm. "The accounts professor Mr Dave was asking for you this morning.”

Anshi’s information got me to tenterhooks. “What explanation can I give him? I can't find my first year accounting class work, I think I misplaced it somewhere. Mr Dave had been asking me for it since our college re-started after the vacation but regretfully I have no idea where I kept the book." 

Anshi holds her jaw open and smacks her mouth with her palm in alarm. "That old man is dangerous. He is for sure going to have your brains for his next meal. Dave already looked impatient searching for you in the class a while ago." My friend tells me in a forewarning because of which I was on the verge of having a panic attack.

Throughout my education I worked hard and topped my college getting distinction marks in all my subjects. So generally all the professors insist on my class works for their later reference. I had been a student of St Xavier's college, one of the best colleges in Miami for commerce stream since my 11th class. Now I am in my second year of graduation. Like any teenager, I have big dreams. I want to complete my post graduation in Accountancy to become a chartered accountant and one day make my parents proud.

Shannon POV

The alarm rang beside my bed at exactly 5:30 in the morning.  Rubbing my eyes I get rid of the remaining sleep and walk to the washroom to fresh up.  Within half an hour I was ready on my track pants and shirt to hit the gymnasium of my penthouse with a bottle of water in my hands. Yes I'm a gym freak because a healthy mind vests in healthy body. So I try to keep my mind and body healthy as much as I can. Once I get home, I don't take any calls regarding work no matter how important they are and vice-versa. My family got used to my rules and thus they only call me in my non-working hours.

Thinking about mom, here she is! The phone in my pants pocket vibrates and I connect the earpiece walking on the treadmill with a smile.  "Good Morning Mom. How are you?"  But within a minute of connecting to the call the peaceful features on my face transform to annoyance. Nevertheless my tone was established with control because I was speaking to the lone woman I love in the complete universe.  "What did he do?" 

For the next half an hour she kept crying which got me to an exclusive abhorrence for my brother. Anybody who messes with my mom is my best enemy. Adam is saved because he is my brother. "Don't worry, I will handle him."  I assure my mother and ended the call. 

Adam had been the spoilt boy, a black mole in our family.  Being the younger among the two of us, he had been the pampered little lad of our parents since he was a kid.