Aunt peg
Melina's mother always made the worst assumptions of her as she was either degrading her or using her as a lesson to learn from what her sisters did. Instead of her trying to control her own daughters she used Melina as a point of this is what would happen if you mess up like your sisters. Her being accused for being sexually active over a boy attacking her all the while she defended herself got under Melina's skin as he mother always made the way she treated her youngest daughter out to be a lesson or value to be learned.
Growing up her mother's excuse for doing this to Melina was so she wouldn't grow up to be a bad child. Because she couldn't handle another bad child . Melina had no choice but to be a good child because if she was punished for doing nothing image what would happen if she did do something.
Melina felt herself falling in between the cracks of self loathing and never being good enough for anyone's standards a mindset she would have to face even in her adult life. Where the concept of where the bad was rewarded and the good was punished.
When she got home she wanted to go check up on her hunter to see if he was getting better than she last saw him and to sneak more sustain food and water to him because right now he was her only friend at the moment. But as Melina thought her mother would leave her alone her and Paula had other things in mind as she was going to teach Melina a lesson about contradicting her mother's infinite wisdom in front of her aunt pegs.
In truth Melina's mother was angry and embarrassed that her closest friend was the reason she lost her husband. Her family. Everything. But if it wasn't for Melina telling on what went on in the comfort of their secrets that her mother turned a blind eye to as long as she had her husband. She was angry at Melina for ruining yet another one of her relationships with pegs and made her look bad in light of her so called excellent parenting skills.
Melina's mother shoved her as she wanted to fight and Melina never wanted to raise her hands against her family as she knew that was her family and she never wished harm on them no matter what they did to her . Her mother got mad Melina wouldn't fight her as she let Paula fight Melina as she left the room. Paula kicked her in the ribs but Melina never cried out. She never fought back she knew if she did she was giving them exactly what they wanted. An excuse to punish her more than what they were doing already.
The next day Melina knew she had to get a move on selling the donuts to get her money for camp Cosby because let's face it if she didn't get away from her toxic family she knew where her mother kept her forty five and she wasn't afraid to use it. She moved slowly house to house as she knocked on doors and did her sales pitch in her neighborhood as she collected check after check and made orders for a dozen glazed donuts towards her trip.
Everyday after school she would move neighborhood to neighborhood sailing her donuts as it was two days before the deadline as she thought she would be short on the order as a check came in with an order as it was placed at the school by my name as Melina thought she was going to deliver bad news she didn't meet her goal and she had failed and she wanted to cry she couldn't go to camp . She handed in her orders still wanting to keep her end of the bargain even if she failed. She had all intentions on delivering the donuts to her supporters and thank them for helping her try to earn enough to go to camp.
Melina came to the office as the office told her she reached her goal and made more money than any of the other sales as Melina swelled with pride as the teacher went to hug her and Melina winced in pain as she was still sore from the brutal bearings her sister Paula gave her . The teacher looked at Melina concerned.
" Melina . Are you okay?" She said in concern.
" I'm fine. Skate boarding accident over the weekend. Fell off it and rolled down the road." Lied Melina knowing damn well she didn't own a skateboard or even knew she didn't know how to ride a skateboard. She knew if she told the truth she would get more of a beating then she was recovering from now.
" Can I see , please . Maybe I can help you if it's minor." Asked the teacher as Melina held her shirt down knowing the bruises on her was not going to match up.
" Please don't. All I want to do is go to camp. I need to go to camp and I did as you asked and I want to go to camp please." Begged Melina in desperation her teacher saw in her eyes as she nodded and released Melina with a class pass as she had a sad look on her face as she went to talk to the school counselor about her and Melina's interaction.
Melina felt better when she got to class as she was really tired as she hadn't slept much from the pain and her mother was gone again to Darwin's and dawns house as she wasn't allowed to go since she was hurt . Melina layed her head down to sleep and she was asked to go to the nurses office to sleep it off as she assumed it was from her exhaustion from selling donuts for the trip as that was the excuse Melina gave her when she was sent to the school nurse .
Melina forgot about her back as she slept in the nurses bed and her shirt came up and showed the bruises as the councilor was called and Melina cried.
" Please I want to go to camp . I worked so hard." Protested Melina as she knew if they documented her bruises she would get taken away again.
" You will get to go to camp don't worry you earned that." Said the councilor as she made a look at the nurse and principal.
" And I have to go to summer school my mom already paid for it I have to go. " Said Melina as the councilors eyes threatened tears as she nodded hiding back her emotions.
" Yes Melina . You can go to summer school too . Your such a responsible little girls . " She said as she looked at the principal .
" I try to be. I don't want to disappoint anyone. Can I go back to class now I feel more rested now." Asked Melina not liking how the adults looked at her .
" Yes you can but first can you lift your shirt for us we are going to take some pictures of your skateboard accident. I promise you will go to camp and summer school we don't want to disappoint anyone . "Said the councilor softly.
Melina lifter her shirt and closed her eyes and prayed they would keep their word. She knew she couldn't tell her mother what happened at school or it would be worse.
" You did well Melina. Just think you worked your way to a class trip and you do deserve to go to it. Do you have everything you need to take that trip already." Asked the councilor trying to fight back tears from her looking at Melina.
" I think so. I don't have much . But I'll make do." Said Melina as she never thought of the packing part of the trip just making it to the trip.
" Well I'm sure we can donate a few items and you be ready in two days now to have a blast at camp . You earned it after all." Smiled the councilors.
Melina nodded worried what happened today would make her mother mad at her. She forced a fake smile and went back to class as the adults looked between each other what to do with the evidence they just saw.
Melina woke up so happy she could go to camp Cosby as she got on the bus as he mom was ready to get rid of her for two weeks and she sat on the bus that was going to take her there as she was staying out of her mother's ways so her mother wouldn't get mad at her and cancel her trip over something stupid as not doing something like fighting her mother.
Mia had gotten herself in trouble again and was sent to boot camp to try to straighten her out and Paula was always bringing over boys like she didn't care who saw now mia was gone again. Melina sat on the bus with her portable CD player where the batteries were dying so every once and she would have to charge the ends of the batteries on her jeans and put them back in to listen to a few more minutes of music.
Melina knew if her mother didn't want to pay for things she wouldn't buy her batteries for her CD player . Right now she was listening to Atlantis Morsette . A CD girl from one of her adoptive homes have her as a gift to remember her by. She was the one who taught her how to make batteries last when you don't have a spare and the CD skipped from all the times Melina played it . She also had some Garth Brooks, and Micheal Bolton from her her house parents she had gotten one Christmas.
Melina had single pink ice ring she wore all the time which was a gift from her house parents. A month after she got home the ring went missing and Melina didn't have much but those items were all she had that was hers.
The CD was her most valuable possession and Melina only had three pair of pants and the bra and panties she had found and she hoped they were clean as her mother wasn't good at washing clothes . You never gave her laundry she hated washing clothes she would wash them and forget she washed them and leave them damp for a few weeks then remembered and rewash them and dry them and all of the clothes smelled of moldy odor and Melina spent all night sniffing clothes to make sure she didn't smell like moldy cheese .
Melina knew she could wash her clothes at the camp as she looked at the brochure as saw they had washing facilities and activities like canoeing and archery as she was excited to be able to be around normal children who didn't know what she went through. Melina was going to take a shower and eat three meals a day she was going to enjoy camp. She was going to have a bed not covered in animal urine or poop and she could sleep in a bed she didn't have to share with someone else.
When Melina arrived she was so proud she worked so hard to make the money to go to camp like it was a right of passage for her. Melina needed this vacation away from all the things she was taught was normal as it was not normal and she knew it was not normal. She knew normal kids didn't get beatings or be accused of having relations when her sister Paula was actively having sex and sneaking out of the house like she was hiding she spend the night at a boys house all night long and sneak in the house at three in the morning.
Paula and Melina's mother was so much alike in actions and they fought like cats and dogs because of it but yet Paula was allowed to get away with everything because Melina's mother was too busy trying to be the best friend instead of the mother.
Melina needed a mom not a friend and definitely not a warden. Melina was not a bad child at all but she got the most backlash from everything. There was once Melina was taken to the restaurant where her mom worked and she was made to bust tables for her mother in between studying . The Martinez's became Melina's second family as she was often left at the restaurant break room where she would study and have to stop to help bust tables for only five bucks a night .
Mrs. Martinez would slip her a twenty and Melina would good heartily give her mother the money she earned because she knew if her sisters found it she would get beat up for it. This was the type of nonsense that she had to endure . Melina finally saw the camp as there were rooms that only held six people to a room and she took a deep breath as she knew it would be like the reenactment and no one would want to be in the same room as her.
She waited until the girls and boys were seperated and she zoned out as she began to think about her situation as she heard her name called as she looked up as saw ashley wave her over and she said" your with us. " I was confused why Ashley kept on including me in her bunk as I knew she wasn't nice to many people as I watched Abby look like she didn't care much for Ashley inciting me to share a room with her.
" What about Morgan?" I asked wondering if she had returned to their good graces .
" That loser can go somewhere else." Laughed Abby as I could see most of the disagreement wasn't between Ashley and Morgan but the fact Abby didn't like Morgan at all. Melina nodded as she looked around to see Morgan looking down at her feet as Melina was pretty sure she over heard the comment Abby made about her.
Melina went to the room still in edge as she began to unpack her clothes as Abby and Ashley shared a bunk and I took the one closet to the door . Every since I was little I had always slept close to the door as it was comforting to be able to escape if someone came in to hurt her. It was a defense tactic to ensure she could see the danger before it happened. Melina knew it was not normal to think that way but she had no other choice . That was the way she was raised. To always be on alert.
The bathroom was down the hallway as the girls all got dressed in their camp shirts they were given on arrival . Melina knew the bruises were getting better as she hid in the corner beside her bed and changed her close to not let the other girls see the bruises as the camp had a mess hall that was a hike up a hill in a wooden house. The first night it rained and the activities was in the activity center where they made leather key chains and played pool and games in the game hall.
Melina learned how to row a canoe and learned how to shoot a bow which her and her hunter had practiced a little with a bow he had so she was a natural at the archery course . Melina remembered when she was in the system and they group home hosted a competition for local hunters to go through an obstacle course for a cheap trophies saying they were the best shooter as she saw many arrows as the bows were registered before the competition and days before she was tasked in setting up the fake deer with arrow targets on them as she placed them all over the woods that she often met her hunter .
She remembered that was when she first felt her hunter during these tournaments. Melina was there to show them the trails to the next target as the system used these events to raise funds for the group home as a charity event with prizes for hunters shooting fake stationary deer. Melina zones in the target as she saw through the target and she released the arrow and it hit the target .
When Melina felt that arrow between her fingers she could hear the wind whisper all around her as she closed her eyes . She took a deep breath and released it as she saw the wind carry the arrow and she could feel the energy flow through her fingers as it found the target again. Melina got lost in the sensation of the flow of the wind and the wood in her hands and before she knew it she felt a hand on her back telling her it was time to go inside because it was getting dark.