White Lies Are Still Lies

"Alicia Ward, have you lost your mind?" My mother's voice cut through the room, sharp as a knife.

Across from them, at the small round dining table, I turned into a rock. My lungs cramped as though I ran a marathon when I wasn't even sure if I was still breathing, eyeing the object of disaster.

A half-crumpled paper lay between us on the table, the forged signature still wet where I attempted to forge their support for my application to MU's Digital Product Design program. The closest degree to arts—what I truly liked—that would still give me a decent shot at a stable job. Not that it mattered. In the Ward household, the only recognized professions were doctors or lawyers. Nothing more, nothing less. Maybe engineering would've gotten a pass since my big sister Robyn was doing that. But that's it.

"Care to explain?" My dad jabs a finger at the paper, and I can catch the shaky facsimile of my mum's usual loopy signature. Its forgery is painfully apparent once you look closely—my lines are too stiff, and the pen ink blotches in the corner.

"I— Well, I—" The words scratched like sand down my parched throat. Nothing I could say seemed to cut it this time.

"You want to lie your way into college now?" My dad's gruff voice cut through the silence and punctured my chest with the speed of light.

I never thought the day would come when I would see my dad so furious, see his calm demeanor and stoic face crack. Yet, here we are. There's always a first for everything.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I wished to vanish before any of that could happen. Of course, I did not vanish. Such things were reserved for fairy tales and the fantasy books lining my shelf, not reality.

Though considering the expressions donning my parents' faces as they sat at the dining table, my existence was precarious. I'd prefer fighting a dragon to Evelyn and Wayne Ward any day because getting Mum angry was one thing. But if Wayne Ward, the calmest of us all, got angry, hell was about to break loose in this house. And right about now, not just his eyes, his whole face was blazing hot with fury.

I knew forging their signature was a bad idea, but I didn't think I'd get caught. Certainly not this fast.

"Then there's this, too. "My mum brought another paper, this one crumbled to bits, and slapped it on top. "Your grades dropped like never before last semester."

A million excuses buzzed through my mind like a swarm of bees, each more hollow than the previous. None good enough to save my ass. I glanced from my mum to my dad, but instead of his usual understanding, he shook his head.

"Where you ever planning to say anything about this, or just fed us another lie?"

Grabbing the denim of my jeans under the table, I couldn't help but cower my head.

"We could've helped you if you found any class too hard. But this—" My mum hold up the forged application and my shameful grades report, voice trembling. "This is serious."

"Help me how..." I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

"Help me how?" I said louder, clenching my pants harder and looking straight at my parents. "By moving me from AP physics to normal physics?"

My mum crossed her hands.

"If it helped, yes,"

It took everything not to roll my eyes.

"See? This is exactly why I did it. There's no way to get through to you! Both of you," I said, meeting my dad's pained blue eyes. "The only thing you care about is what you want us to do. You never cared about what I wanted to do. What I like to do. What I'm good at."

"You would've done perfectly fine with some tutoring, Alicia. Why are you so stubborn?"

At her words, I couldn't help my reflexes. I was already on my feet before I could think better of it.

"Me? I am stubborn?" My voice raised with each word. "Have you ever thought I am not your perfect little robot?" My voice cracks, anger welling up. "I'm not Robyn. I've never been this—this little science prodigy like he is. I don't want to major in medicine. Heck, I don't even want to go to the colleges you picked!"

Shocked by my own outburst, I slapped my mouth wide-eyed. A heavy silence blanketed our living room, broken only by the rhythmic clicking of the analog clock atop the fireplace. Mum watched me, jaw slack. Dad dragged a hand over his face, taking a deep breath.

"We've done everything to provide you with a good life. Everything. Is this how you decide to repay us? By forging our signatures and lying?"

Seeing him now, mouth downturned and eyes filled with disappointment, I wanted to scream. He did not even get it. Neither of them did. This had long stopped being about school. It was definitely not about my gratitude for their help or my filial piety. Giving in to the heat rising in my veins, I threw my hands in the air.

"You know what? I can't do this anymore." I shook my head and turned on my heels.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" I heard my mum.

"We haven't finished talking to you," my dad added.

"But I am," I said, looking over my shoulder one last time before walking away.

"Alicia Ward!"

Grabbing my coat on the way, I did not stop, no matter how much louder my mother's voice got. Opening the door, I walked into the early spring, cold air clawing at my face. There was no way I could stay there without saying or doing something we would all regret. Not anymore. Not when it felt like my life was dripping through my fingers.

Small clouds left my mouth with each breath. Hands buried deep in my pockets, I wandered aimlessly. It must have been a while; the sun was already setting. It's not like I had a specific destination or plan in mind when I left anyway, but with this year's low temperatures, I did not want to add a cold on top of dealing with my parent's fury. Pocketing for my phone, I was about to check the time when someone bumped into me as they ran past. The dazzling splash of white hair caught my attention, and I forgot everything else.

"Aiden?"

[1127 words | draft 0 | unedited]