I walked to my bedroom and got all my toiletries and took them with me to my bathroom. I had a shower instead of a bath, I rarely had a bath if I’m honest they don’t really appeal to me. I only have a bath if I get a cramp or something. I started to wash my hair; this was going to be a nightmare I thought. The only thing I hated about surfing is getting my hair wet. It’s so annoying when I wash my hair after as I have all the sand and stuff that got washed into it. Not to mention the smell of the sea. I decided that I would use my strawberry shampoo as the smell was strong and it will over power the sea smell. After that I climbed out of the shower and used my mango body butter which Dad bought me for my birthday. I just picked out some random doss about clothes that I could sit in while I go out to the living room. It seems that my Dad has finally chosen a TV programme to watch. When I walked into the living room I realised what he was watching, he was watching the ugly truth. “Dad why are you watching this? You do realise it is a chick flick!” I asked. I laughed aloud as it was quiet funny seeing a grown man watch a chick flick willingly. “Yes I know love, I changed the channel so that we could watch it together you fool”. My Dad saw an opportunity as I sat down beside him; he lent over and began to tickle me. I may be 18 years of age but who doesn’t enjoy a tickle every now and then especially from their old man. I ended up kicking and screaming as my Dad was tickling me in the worse place, he was tickling me on the ribs, which is where I am most ticklish. He finally stopped after a little while longer. My Dad was pissing himself laughing, It was a sight, he was all red in the face. “It’s not funny” I tried to say in a straight face but that didn’t work. “That’s the worse place you could tickle me, you wonder why I kick and scream” now I was laughing beside him because when you think about it I was screaming like a 10 year old. It’s weird how my body reacts though. Oh well hopefully my Dad wouldn’t try that again anytime soon.
We sat and watched the ugly truth all the way through till the end; we only missed the first 10 minutes of it so it was good. When it was over the thought of ordering pizza crossed my mind. “Yo, Daddy do you wanna order pizza?” I asked my Dad. To be honest I think I would be the best person for guys to hang around with purely because I will sit and drink beer and talk about the latest football game. Well what can I say I am a tomboy after all? “Yeh sure, do you wanna have the usual?” “Meat-feast is always a hell yes Daddy-o” I gave him a wink as I reached over and grabbed the house phone off charge. We already had pizza hut on speed dial which just goes to show how much we order pizza. It didn’t take long before someone answered the call. At first I couldn’t understand a single word the man was saying, so I simply ordered what we wanted. “Can we please have a large meat-feast without ham, a portion with garlic bread and a bottle of coke, thanks” After I finished ordering his voice became clearer. I gave him the address; well to be honest I didn’t get to finish giving him the address as they already had it in their system. The whole ordering and waiting took only 5 minuets, probably the fastest call I have had whilst ordering pizza. The pizza was on its way, it would take about 15 minute’s tops so that’s good. I got up and went to my room to get the money for pizza. It was my turn as a responsible adult to pay for some things. I returned back to the living room and took a seat. Dad was flicking through sky movies to see what else was on that we could watch. “How about we watch coach trip, the one with Raven-Symoné and Martin Lawrence?”
“Yeh, that’s perfect, how long till it starts?”
“In about 20 minutes, perfect timing”. I sat and thought for a bit something was bugging me and I really wanted to talk to Dad about it, and it’s kind of got something to do with the film so it’s relevant. “Daddy, can we talk quick please?” I looked over in my Dad’s direction to see his response. “Of course angel, what’s on your mind?” he gave me a reassuring look. “Well like I am excited to graduate don’t get me wrong but did you ever feel like the learning part of your life is over and like now its your turn to take control of you life and learn and live from your mistakes and I guess what I’m trying to say without rambling on is when you left did you ever feel that you made the right decision in the courses you chose and grades you got?” I know that was a lot in one statement but there are so many thoughts that are running through my head that any person would think I am crazy. Dad took a while to answer; I could see that he was trying to get the right words together so he could phrase it correctly. “Look princess, when I was your age I undermined myself, I thought I was going to fail in life and get no-where but look at me now, I have you to show me how much I did right in my life and all my wrongs led me to having you. Listen, I believe you will go far. Not being big headed at all but after all you are my daughter and you are a Myers. When you graduate I will be the happiest person there, no one is more excited than I am okay. Now was that the answer you wanted?” my Dad added a little bit of sarcasm to make me feel better. “That was a perfect answer Daddy”. I lent over and gave my Dad a hug. “Should I tell you the best bit about you graduating?” I nodded my head against his chest. “I wont be hassling you to do your homework or revision, the only thing I will be doing is pushing you into finding yourself a job, maybe you could come and work for me” my Dad chuckled, he knew I wouldn’t agree to go work with him, he was a funny guy. He knows I have always wanted to work for myself. Dad always said I would make a great singer but I weren’t to sure about that. My Dad might think that I have what it takes but what about everybody else; I mean the public have got to like me before I can go anywhere. I guess the only reason why I doubt myself is because I am scared that I am gonna be one of those people that spend their whole life trying and end up going no where. That was when the door bell went. “Ill get it” I jumped to my feet and made my way to the door. I walked a bit quicker than I normally would but it was only because I wanted to get there before my Dad did. “Pizza’s here”. I paid the man and took the pizza from him, to be polite I gave him a quick smile before shutting the door. I took all the food straight through to the kitchen and began to dish the stuff out. Dad would have at least half a pizza so I thought it would be best if I just put 3 on his plate, that way he would have enough room on his plate for the chicken wings and the garlic bread. I dished out my food too, I had the same amount as my Dad but that would be it I wouldn’t be able to eat anymore. I took my Dads food and drink out to him first before I took mine along with the garlic bread. “I love how you practically run to the door princess, I wasn’t going to stop you” he started to laugh at me. “I practically ran because I wanted to pay for it and didn’t want you to get up and get in my way” I said. “It’s nice that you want to pay angel but you should really save that money for yourself and not for dinner but remember it is still my job to look out for you” “I know Daddy but I just wanted to pay for a change” “Yeh I know angel and thank you but either way you look at it technically I am still paying as I give you the money anyway” my Dad changed his voice into his mocking tone to help change the mood of the conversation because he knows this would turn into an issue because it was true I have enough reasons to pay for myself. I wasn’t going to spoil an evening to have a debate about who gets to buy pizza. My Dad liked to pay for everything and I felt it was fair that I paid for things as well. I decided I would leave it there I could see my Dad was trying to change the subject so I just let him. I carried on tucking into my slices of pizza. Turns out I was hungrier than I thought I was, I realised I didn’t eat anything after I went out apart from the shake away. I think the surfing took a lot out of me. I noticed Dad didn’t eat all of his pizza by now he would normally be on his second helping. He only ate 2 slices and half his garlic bread. Anyway I decided not to focus on that if he wasn’t hungry then he wasn’t hungry, I wasn’t going to kick up a fuss which could turn into something bigger than it needs to be. “So Dad how is work?” I asked. I just wanted to start a general conversation so I thought work would be a good topic. “Works fine angel, there is a lot of paper work at the moment but
it should die down soon” he replied. “Dad do you enjoy your job honestly, I mean don’t all that paper work you do make you feel unhappy and tied down?” I said again. “Nah I like what I do princess, don’t get me wrong there are days when I feel like I wanna pack up what I do and find something else but then I think if I do that then I will always be running away from things when things get difficult. There will always be apart of a job that you will hate doing but everyone got to just get on with it so there’s not much point in moaning about it”. That was true, there are always things we aren’t gonna want to do in life but we just have to live with it. I decided that I was going to head of to bed, I needed to get some sleep and to be honest I just wanna think about what I want to do with my life. The decision needs to be made soon or who knows what ill end up doing or being. I took my Dads plate out to the kitchen along with mine and loaded up the dish washer. I walked back into the living room and gave my Dad and hug. “Night Dad, sleep well and please don’t stay up too late”. I gave him one last squeeze before releasing him. “I wont angel, I’m a bit tired myself so ill be going into bed soon” “Okay Dad, well goodnight love you lots” I said whilst already heading over to my bedroom door. “Night angel, love you too”. As soon as I got into my room I leaped straight onto my bed, I couldn’t even be bothered to change into my PJ’s I was that exhausted. I just feel asleep sprawled across the bed covers.
Graduation
“Happy graduation angel, you’re finally finished with school” my Dad shouted whilst heading over in my direction. I wrapped my arms around him with excitement and hugged him as hard as I could. “Dad I can’t believe its over” I said to him, my excitement couldn’t be contained. I am just so happy it’s unbelievable. “You’re officially an adult now, aww I am so proud of you” my dad replied. I couldn’t believe it myself, I am finally here in my own blue robe and sash. I can’t believe I made it this far, it feels like an accomplishment in itself. “Thank you Daddy I would of never made it this far without you” I gave him another squeeze and let go. I looked around and saw Leanne and Zeke with their parents. “Did you get loads of pictures Dad?” “Of course I did, I’m not gonna let you have no memories of your graduation am I? I got a few of Lee and Zeke for you as well, just so you can do that scrap book thing you were on about” he replied. “Thanks Daddy, urm Dad when you graduated did you feel a bit upset?” A different feeling was emerging; I was starting to feel upset instead of the excitement I felt just moments ago. “What do you mean kiddo?” “I mean did you feel upset for the fact that school is now over. Like no more sitting in classes with teachers and all your class mates, no more tests and having laughs with your mates and everyone else around you?, I’m basically saying do you wish you could of made it last longer?” “To be honest angel, I cried my eyes out. Don’t get me wrong I loved being 18 and I was happy for the fact that I finally graduated but I didn’t like the idea of having control of my own future and If I made mistakes then I would be the one who has to pay for them but after a while I was glad because it helped me become more of my own person, it helped me find out more about myself. I learnt it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be”. My Dad gave me an honest answer and to be honest that was all I needed to know.
Once all the other pictures with the rest of the graduating class were taken me and Dad decided to head home. When we finally reached the house I went straight to my room, I had to get changed out of this robe. At first it was okay to wear but know if I don’t get it off, me and this material are going to have some serious problems. I got changed into some comfortable clothes and hung up the robe and sash. I admired it for a bit before leaving my room. It was only hours ago that I was in this room getting ready and dressed into my outfit before leaving for graduation. The day has gone so quick already, I would give anything to relive today. After I left my room I went straight through the living room to the kitchen where my Dad was. As the nerves and excitement filled my body I completely forgot about my Dad, I mean I forgot about the way he looked. I noticed it more as I was looking closely; he seemed to look ill as if he was going to throw up. I have noticed it quite often; well whenever he looks like this he normally throws up a bit later. He tries to hide it from me but what he doesn’t know is that I can hear him through the bathroom door most days. When ever I questioned him about it he would just deny it and say he had a drink. He doesn’t seem to realise how old I am, I know the difference between throwing up on alcohol and throwing up because of an upset stomach. Trust me, i have experienced both. Yet Dad seems to keep trying to tell me that he’s being sick because he has drank one to many. Soon he is gonna have to tell me the truth, because i am getting tired of being kept in the shadows. Look at me, this is my graduation and I am thinking about my Dad again, he always gives me reasons to worry about him. Right Sami stop, this is your graduation make the most of it!
“Dad are you okay, you look a bit off today?” I asked him. “No I am fine angel honest, I’m just a bit tired”. I just looked at him. “fine Dad, come on go have a bit of a sleep then and ill wake you up a bit later” “nah angel I cant do that its your graduation day” I cut in before he could finish. “Dad you’re going to go have a nap and I will be fine, Lee and Zeke will be here in a little while okay. Now come on your going to have a sleep” I don’t care if I was being rude now, if he is tired then he is going to sleep, I am 18 for crying out loud what do I care if I am on my own. To be fair I won’t be on my own anyway my Dad will be asleep in the next room. “Okay fine princess but wake me up soon okay!” he said while I was shooing him out of the kitchen and into his bedroom. I watched him as he got into bed to make sure he did go to bed. “Princess I am capable of looking after myself you know. I may be a bit tired but it doesn’t mean I am unable to take myself to my bedroom and go to sleep. I’m not old like your nana Pat” we both laughed then. Nana pat is my mums mum, she really was old and grumpy; I haven’t thought about her in ages. Wow, that brings back unwanted memories. I had to shake her out of my mind. Dad was still giggling to himself when I shut the door. None of us liked my mums family they were all so serious and never cared about what anyone wanted, they were so stuck up each others arses they didn’t even see what was right in front of them; they were never happy with anything. Least I can say I have seen greed first hand. Anyway, I needed to straighten the house up, fair enough it was only Lee and Zeke but I still felt like it should be a bit tidier. It’s not even messy really but there are magazines and newspapers everywhere. Not to mention a lot of Dad’s paper work is scattered about. They would be here soon and I didn’t really feel like waking up Dad, its not that I didn’t want him to be awake to celebrate this day but I wanted him to sleep if it makes him feel better. This has been one of the best days of my life even though my Dad is asleep. Prom is only a couple days away so I have to prepare for that and Leanne’s getting ready at mine so that should be fun. I really cant wait to wear my dress especially with my new heels that I bought the other day, every time I walk past my dress it calls my name; asking me when it will next be worn. I just have to say ‘ill wear you soon’.
I decided that I weren’t going to wake up Dad, he needs his sleep and he’s not really gonna miss out on much. I went to check on him to see if he was sleeping or not. I found him sprawled across the bed, I could tell he was fast asleep he was snoring, so that’s a good sign. I have noticed he has been very lazy and acting sluggish, I mean most days he does things very productive but today is one of his bad days, I can’t blame him though if he feels rough he feels rough.
Anyway Zeke and Lee turned up about 20 minutes later. I decided to get changed before they came I mean I didn’t want to look like the odd one out so I got changed into my high-wasted shorts and my tuck in rolling stones top. I didn’t feel so much of a tramp anymore. Zeke bought some booze for us to drink so I thought why not take our little get together to the beach, that way we can play a little music and that way we won’t wake up my Dad. I went over to the kitchen and g
rabbed some throw away cups for us to take outside.
As we made our way down to the beach Zeke had to run back up to the house and go into the garage and get some fire lighters as me and Dad already used the last bits that were left down by the other fire. Me and Leanne went walking along the sand to get some extra bits of drift wood just so that we wouldn’t have to do it later in case the fire starts to die out. When Zeke got back it was party time. My Dad always says two’s a couple but three’s a party. We all sat round the fire and poured ourselves a drink of vodka. “Cheers to finally making it to the end of school, and to making it this far” Leanne said. “Cheers” we all said. We all knocked back the vodka; this was going to be a night that we would all remember. Who knows what could happen, we all go a bit crazy when we have a drink. I just looked at my 2 friends, we have come so far in the past 5 years that we haven’t realised how much we have changed and grown up to be the people we are today. “I love you guys” I said. “I love you too Sami” Leanne lent over and gave me a squeeze. “Well you don’t need to hear me say it but what the hell I love you too” Zeke decided to be a man about it and just winked at me. “Zeke put music on so we can get this graduation party started. Zeke plugged his iPod into his portable speakers and played his newest playlist. We had it on full blast; it was loud but not loud enough for my Dad to hear it from inside the house. The music had me and Lee dancing around the camp fire. After a while we were joined by a couple of our class mates they were all planning to have their little get together on the beach but saw us so they thought they might as well join us. It was nice to have more people here to make it more memorable as all our last memories of these people will be of tonight not to mention more alcohol for everyone. The twins Robbie and Sky Taylor bought their lighting machine with them, so they hooked it up to Sydney’s car. She drove the car all the way down on the beach so the wires wouldn’t stretch very far as it could be dangerous for everyone. The lights were beautiful when they were on; it felt so good to be here when the music was playing. I mean it is true what everyone says: our generation is the next best thing. Everyone was proper getting into the party vibe. I looked around and saw Zeke and Leanne socialising. After about an hour there were way more of us down on the beach than to begin with, we even had another two fires for everyone to keep warm and hang around. It was so calming to hear the sound of the waves still in the background not fully being drowned out, it’s like they are making so much noise so they are not forgotten. The fire cracking was loud as well, I’m surprised I could hear all of these noises as I have drank a little bit and the music is on full blast.
Just A Daddy's Girl Page 6
