The Girl With Red Hair

It had been a dream come true, but now it was time for it to end.

As she stepped outside, the warm and bright dojo was replaced by the cold and dark night sky. In the same way, her giddy excitement and over-the-moon personality vanished. It was replaced with the orderly and obedient husk that would be required to continue her life at home.

Her ride was waiting for her outside. She threw her bag in the truck bed, and then opened the door to the passenger side. The car was warmer than the outside air, which was nice, but the smell of alcohol permeated the inside.

"Hey, Grandpa," Ren greeted as she hopped into the truck.

He didn't reply right away. Once the door was closed, he sped off down the road towards home.

"How was it?"

"Really fun," Ren exclaimed, trying to mute some of her enthusiasm. "It's just like I imagined it, and everyone there was really nice."

"Enjoy it while it lasts, then. You're lucky that the teacher agreed to let you join for free, otherwise this wouldn't be happening."

"I know."

The rest of the drive was made in relative silence. Her grandfather was focused on getting home as quickly as possible. 

"Your mother will be out again tonight with some of her 'friends'," her grandfather noted. "Your grandmother is already asleep, so make sure not to be too loud about cleaning up."

"Understood, grandpa."

They had arrived home by that time. They both headed inside. Her grandfather immediately made his way to the couch with a large pack of beer, TV remote in-hand. She breathed in the stale, cigarette-stained air. It was time to get to work.

The class had taken up about three hours of her night. It was worth every second, but now that meant she had to work as quickly and quietly as she could to still get everything done. Prep breakfast for everyone. Do the housework. Bring in firewood. Fix the TV that wasn't working...

She worked quickly - body aching and hands blistered from overuse - but time was still getting away from her. By 11pm, she had just barely finished enough housework to transition towards studying. Things weren't typically that easy, though.

"Are you still up, brat?"

Her grandfather, now reasonably intoxicated, fumbled his way into the kitchen.

"Yes, grandpa," she confirmed. "I was just about to go start homework..."

"It's late," he declared. "You're supposed to have gone to bed by now. You telling me you haven't even started homework yet?"

"I needed to finish housework first..."

"I knew this was gonna be a bad idea," he complained. "Maybe we'll just call this whole class thing off."

"Please don't do that!"

She said it a bit louder than intended, and her grandfather's expression showed he didn't like the increase in her tone. Her heart skipped a beat, knowing she had to recover.

"I can do this," she said calmly. "I'll go to bed, and make sure I get my homework and studies done first thing in the morning. I'll keep my grades up and take care of the house - I promise this class won't have an impact on it..."

She was on thin ice. If it weren't for Sensei convincing them that it could help improve her grades further and give her more energy for chore-work, they would've never agreed. She couldn't bear losing it so soon...

"Whatever," he sighed. "If things are getting done, I don't give a damn.  If you start becoming a pain in the ass, it'll be out the door for you."

With that, he fumbled his way back to the living room. Ren took no chances; she darted for her bedroom and closed the door.

***

The school bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

"Stop by my desk on the way out to grab your graded tests!" the teacher yelled out over the crowd before the chaos started up.

Ren packed up her books and slung her bag over her shoulder. She threw out what remained of her second coffee. Her head was pounding a bit, but it was the usual sleep deprivation - nothing she couldn't manage.

"As always - great job, Miss Ren," the teacher complimented as he handed out her perfect score.

"Thanks!"

Ren took the test paper, ecstatic at the results. The score was good - that meant a bullet dodged.

Her routine continued from there. Get on the bus, fit in a quick nap to relieve the headache, get off the bus, and get to work.

She pulled out all of her homework and got into studying. She was no genius - it took her quite a bit of work to keep her grades as high as they were. Her family was dead-set on her "redeeming the family" and going to college after high school. If it meant seeing that dream come to fruition, they would gladly toss aside anything Ren found happy or humanizing.

Before she knew it, the living room clock went off. She took a deep breath - she felt like she had made enough progress for now. She threw on her shoes and ran out the door, just in time for her sister's bus to pull up

"Hey Mika, how was your day at school?" Ren asked.

"Whatever," Mika brushed off. "What are we having for dinner?"

"I was planning on making fried rice..."

"Blegh, boring," 

The two made their way inside. Mika immediately tossed her shoes onto the rug and ran off, which Ren quickly grabbed and put back where they belong. She then followed Mika towards her room.

"I'm going to play some games now!"

"Oh, no you're not. You need to do some studying. Our mother is never home. So someone has to make sure you're taken care of..."

"Is THAT what you think?"

Ren's heart skipped a beat as the blood left her face. She turned to face the door and there stood her mother - makeup in one hand and fast food in the other

"Momma!" Mika squeaked as she pushed Ren out of the way.

"Great to see you, Mika!" her mother exclaimed, wearing her fabricated smile. "I thought I'd grab something for you to share tonight. If Ren's going to be ungrateful, though..."

"Thanks...mom," Ren replied through gritted teeth. "I didn't mean it. It's just...been a long day at school."

"Can I play games, momma?"

"As much as you want! I'm getting changed to go out in a bit, so make sure to ask your sister if you need anything tonight."

Mika cheered and ran back to her room. Ren simply took a deep breath and moved on towards her remaining responsibilities.

"It's good to see that you're not letting this silly karate thing get in the way of your duties."

Ren didn't reply - there wasn't a productive response for her to give. Her mother apparently took that as an insult, because she got right up in Ren's face.

"If it weren't for your grandmother insisting you get some time out of the house at seventeen, it would've never happened," her mother firmly reminded her. "Don't get any ideas, though. You are my daughter and I own you. If I get a whiff of you getting an upstart attitude, I'll take you out of here and we can find a nice man to live with, instead!"

With that, her mother turned and walked off. Ren knew better than to reply; there was no victory to be had. If her mother triumphant, then at least Ren was free. 

After finishing up the next bit of work, she quickly made her way to her bedroom. Since her sister was not studying tonight, she figured she had about thirty minutes of time to herself before it was necessary to continue.

With that safe 'click' of her door closing, she collapsed to her knees as pain and exhaustion swept over her. 

Her whole body was in pain. The air was heavy. Even the silence felt it was watching her.

"Please..." Ren pulled her knees to her chest, tears beginning to stream down her face. "Don't take this from me..."

She didn't know who she was praying to anymore - or if anyone was listening at all. 

All she knew was that if she lost the dojo, something inside her was going to break... and she wasn't sure what would be left when it did.