Raised to the rank of queen

NAOMI PETERSON

Wake up since five o'clock, I've just finished cleaning and cooking. Mom is still in her room and my brothers are in theirs. I look at the clock on the wall and see 6:45. With a big stride, I go upstairs to wake the little monsters of the house. They're so cute when they're asleep. I open the curtains to let in the first light of day.

_Get up, kids! There's school today.

_No! Let us sleep a little longer, says the tallest Tommy.

_Get up or you'll be late and your teachers will get angry.

Tommy finally gets up, followed by Nicole and Aimé. They are fifteen and ten years old respectively. Nicole and Aimé are twins. After our father's death, Mom fought with a small business so that I could finish my studies in logistics. I'm currently looking for a job, but no company is offering me a favorable offer. For now, I'm accumulating small jobs to bring in enough to eat and also pay for my brother and sisters' school. Luckily, Dad left us this house where we live, otherwise I wouldn't dare imagine the worst. In no time, the children were ready, and together we would go to our mother's room as she prayed. Mom is Christian and Dad is Muslim, which is what caused a rift in my father's family, who didn't validate their marriage. I could even count the number of times they came to visit us. Once her prayer was over, we approached her and greeted her properly with a big hug. We all go down together and then everyone has breakfast.

Mom, after dropping off the kids, I'll go to Odile's. She promised to find me a job in her restaurant.

"Okay, my daughter, but be careful, I'll..."

The sound of the front door interrupts us, so I go to see who's there. As I open it, my uncle, his wife, and his children enter with tons of suitcases.

"Hello, uncle, what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

Looking at me from head to toe with disdain, he declares:

"I'm here to claim my right. This house belonged to my late brother, so it's rightfully mine because in our family, we don't recognize your mother as Mohamed's wife. Therefore, I beg you to get out.

Us? Out? Out of our own house? Where I've lived for twenty-five years? No, that's not possible."

"This is unacceptable." This house belongs to my father, and there's no way we're leaving. Where were you when he was sick? Did you ever set foot in this house to inquire about his condition before his death? And now you're claiming to be the heir to his estate. Forgive me, don't spoil my good mood this morning and return to the village. We're not moving from here.

I finish my sentence angrily, as my blood is boiling at 100°C like water on a fire.

"If you don't leave of your own accord, you'll be forced to," my uncle's wife replies.

She asks her sons to throw me, my mother, and my brothers out of the house, but before they do, my mother intervenes.

_We're going to leave, no need to use force.

_But Mom...!

_No objection, Naomi.

Turning to my brother, she places an affectionate hand on him, saying,

_Tommy, go with your sisters, and you pack your bags, okay?

_Okay, Mom, he replied.

He grabs the twins' hands; their eyes were wet with tears, and it made me sad. My mother takes my arm and leads me with her. We go upstairs, and when we reach the hallway, she asks me to put my things away and, above all, to take only the bare necessities. Her face was filled with sadness that could not be described. During her entire marriage to my father, she never had peace in her in-laws, and now she's being kicked out of her own home again. Packing up my things, I let my tears flow freely. What are we going to do now? Where are we going to live? Grabbing everything I can lay my hands on, I fill my suitcase, not forgetting to take my memory box where I store my savings and some of my father's belongings. Minutes later, we were all in the living room ready to leave. Scanning every face in front of me, I knew that one day they would all regret it, but I hope it won't be too late. Suitcases in hand, we leave our own house from which we were chased with our heads held high. Behind us, my uncle's wife closes the gate while shouting "tchip." With my meager savings, I was able to rent a room in a hostel for twenty-four hours, the time to think of a solution. Without wasting any more time, I flagged down a taxi that took my brothers and me to the front of the establishment. We got out and then I paid him his money. Nicole asked me in her small voice:

"Big sister, are we going to live on the streets from now on?" Her question hits me right in the heart, and my tears threaten to spill out, but I blink a few times to stop her.

"No, sweetie," I replied, my fingers brushing her cheek. "Don't think about those kinds of things, baby, and focus on your lessons."

She simply nods in agreement, then takes her sister's hands and they walk back to their classroom.

"I know you answered like that to calm her down, but the reality is quite different," Tommy tells me.

"I will never let such a thing happen. Now go, you're very late, and don't forget to look out for your sisters."

"Count in me."

A kiss on her forehead, and we part ways. Tommy is in middle school while the twins are in elementary school. As I walk along the road, I start to get a headache from overthinking. My mind was completely disconnected from my body from overthinking, to the point where I didn't notice the car. It was when I found myself on the ground that I realized what had just happened. The driver got out with charisma. He was wearing black pants with a half-open white shirt revealing his chest, marked by ultra-sexy tablets, and a matching black jacket. Taking off his glasses, his eyes stared at me intensely. Damn, he's devilishly handsome. It was his voice that took me out of my world.

"Have you lost your mind or are you in the way? How can you cross the road without caution?"

Even though he was handsome and sexy, I couldn't let him speak to me like that. I stood up and dusted off my dress before answering him in his own words.

"And you, sir, despite your thick glasses, you don't have good eyesight, otherwise how can you explain the fact that you hit me?" Listen to me very carefully, I said, pointing my finger at him. I have my problems, so don't add to them.

The man in front of me frowned, surely surprised by my audacity, even though I was in the wrong.

_ Very well, he said, putting his glasses back on. Like you, I have problems, and I'm not going to ruin my day because of some low-class girl.

Wait, what did he just say? Me, a low-class girl? Without even weighing the consequences of what I was about to do, I slapped him hard, my face filled with anger, I told him.

_ Everyone deserves respect in this life, and just because you ride in an expensive car and wear expensive clothes doesn't mean you're going to think you're the center of the world. I won't allow you such an insult, even if I'm low-class. I'm proud, but know that's not my purpose. I reel off my words without restraint, but it's the man's face, his eyes flashing, and his hands on his cheek that make me regret my actions, and fear seizes me.

"You'll regret this, poor girl," he says, getting into his car and driving off.

OH! MY GOD, WHAT DID I JUST DO?