Once at the bus station, I waited for my family to pick me up. My feet ached from standing for too long. While waiting, I played with my phone to alleviate boredom. As for Tyler? Who cares? I couldn’t be bothered about him.
“Here.” I lifted my head to see a bottle of mineral water being offered to me. Just looking at Tyler’s face made me sigh again. Can’t he leave me alone? I felt so annoyed.
“Take it. Are you not thirsty?” he asked.
“Drink it by yourself. I don’t want it. Do you think I’m so desperate for your water? If I want, I can buy it myself, so don’t bother.” I rejected his offer rudely. Tyler sat next to me, and I quickly distanced myself. Allergic!
“Is your foot hurting? If you had just sat next to me earlier, it wouldn’t be hurting now,” Tyler spoke again. I sighed. Doesn’t he understand or is he pretending not to understand? Doesn’t he know that I’m allergic to his presence?
“What’s your problem? Don’t you know how to leave? Aren’t you tired of bothering me? You bother me enough on campus, now you want to bother me at home too?” I got annoyed.
“Hanna, what’s wrong? You used to smile a lot on campus. When I bothered you, you didn’t get angry. Why are you just getting angry today? You should be happy to meet your family, not getting mad like this,” Tyler said again. My blood boiled hearing his words. Well, who asked him to lecture me?
“Who are you to teach me? Whether I’m angry or crying, what does it have to do with you? Do we have a special relationship? Are you, my boyfriend? My fiancé? Or... My husband? No, isn’t? So, there’s no need to act all righteous. Instead of making a mess here, you better leave. I’m already exhausted just by looking at your face.” I replied harshly. He stayed silent for a while. I went back to playing with my phone. It’s better to scroll through Instagram!
“I’ll go back now. Take care, okay?” Tyler stood up. I pretended not to care. As if I’ve never taken care of myself until now. While I was engrossed in my phone, from a distance, I heard the loud sound of a car engine, like a truck’s engine.
“My dear Hanna!” My mother waved from inside the car. I smiled broadly, responding to her wave.
“Hey Mom. I’m back!” I rushed to the car. Suddenly, I bumped into someone.
“Sorry, sir!” Without looking at the person, I rushed towards the car.
“I’m sorry, my dear. I don’t know why, but every time you come back, I seem to be out of money. Study hard, okay? You can help me later, right?” Dad spoke in the car when we were on the way home. I bit my lip, feeling irritated, but I tried to calm my heart and act as if I had heard nothing.
“You’ve grown up, haven’t you?” I tousled the hair of both my younger siblings.
“Hanna, please, don’t! You’re ruining my hair!” My eight-year-old sister, Rose, made a displeased face. Not long after, her chubby cheeks became the target of my affection. So cute! I glared at Mum, who was busy typing WhatsApp messages. Her typing style told me everything. I looked back out the window. Happy to be back again. Who wouldn’t be happy to see their family? However, my sole reason for happiness was my mother and siblings. Yes, that’s the only reason.
“Hanna?” Rose tapped my shoulder.
“Huh?”
“Dad talked to you. Why were you daydreaming?” Rose shook her head.
“What did Dad say earlier?” I grinned.
“Nothing much. Dad said, from now on, you can drive this car.” I remained silent. Anger boiled within me. He wants me to drive this car? The paint has faded, rusted everywhere, the cushions are torn, the gear is hard to shift, the brakes are not working, the seats can’t be adjusted. Am I heading to an early grave? If it weren’t for my respect, I would have said all these things to his face long ago!
“Thomas, buy some dishes later. There’s nothing to cook at home,” Mum said, typing a message swiftly.
“But I don’t have any money left. Just eat whatever is at home. There are still eggs, right?”
 I held back my emotions. Why do I always have to go through and hear about this situation every day? Why is it so difficult for there to be a change in this family? Until we reached home, I remained silent. What else can I do but stay quiet?
After having a simple meal, I took a break in my room. I opened my laptop, intending to start a new manuscript. However, thinking about the manuscript that got rejected, my enthusiasm for writing faded. I closed the laptop again. Maybe I should read the guidebook that Sara gave me earlier. But I am in no mood at all to read now. I sighed. I need to find a job. Even if it’s just a small one to help my mother a bit. I searched for job vacancies on Facebook. 
Ding! A new WhatsApp message came in. I ignored the message and continued my job search. Ding! Second WhatsApp notification.
Ding! Third time.
Ding! Fourth time.
Ding! Fifth time.
I was about to lose my patience. This time, my phone started ringing. I quickly pressed the green button, annoyed.
“What do you want?!” I shouted in frustration. My chest was pounding.
“Wow, so fierce.” Just as I suspected, it was Tyler.
“What do you want? Don’t bother me!” I lowered my voice; afraid my younger siblings might hear everything about Tyler. Oh no, I won’t allow that to happen.
“No, I can’t do that. I still want to bother you. Come out. Let’s go eat. My treat. I’ll pick you up,” Tyler invited.
“I don’t want to.” My blood was boiling.
“I understand, but I still want to ask you out. Come on. Let’s go. By the way, I already know where your house is. Just come out, Hanna,” Tyler said.
“Tyler! Are you... Are you stalking me? Can you stop bothering me? Do you want me to block your number or something?” My face turned red as I tried to control my anger. I wanted to scream at him.
“Yeah, I’m crazy. Crazy about you,” Tyler replied with a mischievous laugh.
“You are...”
“It’s okay. If that’s the case, I’ll go to your house and ask your father for permission to take you out for dinner tonight. Can I?” Tyler teased.
“No! Don’t you dare. If you do that, I swear I won’t meet you again,” I threatened.
“In that case, tonight you’ll have dinner with me.” He didn’t give up on persuading me.
I remained silent for a moment, pacing back and forth as I thought. I didn’t want anyone, especially my mother, to misunderstand Tyler. What if my mother thought Tyler was my boyfriend? That would be a disaster.
“I don’t enjoy going out at night. If you want to meet me, let’s meet this evening,” I finally decided. 
“Okay, agreed!” And Tyler ended the call. I sighed in frustration.