Inklings 2021

THE AMERICAN 9 TO 5 Isabel Almada-Sabate “Give me the watch right now.” Calm down, I asked nicely. Did you just call me a robber? That seems a bit tone deaf. I wouldn’t consider myself a robber, as in a person who steals. The way I look at it, I’m not stealing. This is merely borrowing. Okay, maybe it’s a little more than borrowing. It’s borrowing, with a touch of threat. You could call me a “borrower,” but “robber”? That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? “Give me the watch or you’ll be sorry.” The thing is, my dad died when I was very young, and after that, my mom completely lost her sanity. I’m not really sure what happened to her. No, I don’t want your pity. I have little memory of him but I was 12 when he died and 13 when my mother left me. I didn’t go to school, nor did I eat. The award for mother of the year goes to mine for leaving town with three people she barely knew. Looking back, I’m not sure how I’m alive. I was on the streets until I got an apartment when I was 15, but honestly, I think this has benefited me. My mother obviously didn’t care for me enough to stick around, so I guess learning to live on my own and to provide for myself worked to my advantage. Stop crying. Drug addicts are real and abandonment is real, shut up and get over it. I said I didn’t want your pity. Yes, my life has been hard. I don’t think much of it, though. We all get some bad breaks, and you don’t know if it’s your life that is going downhill, or the girl who lives down the street. I guess it’s just the game of chance. “Hand over the watch or else!” Some would say I’m careless. I like to say impulsive - it sounds better. Honestly, I don’t see it. All my life I have been told that I was a very calm and collected person. Well, that’s not true. I can’t say all my life because I’m now 20 years old, and I’ve spent a little less than half my life alone. My job is amazing though. Yes, by job I mean robbery. Don’t judge me. I make the money I need to feed myself and put a roof over my head. The only thing that bothers me is when they don’t listen. Gun shot I hate it when they don’t listen. EMPTY NEST Athena Tsialas 30