Music filled Alyssa’s dorm room as she nodded her head to the upbeat tune. She cleaned up her bathroom counter as she mouthed the lyrics.

Finally, she was getting around to cleaning her room up. Instead of sitting around, waiting, and worrying about her job interview, she decided to make the most of her time and do something productive.

She had plenty to do, whether it was cleaning or homework. Her load of laundry should’ve been finishing up soon too. Even doing small things like this made her feel much better and much more productive.

She couldn’t stand sitting around and feeling like she was wasting precious time. There was always something for her to do.

Alyssa organized the few makeup products she had back into a makeup bag before walking out of the bathroom.

She grabbed her broom and started sweeping the floor, searching out any dust bunnies that were hiding under the furniture. Just in case she had company again, she wanted her room to be clean.

Her movements halted when she thought about her most frequent guest. She never expected that to be a guy, but she never minded when he came over. In fact, she wished that he came over more.

They studied in the library most of the time, but she missed having more alone time with him. They could talk about anything without worrying about lingering eyes and ears.

Maybe she was also hoping that they would share a special moment together, one not meant for anyone else to see.

She fantasized about a kiss that stole her breath, a touch that would burn her up inside. She had never experienced such, but she could imagine it so clearly when she was with him.

Her fantasizing was soon cut short when her phone started ringing on her nightstand, cutting off her music.

She jogged over to it and picked it up to see that it was her mom calling. She frowned as she stared at the caller ID for a few seconds. She had no idea why her mom was calling her right now.

She considered not picking up at all, but there had to be some important reason why she was calling. She wouldn’t call for no reason. She certainly wouldn’t call just to check up on her.

With a sigh, she answered the call and brought the phone up to her ear.

“Hello?” she answered. Her words nearly got caught in her throat. She wasn’t looking forward to this call. It couldn’t be anything good. She was either being blamed for something or asked for something.

“Alyssa. It’s been a while,” her mom’s voice sounded through the phone. It bordered on raspy and was not smooth or calming at all. It grated on Alyssa’s ears.

“Yeah,” Alyssa said. What else was there to say? Her parents had chosen to make their relationship rocky. She had nothing to apologize for on that front.

She just had to deal with it now until she no longer had to deal with her parents. It was obvious they didn’t want anything to do with her most of the time anyway.

“Listen… how much money do you have left from your summer job?” her mom asked.

Alyssa’s eyes shot open wide in shock. Her mother actually had the audacity to ask her that. She worked so hard during the summer to save up money for the beginning of this semester.

She didn’t want to rely on her parents for anything. Now, they were trying to take her money. She should’ve expected this.

Her mom worked as a cashier at a local gas station. Her father did lawn care and other odd jobs. She knew that they could work harder, but they were lazy.

They would rather sit in front of the television or drink beer out on the front porch. They were everything she didn’t want to be.

“You can’t have that money. I told you that I needed it for college. It’s already almost gone,” Alyssa replied as she paced around her room.

She tightened her grip on her phone as she tried to breathe through her frustration.

“Already gone? What have you been blowing it on?” her mother snapped.

Alyssa froze in her steps. An angry tremor shuddered down her neck and back. She had to clench her jaw for a moment to keep from shouting.

Dealing with her parents was the only time she got really mad. She hated feeling this way. She hated seeing her parents in such a negative light.

She wanted better parents. She wanted a better childhood. She missed out on so many happy memories that she should’ve shared with them.

She didn’t fault them for being poor, but they could’ve tried harder. They could’ve taken her to a park or helped her make mud pies in the backyard. They could’ve made an effort, but they chose not to.

“I haven’t been blowing it. I’ve had to buy food and things for school,” Alyssa explained as calmly as possible.

Truthfully, she didn’t need to explain all of this to her mother. It wasn’t her place anymore since Alyssa was an adult. However, she tried to keep the arguments to a minimum as much as she possibly could.

“Your father and I provided for you for so many years, and you can’t help us out this once?” her mother asked.

Alyssa shook her head. She had helped her parents out with money before. She paid electricity bills with her summer job checks. She helped mow lawns so that she could buy herself school supplies during high school. She worried about money at way too early of an age.

She picked up the slack when they needed her to, but that was when she was under their roof and she wasn’t an adult. She was out here on her own now. She was responsible for herself, not them. They refused to believe that.

“I’m sorry. I can’t give you any money,” she replied. She didn’t even want to ask what they needed money for. It was probably for a late bill or a new television because they broke another one. They weren’t responsible or considerate of anything other than themselves. They shouldn’t have been parents.

“I see,” her mom said coldly. “I’ll be sure to remember that whenever you need anything from us.”