Red Shoes by Chrystabelle Ramirez

Red Shoes

By Chrystabelle Ramirez

"Diva, do your chores,” Diva's grandmother shouted as she walked out the door, “and make sure the house is clean by the time I get home.”

Diva widened her eyes in disbelief. She could not believe her grandmother was actually going to make her clean while her friend was visiting her.

Rolling her eyes as she turned to her friend Mariah, she complained, "I always have to clean! She never makes anyone else do anything." Straightening the couch pillows she looked at the house's mess. She clenched her teeth, raising her arms with spread fingers and let out a scream of frustration as she noticed her sister's shoes in the corner of the room. "UGHH! This isn't even my mess, Danysha... Danysha!” she shouted, “Come pick up your shoes!"

"Okay, I'm coming." 

She was tired of picking up after everyone's mess. As the oldest, she had to be sacrificed and take the blame whenever something got broken, lost, or like now, dirty. Tapping her foot up and down as she waited she turned towards the shoes, grabbed them, and threw them in the trash. Cleaning her hands off, she knew this would make her sister learn how to pick up after herself.

Running down the stairs moments later, Danysha charged into the living room, turning her head from left to right then back to left. "Where are my shoes?"

Turning her back to Danysha's face, Diva spat out, "I threw them to the trash."

"Why?"

Through Danysha's words, Diva could already hear her tears forming, but it was Danysha's fault she left them in the living room instead of putting them in her room.

"Because I'm not gonna pick up your mess for you!"

"I'm going to tell Chrystabelle!"

"Great," Diva thought, just what she needed, more trouble. Now Chrystabelle was going to take Danysha's side and get her in trouble. All Diva did was throw Danysha's shoes in the trash, it wasn’t like she hit her or anything. Hearing the thumps of a grizzly bear shake the kitchen floor, Diva could already feel Chrystabelle's anger as she came down the stairs.

"Diva! What the heck? You better take those shoes out of the trash, now!” Shouted Chrystabelle. “Just because they put you to clean doesn't mean you have to get mad at the whole world!"

"Well you do the same thing to me!"

"I have never thrown anything of yours in the trash, no matter how much I want to throw your useless junk away when I'm cleaning."

"Yes you do… and at least I'm cleaning the mess, unlike you."

"Are you seriously mad because you’re cleaning?"

What did Chrystabelle think? Of course Diva was mad! That had to be the stupidest question coming from a supposedly 4.0 student.

"So now you're going to ignore me?” Chrystabelle turned to Diva’s friend. “You know Mariah, I think it's time for you to go home. Diva has a lot of cleaning to do."

"No! Don't kick her out. She can stay!"

"I'm not kicking her out. You just don't know how to act right when others are around!"

Despite the temperature being fairly cold inside the house, Diva could feel her body sweating and ready to burst as Mariah got up and quickly left through the front door.

"I can't believe you made her leave!"

"You need to clean!"

"I always clean! You never do anything!"

"Really?” demanded Chrystabelle. “Who sweeps and mops..."

Here she goes again, thought Diva, reciting the list of chores she does every once in a while around the house.

" ...who cleans the stove and microwave?” Chrystabelle continued. “I do!"

"Okay, but you don't have to always clean up after the girls’ mess!” said Diva, “I always get blamed for their mess!"

"Don't yell at me!  Suck it up, give Danysha her shoes, and clean the mess – end of discussion!" 

Pulling her hair out, Diva could not believe that after all of this nonsense she had to clean this mess and Chrystabelle still got the last word!

She was done with this!