Aatikah's POV

"Mom, what are we having for dinner, tonight?" I ask, pretty nervous.

"The usual," she replies. With that, she means pasta as starter, steak or chicken as entrée, and a garnish. We almost never change our menu.

"Oh, ok."

"Please call the others. Dinner is ready." And, with the others, she means Aaylah, Anaiyah and Alaynah, my younger sisters, and Kayla, my boring cousin. She is currently living with us because her parents live far away, in Dubai. They are fashion enterpreneurs and are very wealthy, but due to their time being almost exclusively dedicated to their job, they have basically no time to spend with her. She doesn't like staying with us. Yeah, my sisters and I are a bit loud.

As much as I'd like to stay away from her, I can't. I have to bear with her. I never liked her because she's always showing off and bitching around like she's the Queen or whatsoever. At school, she is the one who has popularity and good grades. I have neither. I am pretty bad at school, to be honest, though I have many friends. Maybe I may pass as a little blunt, and sometimes also close-minded, but I don't mind having yet more friends, to be honest (ok, why am I repeating these words? Maybe I should stop).

Back to dinner, Aaylah, Anaiyah and Alaynah have already taken a seat. I am about to do so, when Kayla pushes me and takes the seat next to Alaynah, which I wanted for myself. She (Kayla, not Alaynah) exclaims triumphantly, "This happens to whoever tries to oppose me, Aatikah Caroline Summers!"

"And you? What about checking yourself at a mirror, Kayla Ann Carver? You need it!" I snap back. I am about to go on, when Mom cuts me off and advises, "Aatikah, please sit down. Dinner will get cold. And, anyway, why should you throw a tantrum for a seat?"

"But Mom, I came in before her," I protest, but Kayla rolls her eyes to get some attention.

"Aatikah... be nice..."

Fed up with her bias towards Kayla, I decide to walk out of dinner and leave to my room instead. Why the heck do I have to put up with her patiently and politely, while she can be rude to me whenever she wants? This is absolutely unfair. That little freaking bitch is now laughing. I guess she has no limits.

Alone in my room, I am just wishing that witch would disappear, but I know it will never happens. Karma is by her side. Every day is a chance for her to teach me a lesson. Though, she is no-one to teach me lessons, because she isn't respectful enough to earn my respect and esteem, as well.

I am trying hard to retain tears. I don't want to pass as weak when Mom passes me, and, anyway, I would also look pathetic. Luckily I'm not able to cry right now, otherwise the whole situation would be absolutely embarrassing, especially because Alaynah has just come in my room. She is saying, "Aren't you coming? Mom is a bit worried about you. She fears you're a bit down in the dumps."

She is wrong. I am not depressed. I am mad at her. "She sided with that viper!" I insist.

"That's not true," denies Alaynah. "Mom loves you, not her. Why should she love her niece more, when she, as a mother, is supposed to love her daughters more than anyone else?"

I don't look very convinced by her words but at the end I decide to actually listen to her and follow her back to the dining room.

I take the only seat left, next to Kayla, obviously, and start having dinner in silence. Or, at least, until Alaynah breaks this silence. "Uhm... Aatikah... is there something you want to tell Mom?"

I don't quite catch what she is talking about. She is glancing nervously at me. Aaylah and Anaiyah are doing the same. Then, I remember. Yeah. I know.

"Oh, yes... about my essay..." I shake my head and then turn back to eating and staring at the plate.

"What happened to your essay?" asks Mom suspiciously, furrowing her eyebrows, much to my confusion. "Did you hand it to your teacher? Don't lie to me, please."

I swear I never lied to Mom, but I am afraid nothing I could say is the truth. Kayla may deceive her and make me pass as liar. This is what I dislike of her the most.

"Yes, I handed it. But when Kayla also handed hers, the teacher noticed that the topic was the same... and saw through everything."

"Did you do Kayla's essay, too?" I shake my head. "Aatikah, I told you thousands of times. You must do your own homework, not compensate for Kayla's laziness!" She turns at Kayla. "And you, young lady, you disappointed me quite a lot!"

"Aunt, it's not my fault!" she defends herself. "It's Aatikah who copied my essay!"

Lie. Huge lie. I would never cheat. I may get bad marks quite often, but not cheating. Though, anyway, I couldn't defend myself anymore. Kayla accused me of cheating, which is enough for me to be grounded forever.

Luckily, I have three precious allies. My sisters. They may be a bit of a pain, but they always help me when I am in trouble. Like now.

In fact, "Mom, how can Aatikah cheat?" intervenes Aaylah. "She gets bad marks by herself."

This last sentence is really putting me into an embarrassing situation.

"Aaylah!" I tell her off.

"Sorry... I was just trying to defend you."

"You're forgiven," I laugh. Then I immediately turn serious. "Anyway, Mom, even Aaylah recognizes I would never cheat even if threatened."

"And don't forget me," adds Anaiyah.

"And me," concludes Alaynah. "Mom, while I was nosing around Aatikah's room..." I glare at her. "Sorry, Aatikah, but at least I am admitting it. Anyway, I wanted to borrow Aatikah's laptop, and I noticed a piece of paper on the floor. It was her essay. She left to the toilet for a while. I was waiting for her, when Kayla entered the room - without permission, obviously..."

"And?" interrupts Mom.

"She took Aatikah's paper and I don't know what she did with it," cries my sister.

"She copied her essay!" shouts Aaylah. "Didn't you understand?"

"It's different from hers!" my cousin hisses. "And it's better written!"

"We'll see when you get marks, girls," decides Mom. "I hope you're right, Kayla. I don't want to tell your parents your GPA is ruined because of a poor grade..."

"But Auntie, it's Aatikah who copied," she complains. I, on the other hand, snort. I am fed up with all her lies.

Mom sighs. "I wonder whether you'll stop arguing..." she mutters.