(untitled [yet])

"Look. I am sick and tired of you always asking how I'm doing every time you get the chance. I'm old enough to take care of myself now so please, get of my case, leave me alone, and never call me again!" Carrie slammed down the phone and sighed.

~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~

It wasn't always like this. Carrie used to love her grandmother as much as Grandma Esmeralda loved her. Being born at the time Grandpa died, Grandma Esme viewed Carrie as the life replacement for her husband. It was needless to say that Carrie was her favorite.

After she retired, her only joy was the end-of-the-month visits she gets from Carrie. However, because of her parent's marriage problems, only her father or mother accompanies her, never both. Grandma knew about this, so when Carrie asks why she has to sleepover at her house again, she just tells her that she requested this from her parents so she can spend more time with her.

However, the truth can't be hidden for long, and when Carrie was six, her parents divorced. Neither wanted to shoulder her, so she was left to the care of her grandmother, who was more than happy to take her in.

But, as she was aging and has only her pension to live by, Carrie was taken in by an aunt, who was equally fond of her. By that time, Carrie was already nine and she has grown so attached to Grandma Esme that she cries out her name at night.

One day, after school, Carrie's aunt called her aside and put a phone to her ears. Then she heard the sweetest sound in the world, "Hello, Carrie. I missed you!"

"Granny!", Carrie almost cried with joy. Then they talked for about an hour before hanging up. Grandma Esme gave Carrie a cellphone with a blue flower key chain on her eleventh birthday and she never let go of it since.

As Carrie grew older, however the space in her heart for Grandma Esme shrank as school, friends, and Ryan took up space. Eventually, the calls Grandma receive from Carrie got reduced from every three days to once a week, once a month, until she had to be reminded to call her aging Grandma.

Once, when she was at school, she forgot to switch her phone to silent mode and it rang in the middle of a discussion. It was Grandma Esme asking how she was because she hadn't heard from her lately. She just pressed cancel and the teacher confiscated the phone and scolded her for interrupting the class. She had to get it back through her aunt.

Calls from Grandma Esme got so frequent that Carrie resorted to shutting her cellphone for days. One night, on their Prom Night, the Prom Queen was about to be announced when her phone suddenly rang.

"Carrie, is that you? Oh how I miss you, darling! I heard from your aunt that you are one of the candidates for the Prom Queen. I hope you can make it. Did, you know, i was once..."

"Look, Granny. I know you were Prom Queen once, but I don't really need that right now. I need to be up that stage working my stuff."

"Let's give a big hand to Carrie!", the emcee was saying.

"Please, Granny. If I don't go now, I'll have to forfeit!"

Granny stifled a sob. "It's just that... you've grown so far away and I hardly hear your voice anymore. I just feel lonely sometimes and..."

"Carrie has forfeited the chance to be the Prom Queen", the emcee announced.

"Aargh!!", Carrie cried. "Look. I am sick and tired of you always asking how I'm doing every time you get the chance. I'm old enough to take care of myself now so please, get of my case, leave me alone, and never call me again!" Carrie slammed down the phone and sighed.

<tbc>