[center][h2]Dirty Dishes[/h2]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/skvfbQw.png[/img][/center]

The duties that’d been delegated worked quite beautifully in her favor. The captain wouldn’t allow Imani free reigns over her position—understandably a CYA matter—therefore asking Edina for some help to come up with a list would show her willingness to cooperate and work well with others, even though she much preferred otherwise. The crew began to stagger out, and Imani grabbed the chance to rinse out her cup.

“Make that list later, yes?”

Imani walked past Edina with a smile as she was heading in the opposite direction with the rest of the crew. She pulled the faucet open and let the water run over her fingers for a moment.

[i]"Not like that, you’re doing it wrong!” Her caretaker at the time snatched the dish from her hands and hurled it against an adjacent wall, startling a young Imani. “You left a dirty spot!”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and Imani began to retreat back to her room. She didn’t get far though, not with Emmanuel hastily moving to block her path. She didn’t dare look up at him and only focused on his scuffed up work boots. “I apologize, I didn’t mean...” Imani struggled to find the right words, hands nervously tugging at the hem of her white dress. It was then she felt herself getting yanked up by the arm and roughly dragged towards the back patio door, making her desperately plea for him to do otherwise. “No—please please, no!” At only nine years old, there was practically nothing she could do to defend herself from him.

“Shoulda learned better from Lena..." Emmanuel responded matter-of-factly.

Lena was his wife, his partner for supposedly a lifetime. She was nothing like him, and their union oftentimes left Imani to wonder why she would be with someone like him. Lena was loving, patient...all the qualities of a good parent. They never had any children, and that’s why they'd agreed to look after Imani. However, when she wasn’t around, Emmanuel would take out whatever frustrations were troubling him on Imani. Not that she would tell Lena either way as Emmanuel would remind Imani they could just as quickly get rid of her if she were to say something.

“Please, you did this yesterday!” Her trying to break from his grasp was futile. Imani tried to dig her heels into the ground but that only led to scratched knees as she was pulled so hard, her shoulder could have very easily dislocated. With Lena being away for work, Imani started to desperately cry knowing she would not be okay for a few days. That angered Emmanuel even more as he shoved her into the shed. Imani lost her footing and fell, her head hitting the wall. She finally looked up at him as he closed the door on her and locked it shut. She sat in complete darkness, a trembling hand reaching for the achy spot on her head. 

Imani already knew the terrain so to speak, being she was locked up plenty of times before. It was a bit of a struggle to get to her feet but she eventually got there, feeling the wall as she pushed forward towards the sink to wash her face.[/I]

Her mind then changed, and Imani left the cup on the counter. She no longer had a smile on her face as she made her way to her quarters.