Chapter 3: Circumstances

Lucas enters her life, and he is already has caused problems for her. In the middle of an argument with her parents, she leaves to one of her best friends. But, she is forced to go to Holland, MI.

She ran down the stairs and entered the vibrant living room. Her grandparent's just arrived for the next few days. Irma though, was neither impressed, nor happy for them being there. Irma's eyes glanced at her grandfather and saw an unfamiliar person. He had blondish brown hair and perfect, blue eyes. The teenage boy was handsome, so handsome that his beauty made everything else in the room seem ugly. Then, Irma realized who he was. He was Lucas, the man who she would later have to marry.

"Sind sie Lucas?" she vaguely asked him formally. He smiled and replied, "Ja, Ich heisse Lucas. Bist du Irma? Du bist sehr schön." She frowned when she knew he was trying to flirt with her. Also, she was really upset that he used the informal word, ‘you’, for her, when he just met her.

"Bai chi! Warum? Deutche Jungen sind sehr lästig!" she bellowed as she pointed at Lucas. "Geh! I don't want you here."

"Irma! We have guests! Quit the behavior!" her mother yelled.

"Nein, Sie sollen hier nicht!"

Everyone suddenly became very tense in the living room, but Irma was tenser. She couldn't survive in that room for another minute and she decided to head to the front door.

"Where are you going? You have to be here tonight to see this fight." Udo yelled.

 "Vati...I'm almost 17...I need to calm down. I will be there, later...I promise." she replied back adamantly.

"Now where are you going? Sag mir!" her mother also yelled.

"I'm going to Tuyet's house for a bit. I will be at the park in an hour or so. Do you want something bad to happen when I'm still here? While I'm this angry," she sneered at her family. "Right, call me if you need me."

The past circumstances showed that her angry could be impossible to control. The first time she really got upset, the house almost was destroyed.

Irma walked out the front door and went to her red Volkswagen Beetle. She got in, started the ignition and put it in reverse to drive out the driveway. Her family was surprised by the attitude Irma had shown. Though, they also wonder what has caused her reaction.

While on her way to Tuyet’s, she called her on her silver cell phone. Irma had to vent out her feelings anytime soon before the anger could control her.

"Tuyet, are you home? Oh okay...because I need to talk to you and see you right now. I'll be there in a few minutes." she said and then hung up and put the cell on the dashboard.

It wasn't even five minutes later when she arrived at Tuyet's home. Her close friend saw her from the window and ran outside when she saw Irma's sad expression. Tuyet hugged her tightly.

"Irma! Are you okay? You sounded so depressed and angry on the phone." she asked curiously.

"Not really, I just need to calm down." Irma replied, and then her friend smiled.

"I got those noodles that you like and you can tell me ALL about it!" Irma had tried to smile, but a frown still appeared on her face.

"My parents are at some Vietnamese party and the siblings are downstairs playing video games. So it's just us upstairs."

They were in the kitchen as Irma sat at the table waiting for the noodles. She always felt at him when she would go to Tuyet's. Even Tuyet's parents enjoyed speaking fluent Vietnamese to Irma.

"Here you go." she said as she handed Irma the bowl with chopsticks.

"Now, tell me what happened."

"My parents arranged a marriage for me in the mere future." she stated angrily.

Then, Tuyet's jaw dropped and her black bangs fell towards her face.

"Tại sao?? That's horrible! Why would they do that?" she questioned for a straight answer.

"You remember my family secret to NEVER tell anyone? Well, my parents want my bloodline to be clean with one-hundred percent German blood. But, also my mom soon afterwards when I flipped out, and she in some degree, found out about me being in love with Denjiro. Anyways, tonight...my dad's side of the family is coming for a meeting. Also, there already is tension between the guy...ugh."

"This is what you gotta do. You gotta think about the good things, not the bad things. Why do you think I'm so happy all the time? Also.......what are you going to do about Denjiro? When are you going to tell him?”

Irma blushed when Tuyet said his name.

"Quit pressuring me, I don't want to lose his friendship. Life isn't like a romance novel. There is no happy ending."

"Who said there doesn't have to be a happy ending?"

"I do because in my book...there is no happy ending." Then Irma's phone started to ring and it was her mother calling. "Oh my gosh...ugh...it's my mother."

"Wei? Ja, Mutti? I will be there as soon as I can. Ich weiss, ich weiss! Langsam.... Tschüs!" she yelled at her mother through the phone and hung up.

"I'm sorry, Tuyet. They're bugging me to be in Holland within an hour. Please, whatever you do...if you talk to him tonight, do not say a thing about me liking him. Oh and thanks so much for the noodles." Irma graciously said as she started to walk out to her car. Her friend waved good-bye to Irma as she sped off.

”I don't want to see him. He's going to cause a problem, a troublesome problem. He is like the others, I know he really is.” Irma said to herself as she gained closer to Holland.

The fight for her freedom was about to begin. . . . .

Author's Note

Foreign language translations:

Sie sind Lukas?- Are you Lukas?(Sie is the formal way, especially when you just met someone, du is used for people who you are close to like your parents and friends)

Ja, Ich heisse Lukas. Bist du Irma? Du bist sehr schön- Yes, I am Lukas. Are you Irma? You are very beautiful.

Báichī- Idiot (This is Chinese, NEVER say this to a Chinese person. Bèn is more nicer.)

Warum? Deutche Jungen sind sehr lästig!- Why? German boys are very annoying/troublesome.

Geh!- Go! (command)

Tại sao?- Why?

Ich weiss, ich weiss! Langsam.... Tschüs!- I know, I know. Slow.... See ya!