7 I Didn't Tell Him

The weekend passed with me tiptoeing around my dad and doing my daughterly duties: cleaning the house when told, doing dishes and helping mom make the meals, looking after the kids, etc. and during the night, I read my books and let them transport me to other worlds, away from my reality, becoming someone else and living their lives instead of mine. Then came Monday. I put on my uniform and grabbed my backpack, made sure all the kids had breakfast and were ready to go, then we went to the bus stop.

During 2nd period, Richie passed me a note. "Sorry i didn't show up, something came up with my grandma and everyone had to go over to her house. i had no choice." I felt bitterness sitting in the back of my throat and wrote back.

"is otay. i went wif my family anyways and ran into an old friend so i still had a good time (^_^)"

I didn't tell Richie that I was severely disciplined for attempting to meet him like a "normal person". I didn't tell him that because I wanted to give us a chance, I may have sustained more injuries to my head that could possibly have been the last nail in the coffin in regards to my issues with deteriorating memory later on in life. Instead, I lied.

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The last day of 8th grade. Next year we will be high school students. We took a school field trip to the city park. We all took turns spinning each other on the rotating tire swing. I was the best at spinning people so they constantly pulled me over to whirl them around. I made one of the boys on there throw up and laughed. We were all having great fun. *I* was having great fun.. until one of my friends pulled me over to talk to me in private.

"I can't be friends with Bri anymore," Juna confided. "She's changed." I was confused, wasn't changing a good thing? I asked Juna why she she said what she did. "She was supposed to stay a tom boy like you and me. But instead she decided to be all GIRLY and put on make up and stuff. We can't be friends with her anymore." Inside my head, I thought 'Well, just because she put on make up and stuff doesn't mean that she isn't still her right? Bri is still the same Bri we know.' But on the outside, I only nodded. Then I went to look for Richie and we walked along the pathways until we had to go back to school to board the buses home.