Hot Summer (Part 1)

Ever been stuck in the middle before? Tossed around like you’re the monkey in the middle, or the flag tied around a rope being tugged at both ends? You’d think that the middle job is the easiest, that all you have to do is be tossed around and make a choice– a decision.

But no one talks about the horrors that come with being in that middle ground and the feelings you’re bound to hurt. No one talks about what affects the monkey, or how that tied flag feels. It’s always about the players– always. And we’re taught not to hate them, to hate the game instead.

Well fuck that.

It was a hot summer day back home in Florida, far gone from the calming campus at Vanderbilt University. But summer calls, and home awaits.

My home, despite the way I’d talk about the heat and summer storms, despite the way I’d dream of falling leaves and white winters. This was home, in all its scorching glory.

I arrived yesterday to my Mom already outside, waving me down like I’d forgotten where I lived. And as