‘‘You are a gem and you shouldn’t be seen with trash like her.’’ I wasn’t even surprised, I already knew who I was, I was a door mat and no matter what I would never be a doormat or rise to the ranks of a face towel. It was only good that someone got to remind me of who and what I was. I bit back tears that were threatening to come out of my eyes and breathed in and out as I looked down. ‘‘This doesn’t scare you; this doesn’t scare you, you have been through worse, you have been through hell and blazing fames, but you still came out alive,’’ my inner voice whispered, pleading with me to stand up and fight for myself, pleading with me to be a human being for once and defend myself Infront of the bullies. I was weak, I couldn’t do it, never could, I wasn’t man enough, or woman enough. It is crazy how I always planned one hundred outrageous things that I would do to the bullies everyday and fail to do them. How I had fantasized about killing Vince and wiping his DNA from the face of t
When you see your bully and greatest enemy suffering, the first instinct should be to cry out in joy, to thank the heavens and Gods, to whisper a thank you prayer to whoever made it happen. It is the natural law of the universe. When a competitive business that challenges yours goes bankrupt and calls, the first instinct should be to celebrate. This should have been my reaction, absolute happiness, the loudest scream and cheer when he got flipped. But this all sounded and looked like a dream. It wasn’t the first time that I was daydreaming, it was my talent, since I couldn’t live happily in the world I could comfortably do it inside my head. I rubbed my eyes and confirmed the events. It was the bully caught up in a brawl, with my newest friend Cage. Six minutes ago After Vince was doner with his mighty speech about trash and gems, taking sides and Barbra crossing over if she wanted to stay in this school, he made a you turn with his full team. His walking style was the usual one,
‘‘What is going on here?’’ the principal asked as he made his way trough the crowd of students. Wea all stepped aside and I looked down as he passed next to me so he could not remember my face and laugh loudly. ‘‘Step aside, can you all stop gathering here like uncivilized people,’’ he added as he entered the clearing. ‘‘Sir, I have been, I…’’ Ryan pretended as he began introducing himself, as a prefect, the fakeness of his speech was what awed me the most. Why did people find it so easy to pretend. One could go ahead to pretend so much, so much to an extent that they forget about their real identity or selves. Or perhaps like a famous writer and orator I couldn’t remember placed it, most of the time, the lies people tell, reveal more about them than the truth. Funny. The fight was still on of course. No one was ready to conceded to admit that they were finally defeated. Vince drugged Cage towards the wall as Cage pulled him back attempting to lift his weigh in a commando move and
‘‘Hey, they you are,’’ Barbra greeted. ‘‘Oh yeah,’’ I replied. She settled on the table next t me and we continued eating quietly. She looked like she had a burning desire to say something, something that she thought would change things and my situation as a whole. ‘‘I’ve never loved boiled chicken, I like fried or roasted, marinated chicken,’’ she declared. ‘‘Oh okay,’’ I played dumb, acting like I didn’t know whatever she was trying to insinuate with that statement. ‘‘You want some?’’ she asked. I didn’t lift my head up but kept on chewing my food in that posture. What was she trying to insinuate, it was very clear, Barbra thought I was fat, too fat that the amount of food helpings being served wasn’t enough for me. Sick right. It was a sick world but I didn’t care anymore, thy could do anything to me and I still wouldn’t care. I still wouldn’t give a damn about it. ‘‘No, I am okay, very okay,’’ I shot back. It wasn’t about what she said, it was the way she ad said it, like
Something tapped the ack of my head and I continued eating ignoring it. Ignoring it as if nothing had happened. I continued eating and some giggling caught my attention. I turned around to find Sasha and her friends giggling as she licked some jam with a wooden spoon. I didn’t inquire about what they were giggling about and instead just turned around to continue doing my own things. As soon as I was back, some stuff I couldn’t tell began hitting the back of my head again. I touched the spot and felt some warm and sticky substance. I couldn’t tell what it was and as I turned around Sasha and her friends took pictures of me frowning at the sight. I had never looked good n any picture. Pictures exaggerated my ugliness, they made sure to magnify all my imperfections and add salt to them. I hated images, pictures or anything that created a reflection or another copy of me. I turned back to my food and gobbled it up. Food was my only sense of happiness and I wasn’t going to let any of it
In my whole school life, there were two depressing and worse moments that kept on repeating themselves. One was the math class that I had to attend every day, chaired with the most unprofessional and uncouth teacher Mr. Thomas. The next one was even worse than the first one. Swimming classes that we took together. During swimming classes, two classes were combined together, together to make sure there were many students their altogether, added to by the harsh and scrutinizing swimming teacher. It was hell. I had pretended to be sick with asthma, but the pool was heated and the showers warm, rendering my excuses useless. There was no option to replace swimming, you had to learn it no matter the phobias, and since most of the students didn’t like French as a foreign language and there was an option to stroke swimming with French, a very outrageous option, of course in Maslow High School, they knew that no one or at least only two people would want to add French in their academic load.
I felt a hand tugging and pulling me as a voice I recognized kept on talking to me. ‘‘Perez, Perez,’’ it was Barbra again. ‘‘Oh, hey, I must have gotten dizzy,’’ I replied as I pulled myself back to oblivion. The lesson was awful as usual, after toying around for an eternity, she moved to the worst part of the lesson. ‘‘We will be competing to reach the other end, in groups of nine people each to see your progress in all the lessons we have been having,’’ she announced. ‘‘Fuck it,’’ Barbra hissed next to me. But at least the swimming lesson was better than the French class. Here you could lazy around for a whole lesson as you pretended to listen or do the things the teacher said. ‘‘Do you have a personal history with that teacher, because whatever she did there was pretty intense, I mean why would anyone go to all that length to defame and do all that to you?’’ I asked. ‘‘Never mind, its in the past now,’’ I lied. I noticed heads around me turning to look at something. We foll
I frowned in disdain and disgust as I watched the pathetic staged attempt to get attention by the two.Everyone was smiling, laughing, clapping and blowing kisses in the air at them, except I. The last time I checked, Sasha was a good swimmer, she had an athletic body that blended that moved fast inside water, she didn’t even need to try her frame automatically floated.Th moment they reached the stairs, Vince Carried Sasha by the waist and placed her on top of the highest stair case before doing a low curtsy and salute to the swimming teacher.‘‘Can you all clap for him,’’ she ordered as everyone did. ‘‘I must say I am impressed, we haven’t reached that part of the topic and lessons yet, but he is already ahead of you, keep it up young man, ‘’ she added. ‘‘Let’s all emulate the good example and conduct displayed by him.’’She was now overdoing it, overpraising the fake duo.‘‘I think they suck,’’ I whispered at Barbra.‘‘Yeah, I do too,’’ she replied and we giggled silently.I finall
A person can never go through life waiting for happiness, you have to make your own, for there is nothing stronger and better like a good memory. “Your eyes make you beautiful, but your lips do more than that, you are a beautiful creation. One that took a few more hours to be made, I would say the creator had some free time to spare during that time,’’ he whispered the words in my ear in a slurry base, that was seductive and enticing. “Are you sure, are my eyes that beautiful,’’ I asked more confused than ever. We kept on having normal and sugar sweet conversations at the top of the stairs, the bully has a heart. I moved towards the room I was supposed to sleep in and he followed behind, helping me, making sure I didn’t fall. I pushed the door open and slid into bed before he pulled out the covers and made sure I was neatly tucked in. “You are such a good soul, what demons always take over you every day, what really happens?’’ I asked slowly as I felt sleep taking a toll on me.
I pushed the large window to open fully and watched as he jumped in with a loud thud. ‘‘Be silent, someone is going to hear you,’’ I warned in a whisper as I suppressed a little girls giggle. It felt I was torn between leaving my window open so the bully could witness everything. He always made sure he gave me lessons at love with his little conquests every day, by leaving his window open, and putting the lights on so could watch every little detail, every single step as they kissed with him lifting his small whores against and doing all kinds of stuff to them. like I was cheating on him, so I pulled the window closed and turned around. ‘‘Heeeeeeey,’’ he greeted again as he pulled me into a warm hug. ‘‘Heey, ‘’ I greeted back as I hugged him too. ‘‘You smell so nice,’’ he commented as he pulled me closer to inhale his masculine scent. ‘‘Your cologne is also awesome,’’ I complemented, ‘‘What is it called?’’ I asked even though was sure that I would forget the name as soon as he
I mouthed an awful goodnight to everyone at the table and didn’t stay behind long enough to hear wherever they would, say. I was just done with humanity and everything about them. ‘‘Don’t forget about tomorrow, its along day,’’ my papa screamed as hr shouted goodnight too. IO smiled and nodded my head before taking the flight of stairs towards my room. I got in closed the door and laid on the floor flat, with my head facing the wall. This room was my safe place, it was one of the only places in the world where I felt whole, The ceiling board was familiar as usual, the normal designs, the walls boring as ever. Boring and me always belonged in the same sentence, my life was boring, terribly boring, nothing about it could spark or raise eyebrows, it wasn’t even spiced up a little. I closed my eyes and just lay there for almost an hour, I wanted to feel nothing, I wanted to be numb to emotion, immune to love or hurt. I didn’t want to be human anymore. My headache was getting even w
‘‘Beauty is all around you, all you have to do is open your eyes and see it’’ Dinner was boring as usual; it was just the sound of forks and spoons clinking on the plate as we all savored whatever was left inside our plates. The only time I ever felt alive was when I was eating. Food made me feel whole, it made feel like looking up to the next meal. There was a conversation going on around me, I made myself immune to whatever was being said, I blocked the words from reaching my ears. I had already given up, died inside a long time ago, the only thing I was doing right now was feeling up my body. I did not have a soul. I focused on the sounds the fork and knife made as it hit my plate and objectified my food as I became totally absent from everything that was happening around me. A hand tapped my shoulder and I gasped loudly in shock. ‘‘Sorry, but are you okay?’’ It was my step mama again, what was she even trying to do, by being good to me out of the blue. ‘‘I am fine,’’ I repli
Every day, people ask if you are okay. A random stranger inside the bus pretends to care and ask if you are fine, because your palms are sweating, or your lips trembling, from your struggle with anxiety. But most of the time, no one does, its pretense. The moment I got into the house, I wish I didn’t, they all seemed to be in a happy mood, happy for no good reason and I feared they might want me to join them and perhaps, perhaps I wouldn’t be able to, lest they notice that my spirit has given up. ‘‘Hellooooo,’’ my father greeted as he stood up to come and say hi. I was really uncomfortable and he knew, I wasn’t up for all the happy merry, the high vibes, I wanted it low and quiet, I didn’t want anyone to recognize me. That’s how a child grows up when their mother abandons them, it’s the only way for them to cope up, you lay low and lock up all your feelings in a cage, you become numb, because feelings are useless, humans abuse them all the time, you better not have them. ‘‘Hey pa
I literally rolled my eyes at the phrase, it was one of the most common things I had heard in school everywhere, despite the fact that I didn’t have much friends. That was so ordinary, it was a common phrase to tell a girl, it could get someone arrested. ‘‘ Girl, now you have standards about what to be done and what not to be done, and yet just recently you didn’t have a chance?’’ my conscience screamed at me after detecting what I had just done. ‘‘That is so lovely, oooouh,’’ I let out a fake mona as I struggled so hard not to laugh or do anything. God, I am evil too, kill me , punish me, make me repent. I laughed inwardly. I was currently doing well, experiencing a series of absolute highs that I couldn’t comprehends. What did I do to deserve all this. Would he have been heart broken if at all I had done it, if at all I had succeeded in taking away my life yesterday, perhaps he would have, perhaps he wouldn’t have. ‘‘ I think I like you,’’ he blurted out. ‘‘ What ?’’ I asked
“ Well , that was my mama, she is preparing…’’ oooups, I almost ruined the surprise. “ What surprise, I thought you said it,’’ I asked even more curious and surprised. “ Well, I guess you will just have to wait and trust me on this,’’ she laughed as she threw her hair back while looking at me. “ I got to go, brush my teeth and stuff, I have been sleeping since forever,’’ I cried. “ And yesterday, I tried calling you several times, you weren’t picking.’’ “Really? What time?’’ “ At night, wanted to face time you now, and gossip, and anormal stuff, okay, okay, I can be too much sometimes, let that slide,’’ she spoke fast. “ Is that Barbra feeling insecure?’’ I laughed at the thought. She was one of the most confident human being that I knew who existed in planet earth, confidence and her always belonged in one sentence. “Lol, go get a shower and eat whatever you getting for breakfast, but I warn you, be ready for the surprise,’’ she winked before blowing kisses in the air and han
I pulled the window down and drew back the curtains before standing on that position for a while , while just inhaling and exhaling the air around e. It was full of Cage, his scent everything. Perhaps all we need is a little lo9ve, all humanity needs is a little love to save it form drowning some one to care, someone to hug and hold your hand. I coiled in bed and hugged the balloon he had brought. It was laying on my chest with my hands draped around it as it felt warm. He was the sign, a sign form heaven above, a miracle, everything that I had hoped I would have but was too sacred to admit. I pulled up the sheets and turned off the bedside lamp, before closing my eyers. The balloon was still in my arms and my head was supported on the part of the bed where Cage had been sitting, it felt different, it felt better, it still smelt of him, it made me want to try again. *** It was another morning, a Saturday. Saturdays always felt so boring, boring because I was always stuck at home
Sometimes all you need is a little love. A big hug, and someone to care. It heals the soul, repairs wounds that are beneath the skin and makes someone want to live again. ‘‘Tell me, what is it like?’’ Cage asked. ‘‘What is what like?’’ I laughed back. We were sitting in a position that I still couldn’t believe. Vince should probably see this, see me happy, see someone treating me like a human being. I wanted a picture of this moment, I wanted to remember it so that the next time the bullies threw a fracas or decided to belittle me, I would literally through the image on their faces and run. Nothing slaps differently and hits hard like seeing your enemy happy, that is why the ice cream incident affected them so much. ‘‘ I mean being you, sleeping in this big bed like a princess and having a magnificent view of the town and street from your window, I can’t imagine,’’ he said as he tickled my nose. He was laying on my bed with his back, with a billow over his lap and me laying on