Highschool 11-15

11. Memory
She tilted her head back and took a deep breath before releasing it in a distressed yet content sigh. Her brain was frazzled and confused and just all around mushed with past, present, and future. Homework, friends, and family were running her ragged. The ever growing parasite of a thought that was college was eating away at her nerves and it was crashing down on her. She searched her memory hard for anything that could distract her. She often took refuge in her past when she couldn't stand her present. Her childhood was looking too boring and over used. She needed something more recent than the family reunions and deeply cherished memories she ran to so often. She wanted something that was stored in her brain to be cherished but ignored for its insignificance in comparison. She closed her eyes tight and bit the inside of her lip as she thought harder. Flashes of supressed memories ran across her vision but she kept searching for the perfect one. Something secretely meaningful. Something that toucher her heart. She walked with her father along a path they all had once used as a family for excercise that encircled a small lake. They sat on the large steps provided and looked over the children playing in the water between the sections of steps that crossed the small river area and reminesced over her childhood. She smirked. Looking back on a memory of her looking back on her memories.

12. Insanity
"I'm not crazy!" she screamed gathering the sheets and pillows from her bed and throwing them at her mother. Her room was trashed. If they were going to call her crazy then she'd show them crazy.
"Baby, we're not saying you're crazy-"
"Oh really?! Then why are you putting me on medication? Forcing me to see that damn shrink?? I'm fine!" She held the bottom of her sleeves in her hands so they didn't ride up to show the scars and fresh wounds. "I'm not even that sad! I'm better now. All happy," she said sarcastically. "So stop forcing all this on me!" she screamed throwing a jewelery box against a wall that quickly broke and scattered across the ground.
"That's enough!" her mother screamed stomping her foot. "You're acting like a small child and I've had enough! I've given you the time to sort yourself out like you've asked for. I've given you all you've asked  and took your word and you're not getting better. So I'm in control now. I'm your mother. And you will do as I say." She shouted walking towards her.
"No! I'm not insane! How is it my fault that you can't control me and make me happy. Maybe you should blame your parenting skills instead of medicating me!"
"You're taking this damn medication! You're not happy and it's no ones fault but to make you better you have to do this. Now I will not take no as an answer!"
"I'm not taking it!" she shouted shoving he rmothers shoulders. Her head was turned before she had even registered her mother raising her hand. Her cheek tingled and was quickly heating up. Her eyes quickly diverted to the small head poking in through the door way. Hands over her tiny ears and tears rolling down her plump cheeks.
... Making her see this. Hurting her now and what she will remember forever. That was insanity.

13. Misfortune
There was a speck on her wall. Her white flawless wall. She hadn't noticed it before but now that she had it was boring a hole through her brain. Wherever she looked all she could see was that damned dark speck that ruined the flawless purity of her wall. She narrowed her eyes as she laid on her bed sideways, feet and shins hanging off the edge. She didn't touch the speck, just stared and studied. Where had it come from and how dare it invade her space like this? Ruin the possibility for a pure beautiful room. The speck wasn't large but it damaged everything anyways. She shifted her weight to give her right hand a rest and leaned into her left hand, head still propped up. The edge of her nice shoes scratched at the back of her pants leg. On these days the material was always itchy. You could be wearing 100 count egyption cotton and it would still itch. She closed her eyes briefly and opened them once again to concentrate on that brown, black, ugly, destroying speck. How dare it.
"Jennie, baby?" a soft voice called into her room. She looked over to see her aunt. Her face so morose. She was sure her expression mirrored it as well. "Are you ready, Jen?"
She nodded and slowly stood up straightening her black clothes. She rubbed her eyes and didn't bother to wear make-up. What was the point? She grabbed her bag as her aunt walked from the room and spotted the picture of her and her mother. She took a deep, staggering, shattering breath and quickly took the picture from its frame and slipped it in her purse and left for the funeral.

14. Smile
"Why will no one help us?" Bekka laughed out as we stumbled bored around the grocery store. I gigggled and agreed.
"Just sixty cents," I whined.
For the past half hour we had been bitching and moaning about the absence of our sixty cents which we needed to purchase a four pack of Monster with. A pale hand stretched between us from behind holding a dollar. "You can use this," a deep, soft voice said quietly. The both of us stopped and turned to look at the boy surprised. His height was the same as ours adding an inch or two and his hair was a short, dirty blonde. His eyes a bright blue.
I laughed nervously and embarassed. "Um, are you sure?"
He nodded and slipped it into my hand with a slight, shy smile. "It's no problem."
Bekka and I laughed at oursleves and nodded. "Thankyou so much! I'll bring you your change."
He shrugged and sat back at the small table in the eating section of the store. We giggled and ran off to buy our Monsters returning to him with his change. He gave that same, shy smile.
"He looked familiar, didn't he?" I asked looking to Bekka as we walked out of the store still laughing over the incident.
"Bekka just shrugged. "I dunno, but he was cute... and awesome for giving us money."
I laughed and agreed. "But, he looked famliar, especially when he smiled." We both shrugged and kept walking. "Well, in any case. He was awesome."

15. Silence
You could cut it with a knife. The tension was so thick as they sat side by side. Six months ago they could have never imagined this would be the case. It was loud in the auditorium where they sat, but for both of them the underlying silence was so thick it was hard to concentrate. The way they sat was identical. Angled away from one another, arms crossed tight to symbolize their refusal to budge. Lips pressed tight to symbolize their refusal to speak. Best friends turned into enemies at the drop of a hat. Drama they weren't prepared for. Highschool tore them to shreds. New friends when they use to be each others one and only. Rumors from others and the degradation they quickly put on one another. They weren't prepared for the intensity of adolescent hormones and hate. They didn't know how quickly it could tear into their childhood friendship. Their hate became their silence. And they hated their silence. If only they both knew how desperately they wanted to speak to one another again. To tell each other how they hated their new friends and longed for the fun and friendship they never took for granted. But the silence persisted and only silence ensued.