The train lurched forward, waking me up from a sleep. Had I yet reached my destination, the train station near my job? I forced myself to stand up, pulling myself with the pole, and waited a few seconds. To my disbelief, it was announced that the train was now in Westfield. Summerset, which was where I was headed, was before Westfield. Had I been asleep all that time? Now, I had to find a taxi to take me to the French Taifood restaurant where I worked. Either that or wait until the train went the other way and stopped at Summerset again. Sighing, I rummaged through my purse for my cell phone, which was buried in a multitude of useless trinkets. When I finally found it, I placed a call to my boss. This was not the only time I was late for work, but this was deffinately the latest I have ever been. Because of this, I dreaded this call. Each time the phone rang, it felt like a time bomb waiting to go off. When he finally answered, I tried my best remorseful voice. “Hello, it’s Julie,” I said flatly. “I’m going to be very late for work tonight. I fell asleep on the train and I...” “I don’t need to hear any excuses,” my boss warned. “You better get here as soon as possible. If you don’t bend over backwards for any customer, no matter how rude they may be, so help me, you are out of the job. I cannot put up with you anymore, and there are other high school students your age, who need this job. Consider yourself lucky to have this job...” Before I could here anything else, I hung up the phone. At that point, I couldn’t take it anymore. I no longer cared about work, I didn’t care about being on time, or even being fired. I was exhausted and stress from school, work and life in general. It felt as if I had no day where I could just relax and not worry about the load of homework and tests I had, or customers who wanted exactly ten icecubes in their drinks. There were days, like this one, where I just wanted to say to everyone’s that I was done. I had come to realize that the train was moving, and it had been moving for the past few minutes. It looked like I would be train surfing for the night. I plopped back down on the seat, and fell back asleep before I knew it. The next night, I exited the train on the right stop this time, and traveled my usual route to the restaurant. Last nightm, I had hadn’t made it to work and there was no doubt I would be fired today, but I figured it would be a decent idea to acknowledge to my boss that I did something wrong. When I arrived though, there he was, waiting for me. “Ah, Julie,” he sneered. “good to see you again.” “Sir, I can expalin...” “Really,” he said laughing harshly. “you can explain to me why you had the nerve to hang up on me? And do you have an explanation as to why yu didn’t show up last night?” “Sir, I was really tired and...” “Oh, so you were tired!” He laughed again. “Well you won’t be tired any longer, because you no longer work here.” When I tried to speak again, he interupted one last time. “Trust me Julie, you deserve it.”
The two combatants squared off in the parking lot of the school. One was being cheered on by the surrounding students to beat the fatter kid down. “Well Sam, you ready to get pummeled?” The kid said with a cocky smirk on his face. Sam just stood there with a blank expression on his face; he wasn’t fazed by any of the kids jeering at him. “You’ll pay for what you did Adam, nobody should harm a girl like the way you did.” He said, with his fists clenched, ready to tear into Adam. “Abigail is a nobody. Nobody cares about her, and anyone who does is the same as she is. So I guess that makes you worthless too, so it won’t matter how bad I beat you.” He said with a laugh. Adam rushed Sam and threw a strong right hook. Sam ducked under it and gave a quick jab to his stomach. Adam recoiled and brought his knee up to try and catch Sam in the chin. Sam blocked it, and before Adam could replant his foot, Sam placed his leg behind Adam’s and gave a strong shove which sent Adam toppling over and onto the ground. Sam didn’t miss the chance; he got on top of Adam’s chest and started wailing on his face with punch after punch. Sam was not giving Adam a chance to get back up, only after he was finished, Sam got up off of Adam to show the crowd of students what he had done. Adam’s face was covered in blood, his nose was bent at an awkward angle, and he was missing a few teeth, which were scattered around the pavement. He looked down at Adam, lying on the ground and spat at him and said, “You deserved it.” He kicked him in the ribs then left the circle, of now silent students.
Today is a day worth of a celebration. One of my friends, Kate, has been ask out by a senior, Reilly. She has been waiting forever for a boyfriend, and she finally get one today. The best part is that she is not the one who asked. Everyone thinks that Kate will end up asking a guy out one day because she is so desperate. Though, not everyone in the group likes the idea of Kate going out with Reilly, like Carissa. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea Kate,” said Carissa. “But he’s cute, and funny, and smart… and everything else in this world. I don’t know why you don’t like him,” Kate complained. “But he’s a senior. He’ll be gone by the end of this year. Long-distance relationship does not work! And you know he has a reputation in school. He never dates a girl for over a month. Are you sure you want your first boyfriend to be a guy like him?” “Calm down. I’ll manage. Don’t worry about me, but thanks for being concern.” “But-“ The bell interrupted Carissa’s sentence. Every one of us do not have the same class, so we all go our separate ways, not meeting up until gym class, which is at the end of the school day. Though, by the end of the day, Kate already agreed to go out with Reilly. Carissa ignored Kate for days because of this, until Kate begged Carissa to stop ignoring her, using Kate’s infamous puppy eyes. Kate promised that she will break up with Reilly once she catches him doing something unfaithful. For the following weeks, Kate spent a lot of time with Reilly. A month later, I saw Kate crying in the girl’s bathroom during homeroom. I asked her what happened to her, and she told me that Reilly wanted to break up. “You totally deserved it, girl. You know how he’s like, and Kate tried to stop you, remember? And what did you say? You said you’d be fine, and started dating him right after!” I said. “I know. I regret it now,” she replied, with her voice cracking here and there. I told the homeroom teacher that Kate wasn’t feeling too well, so she went to the nurse. Carissa asked me what happened, and I told her the problem. Carissa wanted to go to the bathroom to see if Kate was okay, but I told her that Kate wanted some time alone. During lunch, Kate broke up with Reilly in front of his group of friends. She left Reilly there, stunned that some girl dumped him. Then, Kate came back to my table with the proudest smile I have ever seen her wear.
Ryder was a fearless man. An adventurous man. He traveled the world and feared nothing. His idea of camping was to isolate himself from the world for weeks on end. No food. No electronics. Just a knife, clothes, and canteen. He used to tell stories of taming lions in Africa. Of diving with sharks in the Caribbean. Cave jumping. Sky diving. Mountain climbing. Hiking through the Amazon. Scaling the Great Wall. Battling snakes and gators in Florida. Surviving a volcano in Hawaii. Escaping a tsunami in Japan. Living in the Artic for a few months. Anything dangerous, Ryder was sure to have done it at some point. We always used to say, “He should be dead.” That would be after he told his latest tale. He should have died on his first adventure to Mt Everest. But there he was. Fit and still young. James Ryder. The man who almost died chocking on bread. We were all together. Out for dinner. We just got our appetizers. And Ryder started coughing and gagging. We looked and laughed, thinking he was reenacting his story when a boa constrictor was strangling him. A woman in our group decided it was better to be safe than sorry and did the Heimlich on him. The bread dislodged and we were all shocked. James Ryder nearly died by bread. Not by a bear. Or by gravity. Or even by the thief that tried to rob his neighbor’s house. But by bread. “You deserved it,” someone said. He did. He knew how to survive crazy things. But he didn’t know how to escape common death. From that point on, Ryder only took his insane tours once a year. The rest of the time, he would find things around his house that could be potential threats. He studied them. Learned how to survive. James Ryder lived to be an old and accomplished man.
It’s 11:39 at night and I’m still awake. People always say that when you’re in love your mind will never be at rest. I guess they were telling the truth. I’ve been with this girl for 2 years now and I couldn’t be happier. Everyday I’m with her I feel a little bit happier. I guess I found my other half or soul mate. I looked over to my bedside table and grabbed my laptop. Just when I was about to start typing my phone started to ring. “Hey it’s Adam talk to me.” I said while struggling to balance the phone on my shoulder while typing. “Hey love I can’t go to the carnival with you tomorrow.” I heard a soft voice say through my receiver. “Aw, but why Candice?” I asked disappointed I really was looking forward to have a day with my favorite girl. “I have to go look after my sister. She finally came back from her Italy trip and thinks she had caught something from the airplane food.” “Oh alright tell Ash I hope she gets better soon.” I said while moving my fingers in an insane speed. “Will do bye babes.” She said while I heard shuffling in her background. “Bye I love you.” I said smiling. “I love you t-““Who are you talking to?” I stopped everything and looked up to my wall. “Candice who is that?” I asked getting slightly mad. “Oh uhm what are you talking about? There’s nobody here. I- I have to go see you later!” then the line went dead. I just stared at my phone in complete shock. That had to be her cousin or something she wouldn’t dare cheat on me. I looked at my computer and erased the whole story I wrote. Instead I typed out how I felt at the moment and got out of bed. I drove down to Candice’s house and walked up to the door. Just when I was about to knock the door I heard footsteps and two voices. I peered into the window and saw my girlfriend making out with some random guy. I turned my head and knocked on the door. The guy opened the door and looked at me confused. “Excuse me can I help you?” I glared at him and slammed my fist into his nose. Candice came in yelling and then saw me. “We’re over you cheating w***e.” I threw the paper I had in my hands at her and walked back to my car. I made sure to title my poem YOU DESERVED THIS for all the times she lied to me.
“You deserved it,” these words fall out of their mouths as they watch as Helen Newman fell to the ground. To state it plainly, Helen was not the nicest person in school. She was strong enough to push others out of her way, mean enough to insult anyone in their face, bold enough to do whatever she wanted—whenever she wanted. Nobody would ever say a word. Personally, I did not like Helen. Why? Not because of everyone else disliked her; in our big, high school, I had never actually even seen any of Helen’s rumored acts of violence—against of other people, at least. It started back in third grade, she took my favorite lunch box, and I never saw it again. Silly, but I guess I tend to hold grudges. Over time, she became meaner and meaner to me, and I came to the point where I could no longer handle it.
I’m not sure what happened a few moments ago. All I see is people cheering, jumping up and down around me in a frenzied roar. Helen was on the ground before me—not unconscious or anything. She was just moaning and grabbing her head, bent over on the school’s tiled floor. “Wow, Lauren, I never thought I had it in you!” someone shouted in my ear, grabbing my shoulder.
Got what in me?
“Yeah, I never thought you can do that. Nice job!” someone else said.
“Huh?
That was when I stopped, and looked down. My hands were balled as fists. I gradually began to un-ball them. “Did I just . . .?”
“Yea, you did!” someone from the crowd yelled, and then the crowd started cheering louder.
“What?” I felt as if I had just woken up in the middle of the night. “Why?” I must have blacked out somehow, but I wanted an explanation as to why I might have done this, but before anyone could answer, Helen suddenly stood up. “I-I um . . .” My voice trailed off.
Helen looked at me as if to say something, but then she shut her mouth—tightly sealed like an envelope—and there was a teary look in her eyes, and she walked away.
The crowd of students around me began chanting my name with joy, but I actually felt a certain sadness in my heart.
I sat in one of the many rows of seats that covered the green lawn. The loud, shrill voice of the speaker echoed in my ears as I fidgeted with my graduation cap. I was wrought with anticipation as I waited patiently for my name to be called among the long list of fellow graduates. I glanced back behind me and surveyed the crowd for my family and friends. I quickly spotted them off to my right and smiled. My mother was crying and I mentally rolled my eyes at her excessive emotions. I turned back around and focused my attention on the speaker at the podium. After a few minutes, my mind began to drift elsewhere as I thought about the past four years of my life.
When I graduated from high school, I knew that I wanted to accomplish great things and do something worthwhile with my life. As I went through the many career options that were available when I attended college to obtain my bachelor’s degree, I began to realize that becoming a doctor would satisfy my desire to help others and improve the world. After my first two years of attending, I ultimately decided to receive my degree for premed. I then studied hard and took the MCATs, which would allow me to attend medical school. Once I was accepted into one of my top universities, I made sure that I worked extremely hard. I sacrificed a personal life for an excess of time dedicated for studying and tried to gain as much knowledge as I possibly could. When I was especially stressed out and strained from all of the work, I tended to question my decision to become a doctor and wondered if what I was doing was worth it. I watched in the background while my college friends graduated and started their careers, got married and even had children. I was still stuck in school and would continue to be for a while. These thoughts became even more frequent towards the conclusion of my schooling. I became sick and tired of always striving for perfection academically and I envied the people my age around me who were living their lives.
My attention was immediately drawn back to the speaker as I heard my name being called. Flustered, I navigated my way across the tight row and hurried to my place on the makeshift stage. As I walked, the slight breeze almost removed my cap and I desperately tried to keep it in place. I stepped up and received my diploma with a huge smile. As I passed by the speaker, she quietly said, “Congratulations. You deserve it.” With this small encouragement, I recognized that all of my hard work was worthwhile.
“Why did you want me to come here, Salma?” The hall was silent and dark. Usually it was swarming with girls in uniform, trying to find their way to class on time. But it was late at night and the girls, for the most part, were all in their rooms. Salma herself had been in her room, but she could not sleep. So, instead, she wrote a letter addressed to the headmaster and sealed it in one of the fancy envelops her mother had given her to send letters home in. Once she was done, she had summoned Amelia to meet her at the mailbox by the main door. “Do you know what’s in this letter, Amelia?” Salma’s voice rung out clearly in the desolate hall, and she held the envelope away from her body. As if it was a poison that must not touch her body, some evil thing. Amelia’s blue eyes flew straight it. Immediately, the arrogant expression she had arrived with disappeared. “I can’t say I do.” She was lying. “I think you do, though. I know all about your dirty little secret,” Even Salma could hear the bitterness in her voice, the sharp, poisonous edge to it. “Don’t do this,” Amelia’s voice was weak, she knew what was coming next. She knew she had been cruel to Salma. But that was just the way it worked, the older girls were always mean to the incoming students. It had been that way for years, as a freshman herself she had been stripped down to her underwear and covered in blue paint and then forced to walk the halls for the rest of the day. These things happened, but it was clear that Salma would not stand for her torture. “I saw you with Mr.Grenley. Do you know what an inappropriate student-teacher relationship is? More importantly do you know what happens to those involved?” Without another thought, she dropped the letter into the mail slot, impossible to retrieve. “I think you will soon enough.” Amelia’s face went blank, her shock overwhelmed her, “You deserved it,” Salma hissed as she began to walk away. “I deserved you ruining my life? It was a mistake, I made a mistake,” her voice echoed down the hall. Tears began to stream down her face. Salma smirked and continued to walk down the darkened corridor as she called back, “Yes, you did.”
The train lurched forward, waking me up from a sleep. Had I yet reached my destination, the train station near my job? I forced myself to stand up, pulling myself with the pole, and waited a few seconds. To my disbelief, it was announced that the train was now in Westfield. Summerset, which was where I was headed, was before Westfield. Had I been asleep all that time? Now, I had to find a taxi to take me to the French Taifood restaurant where I worked. Either that or wait until the train went the other way and stopped at Summerset again.
ReplyDeleteSighing, I rummaged through my purse for my cell phone, which was buried in a multitude of useless trinkets. When I finally found it, I placed a call to my boss. This was not the only time I was late for work, but this was deffinately the latest I have ever been. Because of this, I dreaded this call. Each time the phone rang, it felt like a time bomb waiting to go off. When he finally answered, I tried my best remorseful voice. “Hello, it’s Julie,” I said flatly. “I’m going to be very late for work tonight. I fell asleep on the train and I...”
“I don’t need to hear any excuses,” my boss warned. “You better get here as soon as possible. If you don’t bend over backwards for any customer, no matter how rude they may be, so help me, you are out of the job. I cannot put up with you anymore, and there are other high school students your age, who need this job. Consider yourself lucky to have this job...”
Before I could here anything else, I hung up the phone. At that point, I couldn’t take it anymore. I no longer cared about work, I didn’t care about being on time, or even being fired. I was exhausted and stress from school, work and life in general. It felt as if I had no day where I could just relax and not worry about the load of homework and tests I had, or customers who wanted exactly ten icecubes in their drinks. There were days, like this one, where I just wanted to say to everyone’s that I was done.
I had come to realize that the train was moving, and it had been moving for the past few minutes. It looked like I would be train surfing for the night. I plopped back down on the seat, and fell back asleep before I knew it.
The next night, I exited the train on the right stop this time, and traveled my usual route to the restaurant. Last nightm, I had hadn’t made it to work and there was no doubt I would be fired today, but I figured it would be a decent idea to acknowledge to my boss that I did something wrong. When I arrived though, there he was, waiting for me. “Ah, Julie,” he sneered. “good to see you again.”
“Sir, I can expalin...”
“Really,” he said laughing harshly. “you can explain to me why you had the nerve to hang up on me? And do you have an explanation as to why yu didn’t show up last night?”
“Sir, I was really tired and...”
“Oh, so you were tired!” He laughed again. “Well you won’t be tired any longer, because you no longer work here.” When I tried to speak again, he interupted one last time. “Trust me Julie, you deserve it.”
The two combatants squared off in the parking lot of the school. One was being cheered on by the surrounding students to beat the fatter kid down. “Well Sam, you ready to get pummeled?” The kid said with a cocky smirk on his face.
ReplyDeleteSam just stood there with a blank expression on his face; he wasn’t fazed by any of the kids jeering at him. “You’ll pay for what you did Adam, nobody should harm a girl like the way you did.” He said, with his fists clenched, ready to tear into Adam.
“Abigail is a nobody. Nobody cares about her, and anyone who does is the same as she is. So I guess that makes you worthless too, so it won’t matter how bad I beat you.” He said with a laugh.
Adam rushed Sam and threw a strong right hook. Sam ducked under it and gave a quick jab to his stomach. Adam recoiled and brought his knee up to try and catch Sam in the chin. Sam blocked it, and before Adam could replant his foot, Sam placed his leg behind Adam’s and gave a strong shove which sent Adam toppling over and onto the ground. Sam didn’t miss the chance; he got on top of Adam’s chest and started wailing on his face with punch after punch. Sam was not giving Adam a chance to get back up, only after he was finished, Sam got up off of Adam to show the crowd of students what he had done. Adam’s face was covered in blood, his nose was bent at an awkward angle, and he was missing a few teeth, which were scattered around the pavement. He looked down at Adam, lying on the ground and spat at him and said, “You deserved it.” He kicked him in the ribs then left the circle, of now silent students.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteToday is a day worth of a celebration. One of my friends, Kate, has been ask out by a senior, Reilly. She has been waiting forever for a boyfriend, and she finally get one today. The best part is that she is not the one who asked. Everyone thinks that Kate will end up asking a guy out one day because she is so desperate. Though, not everyone in the group likes the idea of Kate going out with Reilly, like Carissa.
ReplyDelete“I’m not sure that’s a good idea Kate,” said Carissa.
“But he’s cute, and funny, and smart… and everything else in this world. I don’t know why you don’t like him,” Kate complained.
“But he’s a senior. He’ll be gone by the end of this year. Long-distance relationship does not work! And you know he has a reputation in school. He never dates a girl for over a month. Are you sure you want your first boyfriend to be a guy like him?”
“Calm down. I’ll manage. Don’t worry about me, but thanks for being concern.”
“But-“
The bell interrupted Carissa’s sentence. Every one of us do not have the same class, so we all go our separate ways, not meeting up until gym class, which is at the end of the school day. Though, by the end of the day, Kate already agreed to go out with Reilly. Carissa ignored Kate for days because of this, until Kate begged Carissa to stop ignoring her, using Kate’s infamous puppy eyes. Kate promised that she will break up with Reilly once she catches him doing something unfaithful.
For the following weeks, Kate spent a lot of time with Reilly. A month later, I saw Kate crying in the girl’s bathroom during homeroom. I asked her what happened to her, and she told me that Reilly wanted to break up.
“You totally deserved it, girl. You know how he’s like, and Kate tried to stop you, remember? And what did you say? You said you’d be fine, and started dating him right after!” I said.
“I know. I regret it now,” she replied, with her voice cracking here and there.
I told the homeroom teacher that Kate wasn’t feeling too well, so she went to the nurse. Carissa asked me what happened, and I told her the problem. Carissa wanted to go to the bathroom to see if Kate was okay, but I told her that Kate wanted some time alone.
During lunch, Kate broke up with Reilly in front of his group of friends. She left Reilly there, stunned that some girl dumped him. Then, Kate came back to my table with the proudest smile I have ever seen her wear.
Ryder was a fearless man. An adventurous man. He traveled the world and feared nothing. His idea of camping was to isolate himself from the world for weeks on end. No food. No electronics. Just a knife, clothes, and canteen. He used to tell stories of taming lions in Africa. Of diving with sharks in the Caribbean. Cave jumping. Sky diving. Mountain climbing. Hiking through the Amazon. Scaling the Great Wall. Battling snakes and gators in Florida. Surviving a volcano in Hawaii. Escaping a tsunami in Japan. Living in the Artic for a few months. Anything dangerous, Ryder was sure to have done it at some point.
ReplyDeleteWe always used to say, “He should be dead.” That would be after he told his latest tale. He should have died on his first adventure to Mt Everest. But there he was. Fit and still young. James Ryder. The man who almost died chocking on bread.
We were all together. Out for dinner. We just got our appetizers. And Ryder started coughing and gagging. We looked and laughed, thinking he was reenacting his story when a boa constrictor was strangling him. A woman in our group decided it was better to be safe than sorry and did the Heimlich on him. The bread dislodged and we were all shocked. James Ryder nearly died by bread. Not by a bear. Or by gravity. Or even by the thief that tried to rob his neighbor’s house. But by bread.
“You deserved it,” someone said. He did. He knew how to survive crazy things. But he didn’t know how to escape common death.
From that point on, Ryder only took his insane tours once a year. The rest of the time, he would find things around his house that could be potential threats. He studied them. Learned how to survive. James Ryder lived to be an old and accomplished man.
It’s 11:39 at night and I’m still awake. People always say that when you’re in love your mind will never be at rest. I guess they were telling the truth. I’ve been with this girl for 2 years now and I couldn’t be happier. Everyday I’m with her I feel a little bit happier. I guess I found my other half or soul mate. I looked over to my bedside table and grabbed my laptop. Just when I was about to start typing my phone started to ring.
ReplyDelete“Hey it’s Adam talk to me.” I said while struggling to balance the phone on my shoulder while typing.
“Hey love I can’t go to the carnival with you tomorrow.” I heard a soft voice say through my receiver.
“Aw, but why Candice?” I asked disappointed I really was looking forward to have a day with my favorite girl.
“I have to go look after my sister. She finally came back from her Italy trip and thinks she had caught something from the airplane food.”
“Oh alright tell Ash I hope she gets better soon.” I said while moving my fingers in an insane speed.
“Will do bye babes.” She said while I heard shuffling in her background.
“Bye I love you.” I said smiling.
“I love you t-““Who are you talking to?” I stopped everything and looked up to my wall.
“Candice who is that?” I asked getting slightly mad.
“Oh uhm what are you talking about? There’s nobody here. I- I have to go see you later!” then the line went dead. I just stared at my phone in complete shock. That had to be her cousin or something she wouldn’t dare cheat on me. I looked at my computer and erased the whole story I wrote. Instead I typed out how I felt at the moment and got out of bed. I drove down to Candice’s house and walked up to the door. Just when I was about to knock the door I heard footsteps and two voices. I peered into the window and saw my girlfriend making out with some random guy. I turned my head and knocked on the door. The guy opened the door and looked at me confused.
“Excuse me can I help you?” I glared at him and slammed my fist into his nose. Candice came in yelling and then saw me.
“We’re over you cheating w***e.” I threw the paper I had in my hands at her and walked back to my car. I made sure to title my poem YOU DESERVED THIS for all the times she lied to me.
“You deserved it,” these words fall out of their mouths as they watch as Helen Newman fell to the ground. To state it plainly, Helen was not the nicest person in school. She was strong enough to push others out of her way, mean enough to insult anyone in their face, bold enough to do whatever she wanted—whenever she wanted. Nobody would ever say a word. Personally, I did not like Helen. Why? Not because of everyone else disliked her; in our big, high school, I had never actually even seen any of Helen’s rumored acts of violence—against of other people, at least. It started back in third grade, she took my favorite lunch box, and I never saw it again. Silly, but I guess I tend to hold grudges. Over time, she became meaner and meaner to me, and I came to the point where I could no longer handle it.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure what happened a few moments ago. All I see is people cheering, jumping up and down around me in a frenzied roar. Helen was on the ground before me—not unconscious or anything. She was just moaning and grabbing her head, bent over on the school’s tiled floor. “Wow, Lauren, I never thought I had it in you!” someone shouted in my ear, grabbing my shoulder.
Got what in me?
“Yeah, I never thought you can do that. Nice job!” someone else said.
“Huh?
That was when I stopped, and looked down. My hands were balled as fists. I gradually began to un-ball them. “Did I just . . .?”
“Yea, you did!” someone from the crowd yelled, and then the crowd started cheering louder.
“What?” I felt as if I had just woken up in the middle of the night. “Why?” I must have blacked out somehow, but I wanted an explanation as to why I might have done this, but before anyone could answer, Helen suddenly stood up. “I-I um . . .” My voice trailed off.
Helen looked at me as if to say something, but then she shut her mouth—tightly sealed like an envelope—and there was a teary look in her eyes, and she walked away.
The crowd of students around me began chanting my name with joy, but I actually felt a certain sadness in my heart.
I sat in one of the many rows of seats that covered the green lawn. The loud, shrill voice of the speaker echoed in my ears as I fidgeted with my graduation cap. I was wrought with anticipation as I waited patiently for my name to be called among the long list of fellow graduates. I glanced back behind me and surveyed the crowd for my family and friends. I quickly spotted them off to my right and smiled. My mother was crying and I mentally rolled my eyes at her excessive emotions. I turned back around and focused my attention on the speaker at the podium. After a few minutes, my mind began to drift elsewhere as I thought about the past four years of my life.
ReplyDeleteWhen I graduated from high school, I knew that I wanted to accomplish great things and do something worthwhile with my life. As I went through the many career options that were available when I attended college to obtain my bachelor’s degree, I began to realize that becoming a doctor would satisfy my desire to help others and improve the world. After my first two years of attending, I ultimately decided to receive my degree for premed. I then studied hard and took the MCATs, which would allow me to attend medical school. Once I was accepted into one of my top universities, I made sure that I worked extremely hard. I sacrificed a personal life for an excess of time dedicated for studying and tried to gain as much knowledge as I possibly could. When I was especially stressed out and strained from all of the work, I tended to question my decision to become a doctor and wondered if what I was doing was worth it. I watched in the background while my college friends graduated and started their careers, got married and even had children. I was still stuck in school and would continue to be for a while. These thoughts became even more frequent towards the conclusion of my schooling. I became sick and tired of always striving for perfection academically and I envied the people my age around me who were living their lives.
My attention was immediately drawn back to the speaker as I heard my name being called. Flustered, I navigated my way across the tight row and hurried to my place on the makeshift stage. As I walked, the slight breeze almost removed my cap and I desperately tried to keep it in place. I stepped up and received my diploma with a huge smile. As I passed by the speaker, she quietly said, “Congratulations. You deserve it.” With this small encouragement, I recognized that all of my hard work was worthwhile.
This was the only positive story that was written. Nice job.
Delete“Why did you want me to come here, Salma?”
ReplyDeleteThe hall was silent and dark. Usually it was swarming with girls in uniform, trying to find their way to class on time. But it was late at night and the girls, for the most part, were all in their rooms. Salma herself had been in her room, but she could not sleep. So, instead, she wrote a letter addressed to the headmaster and sealed it in one of the fancy envelops her mother had given her to send letters home in. Once she was done, she had summoned Amelia to meet her at the mailbox by the main door.
“Do you know what’s in this letter, Amelia?” Salma’s voice rung out clearly in the desolate hall, and she held the envelope away from her body. As if it was a poison that must not touch her body, some evil thing. Amelia’s blue eyes flew straight it. Immediately, the arrogant expression she had arrived with disappeared.
“I can’t say I do.” She was lying.
“I think you do, though. I know all about your dirty little secret,” Even Salma could hear the bitterness in her voice, the sharp, poisonous edge to it.
“Don’t do this,” Amelia’s voice was weak, she knew what was coming next. She knew she had been cruel to Salma. But that was just the way it worked, the older girls were always mean to the incoming students. It had been that way for years, as a freshman herself she had been stripped down to her underwear and covered in blue paint and then forced to walk the halls for the rest of the day. These things happened, but it was clear that Salma would not stand for her torture.
“I saw you with Mr.Grenley. Do you know what an inappropriate student-teacher relationship is? More importantly do you know what happens to those involved?” Without another thought, she dropped the letter into the mail slot, impossible to retrieve. “I think you will soon enough.”
Amelia’s face went blank, her shock overwhelmed her, “You deserved it,” Salma hissed as she began to walk away.
“I deserved you ruining my life? It was a mistake, I made a mistake,” her voice echoed down the hall. Tears began to stream down her face.
Salma smirked and continued to walk down the darkened corridor as she called back, “Yes, you did.”