Learn to Fly

Chapter 10: Recovering

Wednesday, May 8th.

It's been a few days since the spring formal and the gossip has been at an all time high. A group of seniors got caught smoking weed out on the football field, some freshman dude ditched his girlfriend and she found him making out with some other girl, two junior boys tried to smuggle in alcohol but got caught by the school officers, and of course, the star of the show: After being together for only a little over a month, Riley and Eric got into a huge fight and broke up.

I was there to witness the beginning of the fight, but not the aftermath. Zack had texted me a few hours after I got home that night: According to him, Riley ditched Eric and hung out with Hannah and a few of her other rich friends, then she ended up dancing with some kid from the Soccer team for the rest of the night. He said that Eric was really pissed off and left not too long after. And if the gossip I've been hearing in the locker room is true, he went to some afterparty with his friends, they all got super wasted and got into a big fight with another group of guys. I overheard Riley tell her friend in English that she threw out all of the stuff Eric gave her. Good for her.

Aside from the drama, state testing and finals, there really isn't any point in coming to school. There's less than a month left until summer break starts. Time seems to be passing by a lot slower lately. The closer we get to the last day, the longer it feels like the days drag on. The heat is only making things worse.

~

Tuesday, May 28th.

With only a week left in the school year, the biggest event of the school year is coming up this weekend: Prom. They really should just cancel school this week. The only things we're learning about are who's going with who, the best places to get a nice suit or dress, and good makeup, hair and skincare tips. I don't think I've ever seen this many people excited at school before. The teachers are getting pretty pissed. A lot of students aren't handing in homework and projects because they're too focused on preparing for the craziness that's to come.

I heard that Eric is taking some freshman to Prom. Refusing to go out with someone in his own age group, how typical. Even after the incident with him and Riley at the spring formal, there are still girls who are willingly hanging around him? Why? It blows my mind.

In a very unexpected turn of events, Amanda shows up at my doorstep after school today, begging for my help. Mom is just as surprised as I am: A visitor here to see her daughter! What are the chances? She had met Amanda once before, when her mother drove me home one day after we had hung out, but she doesn't seem to remember her. I, on the other hand, am very tempted to tell her to go fuck herself and slam the door in her face. But something in the back of my mind is telling me to give her a chance to explain herself, maybe she'll even manage to redeem herself. Actually, she probably won't, but I let her in anyway and we head upstairs to my room. My stuffed cats and dogs awaken from their blanket beds, their little noses twitching with curiosity. Gray cat, black cat, neon orange Pillow Pet dog, a brown and white dog gifted to me by my grandma when I was nine. They're all as excited as my mother. We have company, it's been so long! Amanda doesn't say anything, but I know she thinks it looks stupid. It's like a little kid's room with all those stuffed toys. There must be close to twenty of them. Mom knocks on the door. She has cookies and cans of soda for us. How considerate. I hand the box to Amanda. She takes one cookie and nibbles around the edges of it. I take three. I sit on the edge of my bed, the cats and dogs arranged along the wall. Amanda lifts a hoodie off my chair and delicately places it down on my desk. I wait for her to speak.

She quickly launches into a sob story about how much she hates being a part of Sabrina's clan. They're all toxic, bossing her around all the time and never doing any work themselves. Her previously straight-A grades have dropped down to B's because of the time she has to spend waiting on the girls. B's are still passing, I don't know why she's upset about that. Her father is thinking about taking a job down in Florida and she tells me she wouldn't mind moving again, not even a little bit. Florida has way nicer weather than Pennsylvania, anyway.