About a Girl

prologue

September 17, 1979

    "Mom! Where's the food? We're hungry." Tessa's voice rang out from down the hall in the kitchen. Her question was quickly answered by her mother storming out of the house and slamming the door behind her, but not before shouting obscenities at her oldest daughter. Moments later, Tessa's footsteps came down the hallway.

    "Lily? Are you ok in there?" Tessa called out, knocking on the door softly. The little girl opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out. After a few moments of silence, Tessa opened the door, turned on the ladybug light on the nightstand, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

    She sighed. At 13 she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Resting her hand on top of the small lump under the blankets, Tessa wondered what she should do. The house was a mess, there was no food, and both of her parents were out (and most likely wouldn't be back until after dark, if at all). There was only one option.

    "I'll be right back Lily, I have to make a phone call." Tessa patted her little sister's back before running out to the phone and dialing the number of the only person she could think of to help.

    He picked up after two rings.

    "Hello?" a tired-sounding voice came from the other end of the line.

    "Hey, Kurt. It's Tessa. Can we come over?" Tessa asked. "Our parents got wasted last night, and there's no food in the house, and I don't know what to do."

    "Tessa? Yeah of course you can come over. I'll tell my mom to make pancakes." Kurt said, laughing a little at his last statement.

    Tessa closed her eyes and let out a breath. "Thanks , Kurt. You're a good friend."

    "Don't mention it. See you in a bit."

    The line went dead and Tessa hung the phone back on the wall.

    "Lily!" she called, walking down the hall to her own room. "We're going to Cobain's house. I'm going to get dressed and then I'll come help you."

The door to Tessa's room closed down the hall and Lily poked her head out from under the covers. She scrambled out of bed and scurried over to her closet. She picked out a hand-me-down pair of jeans, a gray t-shirt, and her favorite red sweater. The sweater was Tessa's and had been given to Lily as a birthday present. Despite it being several sizes too big, Lily loved the soft red sweater and she wore it nearly every day.
When she had collected her clothes Lily sat back down on her bed and waited patiently for Tessa to come help her get dressed. Tessa opened the door a few minutes later wearing dark blue corduroys and a green striped shirt. Lilly hopped down off the bed and Tessa knelt on the ground in front of her. Lily put her arms straight up in the air and let her sister pull the huge Yellow Submarine t-shirt she wore to bed off of her tiny body. Lily was only five years old, but she was very small for her age. Sometimes Tessa worried if Lily was small because of malnutrition, but there wasn't much she could do to help that. There were still 2 years, give or take, before she could get a job and what if something bad happened between then and now?

Tessa's worried thoughts kept running circles around her head as she helped Lily into her clothes. When Lily was dressed, Tessa put socks on her little feet and double-knotted her shoes. She sighed. The shoes had once belonged to her and by now they were mostly held together with duct tape, glue, and hope.

"Alright," said Tessa, standing up. "Ready to go?"

Lily smiled and nodded hard, shaking some of her soft brown hair into her huge pitch-black eyes. Tessa felt her heart melt a little. Her baby sister was so beautiful and she had her whole life ahead of her. So much hope was still behind her shining, innocent eyes.

Tessa took Lily's tiny hand in hers and the two of them walked out the front door, locking it behind them and leaving their drunk deadbeat father asleep on the couch.

The air was cold for September, and it had rained last night. The ground was covered in frost. It might've been pretty if it didn't warn the girls of a harsh winter just around the corner.
As they walked, Tessa kept her head down, her mind occupied with the usual things. Money, food, school supplies. But Lily kept her head up, her eyes darting around, silently observing every detail of the world around her. If you asked anyone else, they'd probably tell you that Aberdeen, Washington was the worst place to live. Lily, however, thought it was amazing.

Lily was one of those children who are blessed – even more so than their peers – with the gift of imagination. She loved to read, and was very smart for her age. And as she walked through Aberdeen with her sister that morning, she imagined a story about a princess. And a castle. And a dragon. And the princess was sent to slay the dragon. But instead, they became friends. And the princess tamed the dragon. And they lived happily ever after.

Before long, the girls arrived at the familiar house. A skinny blonde boy was sitting on the front porch, scribbling in a beat-up notebook. Lily's face broke into a big smile when she saw the boy and she let go of Tessa's hand and ran up to him.

"Kurt!" she cried.

The boy looked up and smiled at the little girl running across the yard to him.

"Lily!" he exclaimed, putting down his notebook and scooping her into a big warm hug. "It's good to see you, kid." he said.

Lily laughed happily. Kurt and Tessa were best friends and they had been since the first day of kindergarten. Lily loved Kurt because even though she was so much younger than him, he always let her hang out with him and Tessa. And he always talked to her. He didn't talk to her like a baby either. He talked to her and asked her questions like she was an equal.

Tessa caught up and joined the two on the porch. "Hey Kurt, long time no see." she joked, punching him gently on the shoulder with a smile. Kurt laughed. Tessa laughed. Lily stuck her thumb in her mouth.

"Stop that." Tessa scolded, pulling Lily's thumb free and frowning. "You've got to quit that habit, Lily."

Lily scowled and poked her tongue out at her sister. Tessa rolled her eyes and turned back to Kurt. "You said your mom's making pancakes?"

And with that, the three of them went inside the house to eat breakfast.