The Brighter Side of Life

Chapter 6

I've been telling myself ever since my lunchtime revelation that the only reason that I haven't actually tried to speak to Ayah yet is because the universe obviously doesn't want us to.

Evidence of my hypothesis: there is no convenient time of the day - for both parties -where an invigorating conversation can take place.

First of all, talking at school is all too confrontational; I want her to settle in - to make a name for herself first without being associated with me. Talking to her in school would basically ruin her chance at a fresh start, so she needs to figure things out by herself. I think I'm happy with a few sneaky sideways glances for now.

Secondly, the van home is no-where near big enough. On the off chance that I embarrass myself, (and let's be honest and say that it's more than likely that this will happen) I don't need the entirety of Bramble Tree to make fun of me for the rest of my days. Secrets are never well kept in the home, and you better believe that the very one you don't want to be let out is the one that everyone is discussing at breakfast the next day.

And finally, when we get back to the home, the first thing she does is dart upstairs to her bedroom, and stay there for the rest of the night. This, unfortunately limits my hours to the forbidden times, stopping me from being able to complete section A of the "go get my life" plan.

And that same cycle continues the next day. Repeat this for a few days and you'll start to believe what I mean when I say that the universe is keeping us apart.

Upon explaining this theory to Mona and the terrible twosome exactly three days after my epiphany, I concluded that going out and grabbing my life was much harder than it sounded, because I still had a crappy job and homework was still the biggest part of my life. Kenny kindly reminded me that the actual experiences may take time to come, because life has a waiting list for these type of things, and Dante told me to, "quit the job and drop out of school because YOLO". Ramona, however, stayed silent for a little while, which was what scared me the most.

The smile that followed was the most terrifying.

"Guess what, Reecey-boy?" She asked, wriggling her eyebrows in anticipation.

"What?" I sighed, already dreading the answer.

"You're about to rebel against the will of the universe."

It took a minute for what she had said to sink in, and while my brain processed the words, it left me to sit solemnly on my chair, stunned into silence while I waited for a response.

"What do you mean?!" I managed to whisper, after Ramona's eyes did that devilish twinkle thing they always do when she has a plan.

Now, I'd like to think that as my friends, they would actually take my words to heart and try their best to support me through all my strife.

However, I was generously reminded by Ramona that real friends encourage and use brute force (if it comes to that) in order to do what's best for their friend.

It sounds more appealing when you're not on the receiving end, I'll remind you.

So here's basically how it all went down:

Ramona stands up with a set determination in her eyes, and before I know it, Dante and Kenny have grabbed both my arms and I'm fighting to wriggle out of their grip. With every struggle their grip becomes tighter, until I'm left to flop lifelessly in their grasp, exasperated and confused.

"What are you doing?" I asked tiredly, hoping that my lack of emotion would deter them for at least a long enough moment to leave me to run.

"What you're too chicken to do." Kenny smiled, and both himself and Dante proceeded in dragging my limp body off my chair and out of the cafeteria (this was mostly Kenny, because the weight of Dante's mobile transportation unit would be likely to crush me).