Paraplegic (COMPLETED)

Chapter 10

"McKenzie Rose Barlow: high school graduate." I repeat those words over and over in front of my bedroom mirror. It feels so good; I have to say it one more time. "High school graduate." Henceforth, I will no longer be treated like some school-age child. Instead, people will respect me for the responsible adult that I am. Oh, I feel as if I can take on the world right now.

We hung around the school for a little while after the ceremony had ended. I spoke with Tess and a few other girls from the squad; told them not to be strangers, and that just because we wouldn't be seeing each other as frequently didn't mean we had to sever ties altogether. I'll call her up soon. Maybe we'll go to the mall or to dinner or something.

While we were walking to the parking lot, Parker mentioned needing to pick up a special kind of mustard for the hot dogs, so Aurora went with them to the grocery store. Father needed to fire up the grill and mother wanted to prepare the meat, so we went home. I wanted to change out of my cap and gown and into something more aesthetically pleasing, so I was happy to go home. I want to look fresh for when Xander arrives.

I walk downstairs just as August comes home from school. He drops his backpack at the front door, then collapses face-first into the couch. "If I have to go back to that horrible place again, I will die!" His voice is muffled from the cushions, but his disgust is quite perceivable.

"Suck it up, wimp head!" I tell him. "You've got ten more years of it ahead of you. Not only that, you have boring lectures, ten-thousand word essays to write, and mountains of homework to look forward to."

He looks up at me, then slams his face back into the cushions. "I'm gonna die before the third grade, I just know it!"

Mother is in the kitchen chopping onions. She sniffs every couple of seconds, her eyes all red and watery. "If there is a way to cut up onions without crying, I want to know about it!"

"You should try freezing them before you cut them." I say.

"Freeze them? What on earth for?" She dabs the corners of her crying eyes with the apron that's loosely tied around her waist.

"The little stringy part at the bottom of the onion is called the Basal Plate, which is filled with a gaseous enzyme, and when those gasses come in contact with water, it burns. There's water in your eyes, which is the reason why your eyes tear up when cutting onions. But if you freeze them, it solidifies the gasses long enough to slice the onion without causing your eyes to tear up." I smile after delivering my explanation, feeling rather pleased with myself.

"Well, look at you; all knowledgeable and stuff."

"You should expect nothing less. I am a high school graduate after all."

August wails from the couch at the sound of those words. He better get used to being the only one in school.

Mother chuckles. "How about you use that knowledge of yours and help me cut up these vegetables?"

"Sorry, I can't. I don't want to get anything on me." I motion at the violet colored dress that I'm wearing.

"Alright then. At least get me a plate down from the cupboard. Your father will be needing these meat patties shortly."

Just as I grab a plate, Aurora charges through the front door, holding a squeeze bottle of mustard high above her head. "I have come bearing the world's finest mustard. It was harvested by hand from the rich fields of Camden, Maine, encased within the highest quality of plastic . . . and a bunch of other cool facts."

James and Parker follow from behind, though with much less enthusiasm than their daughter. Parker grabs the bottle of mustard from Aurora's hands. "Aurora, where are your manners? We knock before entering someone else's home."