What I Found

5th Grade Field Trips

You sit on the bus.

It's cramped.

The air is hot and the open window doesn't really cool you down.

You look across the aisle to see your best friends Normani and Ally who sat on the three seater next to you. You feel the bus stop slowly and the door opens. You look up to see that you stopped to pick up more kids.

As people walk past you, you feel the seat dip next to you and a plush green dragon backpack is thrown on to the floor next to your feet.

You giggle a little bit, thinking of the time you colored with that other girl, Karla, in kindergarten. You guys were best friends up until 3rd grade and you had to transfer schools. Your parents never got to know her parents so you haven't seen her since.

"Man chancho why you gotta sit over there?", you hear another girl ask.

"Because Dinah, no one should sit alone", the girl next to you says.

You look over to her and your smile reaches to your eyes.

"Kaki!"

"Lolo!?"

The other girl looks at you with bright brown eyes, her hair is longer now with her bangs now non existent and she looks a lot prettier than the last time you've seen her.

Your heart races a little, your palms get a little sweaty and you panic a little. You've never felt like this with someone before, even with the 'cute' boys in your class.

"Oh, Lolo, I don't like being called Karla," she scrunched up her nose and fakes a gag,"I go by my middle name Camila", as she finishes her explanation you smile at her.

"Well Camila, I think it suits you better than Karla."

You both continue to talk and catch up until you reach the aquarium your field trip is scheduled at. The teachers begin talking.

"So we have paired you up into groups of five and assigned you to a chaperone who you must check in with every 30 minutes."

Everyone on the bus waited patiently for their names to be called and the girls got antsy. They wanted to be in a group together but they knew it'd be quite possibly impossible. The teacher called the next group.

"In group 5 we have, Allyson Brooke Hernandez, Normani Kordei Hamilton, Dinah Jane Hanson, Lauren Michelle Jauregui and Karla Camila Cabello."

All the girls squealed as the teacher called their names and they walked off the bus together and towards Lauren's father who was lucky enough to have all the girls in his group to chaperone.

They walked into the aquarium where you could distinctly see two young girls, one with a unicorn hoodie another a dragon backpack, hand in hand together.

That memory fades after that.

Sweating I wake up again but this time I'm
crying.

"Damnit man. DAMNIT!"

Normani comes running in to check on me this time as I can't get up to get fresh air from my window. She cradles my head and wipes away at my tears. I sob violently, shaking and screaming to the world that it hurts.

My head pulses and my heart aches as I wonder why these dreams haunt me.

"WHY?!"

Normani hushes me and watches me as I sleep.

A light in West Miami, Coconut Grove goes on. A girl with a sun pendant looks out her window wondering, will she come back?

Will she ever come back to me?

//

Can you feel me?