Strength

Chapter 3

“YES!!! Only one more week of school and summer is here!” Tracy jumped up and down in front of her closed locker.

“I know right!!!” exclaimed Amy, “We need to start planning sleepovers and hang out times!” School was over for the week. After completing their math finals and turning them into their teacher, Mavis and her math class had dispersed to separate class rooms for their next subject. Lara had given Mavis the evil eye before trudging off to her fifth period. Mavis shaken off Lara’s sour attitude and pushed through her day, she couldn’t afford to allow distractions when she still had two more classes to complete.

Now the four friends were standing around Briana’s locker as she searched for her missing chap-stick.

“It’s got to be in here somewhere!’ she groaned, “I…AH HA!” Briana straightened up and held up her finding triumphantly. After applying some of it to her lips, she tossed it into her backpack.

“Let’s go girls!” said Tracy, “We have some planning to do!” Soon, the small group was gathered around a picnic table on the right side of their high school.

“Hey guys, guess what! I just texted my mom and she said that you all can come to my house for a few hours!” Amy beamed as she shared the good news.

“Let me ask my mom and see if I can come!” Tracy quickly typed something into her iPhone. A reply was received almost immediately afterwards, signaled by a quick ding sound. Both Tracy and Briana said they could go. They all turned to Mavis.

“Well, can you come?” asked Amy hopefully. Mavis sat there, not sure how to respond. She knew that Rachel would be at her job but she didn’t know about her mom. Was she home yet? Mavis wanted to go so badly. She loved hanging out at her friend’s homes. She especially loved talking with her friend’s mothers. They were all so kind and pretty. Mavis caught herself about to say ‘yes’. Then she stopped.

She knew that when her mom was gone for the whole night, it meant the she had been drinking excessively. Mavis also knew that when she finally emerged from her drunken stupor, she was mean. All her penned up frustration would burst forth, tearing into the happiness of others. Her temper would explode at the slightest provocation, sometimes without any warning. Drinking too much did that to Maria. It made her cruel and unfeeling for hours after the initial drunkenness had worn off. It made her lash out at anyone who was deemed annoying or stupid in her twisted mind. Mavis shivered to think of the despicable things her mother had done and said to her and Rachel during these anger spells.

Mavis knew she couldn’t accept Amy’s invitation. For one thing, Mrs. Solano almost never checked her phone so texting her wasn’t an option. The second reason was because Mavis was too afraid of what would happen when she got home. Her mother was probably already at the Solano residence, reasoned Mavis, and when she was riled up, excuses meant nothing. Mavis sighed internally, if she didn’t want a sound slap to the face, she knew what she would have to do.

“You know, I would love to go guys,” she began, “but my mom told me to come straight home, maybe next week.”

“Darn it. Well, ok. See you later Mavis!”  Mavis watched as her friends walked away, talking and laughing together, not a care in the world. Mavis stared after them, watching until they disappeared from view around a corner. She stood there, wishing she was with them but knowing she couldn’t go. The last time she had went over to one of their houses without asking her mother, well, it didn’t end well. Mavis could still feel the hard smack against her cheek and the biting words that had shot out of her mother’s mouth. It wasn’t worth it. It was better to just continually turn down offers than face her mom when she was mad.

Mavis slowly turned away and started walking to her house, her own living hell. She walked in silence, wondering what her friends where doing at that moment. Their probably talking about what fun their going to have at their next sleep over, which I won’t be able to attend. Mavis tried not to think too much about what fun her friends were having, but it seemed almost impossible. Her friends had such great lives, almost perfect compared to Mavis’s own situation.