Chapter Seven

I hate Hazel. Paige screamed, emotionally in her mind. As she lay down on her bed, trying to fall sleep. Her head was pounding from stress and felt like a balloon was floating in her head and was ready to burst with a huge pop. Paige has an ice pack to cool it down.

She calls herself, "My best friend" if she was my best friend wouldn't she support my choices, and not make fun of me. It's like backstabbing only to my face. Paige thought. She began thinking about what happened during lunch early before.

*"Paige is being a totally poser!" Hazel whispered to Terri and a former Cheerleader partner, Jenna. "You can't go from Prep to Goth in one day! She's being a total Ashley!" Hazel snorted a laugh.

I listened from my table behind them. They knew I was listening.

I'm not a poser. A poser is someone intentionally being something they're just not without thinking twice and aren't comfortable with it. They're doing it to impress someone.

My change is an example of self-discovery. My popularity was nothing but a phase and an act of me jumping the mini-van of wannabes wanting to be "miss. Thang"

And for the Ashley thing? Even though it only concerns Ashley and Myself, anyone out there would take that offensively. A lot people today, go through many changes in life. You're not going to be one person all your life, right? Right.

I'm not a punk, goth, or prep, or diva. I'm me. This is who I am. Deal with it.*

As Paige thought about her feelings about the conversation she heard at lunch with Hazel and Terri. Paige fell asleep, but shortly after was awaken with the sound of the telephone, ringing.

Paige answered, with a sleepy tone. "Hello?"

"IS PAIGE—THERE? --- HELLO?" A loud voice answered, nervously.

"Speaking. who is this?" Paige answered, after dropping the phone from the startle of the loud voice on the other end.

"OH—HI—PAIGE! IT'S KATIE CASSIDY!"

Katie Cassidy was a girl Paige befriended during the Sexual Abuse In General meeting outside Toronto. Katie's mother was always at work just about twenty-four hours a day trying to support their large family of eight; she would leave Katie home alone with her father and her siblings. Her father was an alcoholic and a heroin addict for quite a few years and was always too lazy to do nothing, except call his friends over. And sadly, making Paige cry the first time she heard this, would allow his friends to beat and sexually abuse his children. Katie's mother never heard about this, simply because the children were scared, until one day she came home early and heard screams and cries from the down the basement.

During the time of the meeting, the family was six months into the trial, for charging the seven friends and the father himself, for sexual abuse for six minors. Paige made Katie promise to call her when the trial was over.

"Hey Katie." Paige forced a smile, she was happy to hear from her friend. "How are you?"

Katie's high-pitch voice lowered down to normal. Katie had told Paige at the meeting that her range of volume to her voice raises when she's upset or nervous. "Hey Paige! I've missed you lots!" Katie laughed. "I'm fine, I just wanted to tell you that we won the case…" her voice began to drift off.

"If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have too." Paige told her friend, in a way of consoling her traumatized friend. Katie was one of the reasons why Paige felt that her rape wasn't important. But Paige came to realize, every hurting is important. No one deserves it. Period.

Katie changed the topic, "Paige, I really do miss you. I don't have many friends at home that understand what I went through. You did, I love you for that."

Paige's heart melted; that was the sweetest thing she heard for a while now.

Spite what Katie went through, Katie was still a very sweet and kind person.

Paige was a very stubborn and a bitchy person, like she always was.

She wants to change her ways, and be more pleasant to be around. But that's one thing, she cannot fix.

"Katie, my parents aren't going to be home all week, because my father has important business to do in Vancouver. I'll ask if you can stay over for awhile."

"Paige, I would love too- but what about school? I'm going back soon."

"I thought you said you go to Toronto Public?" Paige asked, confused. "That's not to far away from Degrassi, right?"

"Yeah, it's not too far, I guess I can take the bus there. But still, I don't know." Katie was always known to be unsure of things. A person to always think twice, she was never a daredevil.

"Please Kate!" Paige pleaded. "I really need a friend to hang out with! I went through a lot of changes the passed few weeks and my so-called friends don't support me, so I dumped them. It's confusing, but I really want to see you."

"Fine," Katie finally gave in. Her voice sounded to Paige as if she was smiling. "I would love too! Just wait—Let me ask my mom!" Paige heard the phone being put down on the table and a door opening and a person running through it.

Then a few minutes later, "Paige…" a voice sounding depressed.

"She said no?" Paige answered, disappointed.

"NO!" Katie laughed, "She said yes! Oh My Gosh, Paige! She said yes! I'll be coming on the five o'clock bus and it's stopping at the Toronto Community Mall, meet me there." Katie said, with a fuzzy laugh after her cheer. "Bye!" Katie hung up and started packing.

The phone still clinging to Paige's ear, Paige smiled. "Yes!" She yelled, and ran to tell her mother. And thankfully, Her mother approved saying she'll feel a lot better she someone was there with her.

It was a party for two, Paige felt happy for once.