5/14
Life is hard. My parents have almost no time for me, because they're always fighting...but when they do have time, they don't spend it having fun with me...It's just some extra time to scream and yell. Most definitely unpleasant for our neighbors, but....
I've got no friends at school...I don't even know half the people in my classes, but they hate me anyway...I've asked Mom if I can switch schools, but she wont let me. The people there are absolutely cruel. They throw food at me, kick pinecones...some students threaten me.
I'm in junior high by the way, so you're probably thinking that this is just a joke. How can junior high be hard, anyway, and for an only child? Everyone thinks that only children always get what they want, and end up spoiled, bratty, self-centered, and selfish. That's bullshit.
My someone will never know how I feel until I confess to him, but I don't have any courage...I've seen other people do it with ease, and it makes me so jealous...Keiji is so hard to read. I don't think I'll ever know if he loves me, or someone else until I see her for myself...
"Hoshiko, get ready for school. You'll be late!"
Hoshiko groans, and shoves her diary and pencil in her old black messenger bag. She slides off of her bed, into her ruined shoes— she never bothered to actually put them on, so the heels were permanently bent inward.
"Mom, have you seen my hairbrush? It's been missing for days," she calls back.
Her mother takes no interest, having already returned to arguing with her father.
Hoshiko sighs, and steps in front of the mirror in her room. Her long, black, messy braids from the previous day have some hair sticking out awkwardly from sleep. She quickly tugs out the hair ties, and combs her fingers through her hair. She looks at the clock, and it's already five minutes past the time she normally leaves for school. Slightly panicked, she returns to her reflection in the mirror.
"I look like the bride of Frankenstein!" she whimpers, and pulls her hair back into a ponytail.
Hoshiko bolts out of her bedroom, and leaves the house, slamming the door behind her.
It's a cold, rainy morning, and a thick fog floats on the air. A chilly, wintry breeze whips Hoshiko's face as she heads to school. She shivers, and jams her small hands into the front pocket of her dark grey pullover sweater.
In a few minutes, she reaches the school; her house is conveniently close to the Junior High.
"Hey, Shorty! How are you?" a voice calls out through the mist.
Hoshiko freezes. She knows that the person who called out to her is never alone, and that if she doesn't get to her classroom soon, the day wont start pleasantly. She begins to walk again, speeding up her pace.
"HEY!"
She hears several pairs of shoes against the ground as the students behind her run after her.
Refusing to look back, she breaks into a run, but falls backward as the girl grabs her by the hood of her sweater.
"I thought I said—" the girl begins.
"What's going on?" a teacher shouts.
"Oh, sorry, Mrs. Kohler...We're just rehearsing part of our play for the drama class," the girl lies, hiding behind a cheerful smile.
"Well, let's see, then," she says, unconvinced.
The first bell rings.
Mrs. Kohler sighs. "You girls better get to your first period classes."
"Alright. Bye Mrs. Kohler!" says one of the girl's friends, as she pulls Hoshiko off of the ground.