The Reasons and a Find
I had cried all night last night, after the horrible news was delivered to me. It was the next day, Monday. In other words, torture day. I expected ironed clothes to be laid out on my bed, and the smell of breakfast to some wafting up the stairs, with mom cooking and dad humming. But as usual, it wasn't there. After putting on jeans and a white shirt that barely looked white anymore, I walked downstairs and ate cold oatmeal. I didn't know how to cook it. Zinnia came downstairs wearing a hot pink shirt and a sparkly purple skirt. She had a sparkly purple necklace to match her skirt. She smiled this perfect smile with a face filled of pink blush and glittering lip gloss.
"Bye twerp! Livvy is meeting me at the park!" She bounced out the door. Apparently, she's so obsessed with Livvy she forgot about breakfast. Livvy is Zinnia's best friend after she began to hate me. Livvy has blonde wavy hair and green eyes. She's our age, 11. Zinnia can't stop talking about how Livvy is soo perfect. I wonder, if I were more like Livvy, would Zinnia like me again? Sighing, a swallowed the rest of my oatmeal, alone, feeling as cold as it was.
I rushed through the halls. I wanted to get to class before I ran into them. The meanest girls in school. You're probably surprised to hear that those mean girls are led by Livvy, and Zinnia joined them not too long ago. She's my sister, but she'd rather be popular than stand up for me.
"Hey twerp!" Too late. I sigh and turn face to face with Livvy. She's wearing a sparkly blue dress, and makeup just like Zinnia's. They probably planned their outfits.
"Decided to actually wear something clean today? Maybe you thought it'd make you look less like a hobo. Wrong!" Carina and Lyra laugh along with her. I look at Zinnia, hoping that she'd say something, but she just looks down at her feet. At her flats with little pink bows. I wanted shoes like that too, but mom probably rathered Zinnia. That's why she would do anything Zinnia asked. Livvy laughs again.
"Where'd you get that shirt? Forever Hobo?" Carina and Lyra laugh again. Zinnia keeps looking at her shoes. Tears start to fall from my face.
"Aww, look! The wittle baby's crying!" Livvy says. Lyra and Carina are now laughing so loud, I wonder why a teacher doesn't hear them. I wipe my eyes, but tears fall faster. I run off to the bathroom, hearing them laugh still. Slumped on the floor of Stall #3, I am still crying. Why don't they like me? I think. Was I that disappointing? What did I do to deserve this? Wiping my eyes again, I get up and walk out of the stall. The bell rings, but I can't care anymore. I study my face in the mirror. My eyes are red and puffy from all that crying, and my brown hair is a mess all over my face. I sniff. I am ugly. Maybe that's why those girls tease me. If only I looked like them. But I don't. And no matter how much I try to change myself, they still won't like me. Maybe it was just fate. Maybe I was meant to live like this, sda, miserable, and lonely. I pick up my school books and go to my locker. I decide to iss the class, not wanting to be scolded by the teacher. So I take the books for my next class and go back into the bathroom, to wait for the next bell. I was my face just as the bathroom door swings open. It's Zinnia.
"I heard what happened." She said. I nod.
"I'm sorry." I nod. If she was really sorry, why didn't she say anything?
"You need to stand up for yourself." I nod.
"Or at least don't act like that, so they won't bully you." I nod.
"Stop nodding! I'm talking to you." I nod. Zinnia sighs and walks out of the bathroom.
"Hurry up!" I heard my mother screech from inside. She'd change after my father left, and she wasn't nice anymore. Everyday she had me put out the garbage in the dumpster next to the library. I liked the library, to get lost in a book. I especially loved the Warriors series. Those cats seemed so free, unlike my life.
"I said hurry up!" I mother called again from the doorway. I heard the door slam. I hurry through the streets, feeling the cold sink into my hands. A brisk October breeze blew across the street and ruffled the fall leaves. I shivered. The dumpster came into view as I turned a corner. I tried to rush up to it, but failed miserably due to the huge bag of garbage. I tripped over it and saw the ground rushing up to meet my face. I got up, my face burning. I brushed the black crumbs of asphalt off my hands and looked down. The garbage bag had a huge tear and garbage was spilling out of it. I began to pick it up, hoping my mother wouldn't wonder where I was. The last thing I needed was for her to come see me like this. Cars sped past and honked as they did. I started to get more scared. Any moment my mother could walk in and see this mess. I began to claw at the ground, picking up anything my hand happened to lay on. In the corner of the alleyway I noticed a cereal bar box laying on a pile of leaves. I grabbed it, picking up the leaves at the same time. Before I dropped the box into the garbage bag, I noticed a golden gleam under the leaves. I let them flutter out of my hands and saw a necklace fall out with them. Dropping the cereal bar box I inspected the necklace closer. It was a golden chain with a gold charm. The charm was the shape of a cat's head, except it was more square. I knew I had saw that somewhere but I couldn't put my hand on it.
"Cats?" I said aloud. Then it hit me. That symbol was a warrior clan symbol, except it was blank. It didn't have a lightning bolt or tree or anything on it. I couldn't ignore the comforting feeling that necklace gave me. I slipped it into the pocket of the only pair of jeans I had, then tossed the garbage bag into the dumpster, leaving the cereal bar box on the ground.