Chapter Eleven: The Loneliness Within
April 12, 1975
I never really liked school, mostly because I didn't have anyone to spend time with. I didn't have any friends around. Even when I was invited to join a team, it turned out to be a nonexistent one, like that Poopball fiasco. Ned the janitor was at least nice way to let me eat in his supply closest; in exchange of me doing most of his work dusting the place up which he said was a secret between me and him; I didn't like secrets but I did like his cooking. I would sit by the see-saws, where no one would ever go. Talking to the girls was out of the question; they claimed I had the cooties. Sometimes, I wished I could be a bird, soaring freely in the sky. They didn't have to worry about all that crap; they could just fly wherever they pleased. Lucky devils.
Sometimes, as I watched a bird gracefully glide through the sky, my mind would drift to my favorite song, "On the Wings of Love." The lyrics would play in my head, bringing a temporary escape from the loneliness that plagued my days:
"Just smile for me and let the day begin
You are the sunshine that lights my heart within
I'm sure that you're an angel in disguise
Come take my hand and together we will rise."
Home wasn't much better than school, especially because I had to deal with Jeff. Today, he was at his absolute worst. When I arrived home, I found the doors locked. "You know the rules; if you come home before 3:32, you're late," Jeff sneered. It often meant I wasn't allowed in, no matter what the reason was. It didn't matter if I tried to explain that the bus had arrived late to school; Jeff wouldn't care. I kept knocking and knocking, desperation building within me.
"What gives you the right to come home so late?" Jeff demanded, his voice filled with disdain. I tried banging on the doors, hoping he would let me in. But he stood there, unmoving, refusing to open the door. The frustration and anger boiled within me.
When my mother finally arrived, things only got worse. She blamed me, believing Jeff's lies that I had been playing a practical joke by pretending the doors were locked and giving Jeff a hard time. It was unfair, and she grounded me without even listening to my side of the story. And Jeff? He just didn't care, smirking with a sense of victory.
At that moment, I had reached my breaking point. The anger and resentment toward that man and his damn high horse consumed me. I yearned for a sense of justice, for someone to see through his lies and manipulation. But all I had was my own strength, my determination to rise above the challenges that life threw my way. I was gonna make them pay one day.