Troubled -A Part of Dark like Me.-

*5* Fighting My Prison

I wait at the bus stop the next morning for the bus, I rather not wait for my mother to get ready. It takes her forever to get ready to take me to school. On the first day of school, I missed four classes due to my mother falling asleep on the sofa when she was the one that begged and pleaded for me to let her take me to school. It was a very good thing that the teachers did not count that against anyone or myself that day considering the school is huge and some of the classes are in on the other side of the schoolyard.

The bus finally stops at my stop, I and two other teenagers get on. The bus pulls off without waiting for us to sit down. I don't know where to sit because by this time teenagers have chosen their seats and would fight someone for it.

So, I choose to sit behind the bus driver since most of the seats are already taken. It is kind of silent on the bus, I look back and see Noemi and Jasmyne, I didn't know they rode the bus. The way Noemi made it sound as if her brother always drove them to school. They see me and hurry to the front and scoot in with me, smashing me against the cold window.

"So, did you ask your mom?" Jasmyne asks me while applying pink lip gloss to her already pink lips.

"No, I did not," I think back to how my mother acted last night.

They both suck their teeth then Noemi says, "Girl, this is going to be the party of the year. Everyone who is anyone is going to be there, so you should come."

I perk up a little, "I will ask when I get home."

"Great, I do not want to be disappointed again because you did not come." Noemi snaps.

"Oh, I will be there this time." Even if she says I can't go. I smile at my friends.

Jasmyne smiles and asks, "How come your parents haven't bought you a car just yet? I mean they get you everything else."

Right then, I am not sure who is really talking, Noemi or Jasmyne. "I do not know. I guess it's because I have not asked for one, yet." I shrug my shoulders and try to adjust myself against the window. I really did not want to go through this with them ... .again.

Noemi slaps my forearm and I silently wince in pain. "Well, you need to start asking because we are getting tired of riding this overly crowded bus."

I exhale through the pain of my arm, "Well, I do not really go anywhere to really need a car. But, I can still ask about the car though." I sometimes feel like a pushover when it comes to my friends.

"Great, because you know our parents are poor and only can afford the necessary things for a house. They cannot buy us a car or anything your parents can afford." Jasmyne says popping the gum in her mouth. The gum popping really started to annoy me to the point where I was starting to get a headache and I am getting aggravated. I wanted to get off this bus so bad.

"I understand." The bus begins to fill up and then drive to the school.

On the ride there, Noemi and Jasmyne kept talking about what kind of car I would ask for and what color would it be. It got very annoying to hear because I do not need a car right now, I just need to pass my Juinor year of high school. That is all, a car is very irrelevant to me right now.

I am glad when the bus came to a halt in the bus line at school, I am the first one off the bus because I pushed Noemi and Jasmyne out of the seat. I sometimes get so sick of their materialism talk and what they want and what they can't get.

Of course, there are teenage students everywhere and in the way, I just want to get to my locker then my first-period class, so I can sit down and think about everything. Even though both Noemi and Jasmyne are in most of my classes except Art, I just needed a moment to myself. Jasmyne has Art with me.

Making it to my first class, there is no one in the room, not even the teacher. I go in and sit in my seat and sigh in relief for the silence. I know my mother took my sister to school, we go to the same school, but I refused to be late and Caroline did not want to battle the bus with her huge belly.

I look at the clock, class starts at 7:05 am. It is 6:55 am. Not enough time to think about everything I need. This morning I even thought about ditching class . . . school altogether because I did not want to deal with the stupid teenagers who got everyone in trouble or deal with Noemi and her shadow; Jasmyne nagging me about going to this party.

They both know I do not go to parties due to my uninterested in them and what usually happens when a bunch of loud teenagers start drinking. I take out my Galaxy S5, I know that if I miss class, it will be hell to try to catch up on the work but I felt like my sanity is on the line here and if I stay, by the end of the day I would be marked a bully. Tapping my phone on the desk, I go ahead and text Bradly.

Me: Could you please come get me from school?

Big Bro Brad: Why? What is wrong?

Me: Not feeling well

Big Bro Brad: Yeah Sure. Will be there in two minutes.

Me: Thank you so much!!! Love you!

I get up and pack my things up, I look at the clock; five minutes before the bell rings. There is enough time to get down the slope and get outside and that is just what I did. I get outside and there is my brother, waiting for me in the Jag he told me about last night.

I climb in it and we zoom off campus. I do feel a little guilty for skipping class, but I needed time to think and I could not think in class about the things I wanted to think about. I have no clue where we are going at all, I do not even ask, I just ride. A few minutes later, we end up at this rinky-dink diner on the edge of town, a ten-minute ride from the school. I vaguely remember the diner, Bradly use to take me here when I was in middle school, especially when I had rough days.

We get out, enter the small diner, and take our seats by the window. Bradly looks at me as I fiddle with my fingers and stare at them instead of trying to acknowledge the fact that Bradly is staring at me.