lover boy & dollar store girl ♬ matt sturniolo

XVI

CHAPTER XVI
[ lame-o's ]
♬

where do i begin?
how do i explain myself without sounding crazy, or making myself look like a loser in front of the only people who seem to like me?
what are they going to think when i tell them about one of the worst things to ever happen to me?
the thoughts swam inside minnie's head as she sat in chris' room with the boys. she sat criss-crossed in his desk chair, while chris and nick were cozy on chris' bed and matt was sprawled across the floor. she cradled her lukewarm cup of coffee in her hands and bit her tongue, unsure of where to start.

"minnie, it can't be so bad that you can't tell us." nick spoke first. the remnants of sleep still dragged at the ends of his sentences.

chris piled on with, "and nothing is gonna make us think anything bad about you. promise."
he always had a way of saying things so genuine. chris would make a wonderful teacher, or at least minnie thought so. she believed every word he said, no matter what it was. he was just that easy to trust.

the girl could feel matt's eyes picking her face apart, trying to decipher what she was thinking before she even said anything. he was always doing that- actively trying to figure her out, so she didn't have to feel put on trial.
but this was something she knew she'd have to explain sometime, so she took another swig of the tepid coffee and started slow.

"i don't think you guys know much about me. i'm not very outward about stuff, and i know i don't talk about myself unless i have to." the boys laughed at this- they know how stubborn she can get. "i just... it's hard to talk about. it's still, y'know... it's just fresh, i guess. still hurts."

"start with the girl," matt coaxed, "who is she?"

"her name is hayley. she was my friend for a really long time. we met at the start of freshman year. we had a... falling out."

"a falling out?" nick wondered aloud, "about what?"

"that's the frustrating part. i never really found out. we were friends for nearly three years, and all of a sudden, it's christmas and she tells me she's moving. she accused me of being selfish when i asked what would happen to our plans for senior year, and then she stormed out on me," minnie huffed, "she moved away without ever saying goodbye. i haven't heard from her since. until this morning, obviously."

"why did she have to move?" matt asked.

"her dad got a job in seattle. he was moving the whole family. it was short notice."

     nick sighed, his sleepy eyes doing their very best to snap out of the daze. "shit. that sucks."

     "yeah. i was just so confused by all the things she said to me. she said some really shitty things. i mean, my whole life, everyone always picked on me- you know how mean kids can be. and she was the only friend i'd ever had that liked me the way i was. then, all of a sudden she's leaving, and she hated me for reasons that made no sense. reasons i don't believe were true." minnie anchored her words in her chest, trying to keep the weight down and not let herself get too emotional. she hated breaking down when she could help it.

     matt leaned forward, tucking his legs into a criss-cross pattern like the girl. "i didn't know people gave you such a hard time."