Forced Reconciliation

20.

Andi Rhoades

Rounding the corner to my classroom, running a bit behind after talking with another teacher in the hall, I could hear the yelling and chatter far louder than it should be on a Wednesday morning. Speeding up my steps, it's only seconds until I'm entering the room to see where all the noise is coming from. What I see before me is not something I would have ever expected.

Harper and —what I know to be— her best friend, Laney screaming in each other's faces while the rest of my students watch the argument unravel right in front of them. My legs are instantly carrying me to the center of them to hopefully put a stop to whatever is going on.

Before they notice my presence, I'm able to hear the end of Harper's words. "You're such a liar, Laney! You knew I liked him!"

A fucking boy. Of course, they're fighting over a boy.

"Girls! Hey," I gently place one hand on each of their arms, hoping to pull them apart and away from everyone else to save themselves some embarrassment. "Let's go out in the hall, yeah?" They nod their head and begin walking towards the door. "Everyone else, you're free to read or work on your other homework until I'm back."

I follow the two girls out into the empty hallway, quickly trying to figure out how to handle this. I could easily just tell them to knock it off and begin class, but I know they'd just be stewing over it for the rest of the day unless they get some sort of resolve.

Shutting the door behind me, I turn to face the two seventeen year old girls. They have their backs to each other, both of their arms crossed, with a pissed off expression written all over their faces.

Huffing out a breath, I decide to break the tension. "You guys know you can't be screaming at each other in class."

Silence.

"Do you want to talk it out now in a more controlled environment or do you want to go back in there and be mad at each other for the rest of the day?" They both turn to me, and Laney's got a regretful expression on her face.

"I... I'm sorry, Harper. I knew you liked Jace."

Here we go.

Harper just continues to stare at Laney, and I can see the tears building her eyes, probably in frustration. "Why would you do it then?"

Laney shrugs, "He told me he liked me..."

Oh fuck.

I genuinely do feel bad for the girls in front of me, remembering how hard it is to be their age. Add dating, feelings, and hormones to the mix, and it's a recipe for a disaster to make you miserable.

Everything seems like the end of the world in their eyes, and I can't blame them. From the outside looking in, —being a little bit older and more mature— this whole ordeal doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me, but that doesn't give me or anyone else the right to invalidate their feelings and make them feel like they shouldn't be upset over something that matters to them.

I used to hate when I was a teenager and the adults in my life would laugh about my problems because they were "dumb" or when they'd call me dramatic. Just because their problem wouldn't matter to me at this point in my life, who am I to tell them how they should feel?

So instead, I decide I want to do my best to be the person I wish I had when I was younger and felt like the entire world was against me. I'm going to sympathize and listen.

"Miss Rhoades, what would you do if your best friend in the entire world made out with the guy you liked?" Harper turns to face me, and I freeze, not expecting those words to come out of her mouth.