The Life of Alessia

Some Important Things to Know

Freedom. Of course it came at a cost, like most freedom does. I didn't mean to make the first sentence sound so dramatic, it's not as if I just escaped slavery or a war-torn country. This type of freedom was more freedom from another person. Bridget. My 'frenemy' since pre-school. If I never speak to a person like her again, it'll be one time too many.

Ever since we were split into different classes, and I drifted into different friend group, she had become the most clingy person on the planet (and may I mention, this transition was in third grade. It's been six years.). She was like a wad of gum stuck to my shoe. It's attached to you, and you don't like it, but you don't exactly want to try and pick it out. Your hands will get dirty. It was the same with Bridget. If it weren't for my dominant need to keep everyone happy, she would of been gone years ago. But, no. All I ever heard when I tried to stand up for myself was "How could you, Alessia!" Or "I actually trusted you, Alessia!". And after the accusatory phase, of course, came the death glares. Same thing every time. In fact, now that I think about it, our quarrels had become kind of an annual thing. For some reason she was never able to grasp the fact that people move on. They grow up.

The truth is, I actually pitied her. Not in an uptight, 'I'm better than you' way, but in an 'I don't want to abandon you otherwise you will have no one to lean on' way. As you can probably tell, Bridget is not the most likable person. I was her life line ever since we met. I was afraid that if I let go of her, she would never stop falling.

I'll spare you her entire story. After all, this book isn't about her. It's about you. It's about me. It's about anyone who has lived your stock-standard, friend drama-centric, school trouble-filled American Dream. This is how that part of my life really began. And how I got through it.