A story of us.
By Tristan Kelly & Madeleine Parish
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"We stood there, looking at each other, saying nothing. But it was the nothing that meant everything."
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I awoke to a screaming alarm. not the most pleasant sound, but then again that is why I chose that particular sound to be my wake up call. I dragged my ass out of the bed and stumbles to my bathroom counter. The girl staring back at me was not the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. Her hair was slightly oily, her leftover mascara was smeared, her stomach was sticking out far enough to seem like she had a 8 week old bun in the oven.
However today was June 19th. a special day. My seventeenth birthday. I stretched and whined as multiple vertebrae in my spine popped into place. I wasn't sure what the day held for me but i knew something good was bound to happen. Little did i know...
That week I was going to a large conference at my church called Desperation. My best friend at the time, Tina, had agreed to accompany me to this event. It was very life changing event for me the year before and my hope was to see the same experience happen for my friend.
Unfortunately I was no saint, I needed o be there as much as she did. I had been going through some rough times of my own. I went about my day cleaning the kitchen, watching Netflix, making dinner, etc. My Mother received a call in the early afternoon, saying we could arrive within the hour to whoever was on the other side of the phone. Now i was curious. I don't mean to say i was expecting a surprise on my birthday, but the thought has crossed my mind a time or two...or six.
"Get dressed Daisy, we are leaving in 5 minutes!" my mom had shouted to me from the kitchen. what could we possibly be late for? I asked her as much but i only received muttering about being late and an address i didn't recognize.
We got in the car minutes later, I wore blue jean short-shorts and a navy blew tank top with a flower pattern around the bottom, my hair half up half down. "Will you tell me where we are going now, Mom?" i asked on she. she replied by demanding a i put an address on a piece of paper she handed me into the car navigator.
To my shock and excitement it lead us to our local Drivers Ed company over by our hair dresser and favorite discount/namebrand retailer store, Tuesday Morning. Then to my utter disappointment, the driver ed school looked closed down. But my mother was not a woman to give up so easily.
So we drove downtown to the other school branch located by the State DMV. But to our dismay, that was not the correct place either! And we were already pushing the hour limit! so back we raced to the first location and then a little further. and that was where we found the right class and the right location. my mother "parked" in a parking space and i jumped out the car, scurrying inside. I waited patiently outside the door till the teach, a rather tall and hefty sort of man with blue eyes waved me inside and to take a seat.
I walked into class. I was 3 hours late and annoyed by all the judgmental stares from other students. I sat down rather loudly, smiling sheepishly at the teacher.
There was a blue folder in front of me which I immediately opened and I scanned the first page. 'Welcome to Drivers Ed!' It exclaimed in bold print. Holy shit I was nervous.
It was my birthday, I was turning 17 years old, and I was excited about the chances of freedom that a drivers license might bring. I looked around the table I had happened to seat myself at. Most the students looked younger than I, one boy doodled on his arm, a girl scrolled through social media. The usual thing to expect from teenagers. I was unceremoniously introduced to an african american sitting to my right. She seemed nice enough, with partially blue hair and an almost obnoxiously loud voice, she said her name was Blare.
