Who would have thought that me getting on a plane with my dad for a trip that would last for summer would turn into three years? I was supposed to come back, and I wanted to at first, but plans change, and my life forever flipped upside down (but in...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
!!PLEASE READ AUTHORS NOTE AT THE END...IT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND IMPACTS THE BOOK IN A MAJOR WAY!!!
Cori walked into the school like she was a zombie, something about her lifeless, hopeless and unsavable; her phone tightly clutched in her hand. To start off, it had been raining all night once she'd gotten home from tryouts, so she had to drive to school and she absolutely hated driving. Plus, she hadn't been to sleep all night because she was on the phone with Carmen, her best friend from Nevada.
When Cori got to big Cory's room, she heard a familiar voice as she pushed open the door. Big Cory and Shawn immediately turned toward her; their mouths clamped shut like they'd been caught red-handed. "Cori!" both men said excitedly, arms out wide and toward her. She wanted to be happy that Shawn was here, he told her that he would be in New York this week, but she just could muster up a smile.
The happiness in their voices immediately brought her to tears, "wha-what did we wrong?" Big Cory asked Shawn who just shushed his best friend and wrap his arms around his daughter.
"Is this a sad day?" he asked her, as the classroom door opened, she shook her head as she continued to cry.
"Why is Cori crying in a white man's arms?" Zay quietly asked his friends, concerned about what he walked in on and who he should report to because Mr. Matthews seemed fine with it.
"That's her dad doofus," Maya told whispered before sitting down, not wanting to interrupt them moment the rest of the group followed.
"A white man?" he asked, confused, "what is her life."
"Alright, tell me what happened?" Shawn asked her once they'd finished hugging. She nodded, placing her hands on her hips as she tried to breathe; her face losing redness.
"Would you like for us to leave, Cori?" Farkle asked, being kind to her at this moment because it was obvious, she needed it.
"You can stay," she shrugged "I don't really fuckin' care."
She licked her lips, "remember my friend Carmen from Nevada—"
"The one who tried to teach my how-to Crip walk?" Shawn asked, both Big Cory and Zay laughed because they were the only two who understood that.
Cori nodded, "well, they made some like tik tok video or something about having an uh, crush on this girl, and their parents somehow found it and," her voice started to waiver, "kicked them out for being non-binary."
"Oh, no," Big Cory said clutching his chest.
"Yep," Cori told him, nodding as she wiped away more tears.
"What can I do," Shawn asked her, his heartbreaking from the story along with his daughter's tears.
She shrugged, crying again, "my mom's said that they could stay with us, but Carmen doesn't have enough money for a plane ticket and is too prideful to ask for a handout," she inhaled sharply before continuing, "plus, I spent all of my birthday money on po—" she stopped suddenly, remembering who she was with and who she was speaking too; everyone's eyes had widened, "pot's for my gardening." She said weakly, unconvincing.
