Do you ever look back on life and think... if any moment in it changed, even the smallest most insignificant thing, how it would make everything from that moment on different?
As I stand in front of the mirror looking at how different my reflection is from the first time I ever looked in this mirror. I stop and think back on all the pivotal moments that have brought me to this moment in life.
I am 17 years old and my name is Charlee Martin. My parents were told I was going to be a boy and they had my name picked out from day one. I was named after, yup you guessed it, my grandpa. In order to save his namesake, since obviously all girl here, they named me Charlee with a double "ee." I mean, whatever. I stare at my reflection realizing I developed seriously late in life and I now have boobs in a bra, that doesn't fit, which shows majorly through my all of a sudden too tight shirt, and I look like a major floozy. I roll my eyes and flop on the bed thinking back to when things seemed so simple.
Growing up I had a best friend named Daniel Durmont. Me and him were inseparable we did everything together. He was a rich boy that lived on the "hill" -just another term for where rich people live- and as for me, well, I'm not poor by any means, I'm just not super loaded like him. Anyway, when we were little I found him at the park getting picked on by a group of boys so, naturally I jumped in and saved the day. We both left there with black eyes but we were as thick as thieves from that day on. We never did anything without telling the other one. Until he left for summer camp at the end of eighth grade and died. Just kidding he didn't die he just turned into a total douchebag jock and stopped talking to me. Not only did he stop talking to me he completely humiliated me in front of the entire freshman class.
I remember it like it was yesterday, I don't think I'll ever not remember his, and all the other kids' faces as they laughed at me. It was the first day of high school and, like I already said, I was a late bloomer so unlike all the other girls I was as flat as a board. Feeling a little self conscious about this I decided to stuff my bra with chocolate pudding filled water balloons. I think I saw it in a movie that it was suppose to be more natural looking. As I went to catch up to Daniel that morning, I hadn't noticed all the kids he was with were total preppy dickheads. "Hey Daniel!" I called to him. He turned to me as if he never met me before in my life. "Who are you?" He asked me this with such a confused look it was almost believable. "Come on Daniel stop messing around, who are all these people?" They were all staring at me with a look that they smelled something really bad. "How do you know my name? I don't know you." "Ok, very funny, Daniel did you get amnesia or something during camp?" "Look, uhh what's your name?" Again he asked me this with such a confused look on his face. "Charlee?" I said super confused and for some reason everyone laughed. "Charlee, this has been real great and all, but I don't know you and your boob is leaking chocolate." Which, after he so rudely pointed out to the entire class, he laughed at me and pushed me to the ground. Making my already chocolate leaking boob break and smear all over my white shirt. I ran home that morning swearing I would never go back, and begged my parents to send me to a boarding school in New Zealand. They didn't.
Now senior year, I finally developed boobs and I'm going to have to wear one of my mom's shirts because none of mine fit..... great. I would have known this if I didn't stay in pajamas all summer and binge watch Family Guy. Thank goodness my mom said she would take me to the mall on the weekend and buy my a whole new wardrobe. I think she's actually more relieved then I am that I'm finally turning into a young woman and I won't be the forever tomboy.
"Hey mom, hey dad." I mumble as I sit and start loading my waffles with syrup. My mom hastily grabs my plate away and puts a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. "Hey! What are you doing?!" I snap trying to grab them back. "Now remember dear, a moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips. You don't want to ruin your new found figure by stuffing it with sugar." This causes my little brother Sammy to laugh, which causes me to slap him across the head. Oops. After giving my mom an "if looks can kill" kind of look I push my oatmeal aside and grab a waffle and run out of the house. "Bye mom, bye dad! I love you!" I scream as I hop on my bike and head to school.
I have a driver's license I'm just too much of a chicken to actually drive, and the school isn't that far only a 21.5 minute ride. And speaking of school, I pull up to it and for a split second think it's going to be different this year. I chain up my bike, take a deep breath, and walk in.