2
Cat
Eleven Years Old - Five Years Later
I was scared.
So scared.
Even though I was going to the same school as some of my friends from elementary school, I would have different classes with kids I didn’t know. Starting middle school was freaking me out. And to top it off, my best friend, Laura was going to a different school because she lived in a different district.
“After school, I’ll take you to get ice cream.”
I looked over to see my mom smiling at me as she drove. “Okay,” I agreed, though getting ice creamafterschool wasn’t calming my nerves now as we drovetoschool.
“Cheer up, buttercup. Won’t Victoria and Sammy be there, too?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “But not Laura. Sucks.” I crossed my arms over my chest. Victoria and Sammy weren’t very good friends of mine. Sure we’d hang out together, but it was nothing like Laura and me.
“I know, but you’ll get to see her this weekend.”
I looked back out the passenger side window, not saying anything. Starting sixth grade was practically becoming an adult. I was, like, halfway done with school and then I’d go off to college and get married and have babies and be just like my parents.
“And don’t listen to your brother. He’s only trying to scare you.”
I rolled my eyes, remembering what my older brother Charlie had told me last night.“The eighth graders are going to bully you. They’ll trip you, pull your hair and make fun of you. When that happens, you tell me, and I’ll beat them up.”
I didn’t want to be bullied. I wanted to skip down the hall with Laura and do each other’s hair before our first dance. I couldn’t wait for my first dance. Charlie had said it was so much fun when he went to his. He’d kissed a girl for the first time there. Now Charlie was a sophomore in high school and had a girlfriend. When my parents were downstairs watching TV while Aurora was over, she and Charlie would kiss on his bed. One time, I saw his hand up her shirt as I walked passed his room.
“So I won’t get bullied?” I asked, looking at my mom.
“Doubt it. Just go and have fun. High school is when you should be nervous. Homework gets harder, and then you’re off to college.”
We pulled up to the school. Other kids were jumping out of cars, waving to their parents and running to their friends. I looked around searching for Victoria, Sammy, or anyone I knew, but I saw no one.
“I’ll see you right here once you get out.” She pulled me in for a hug.
Then I started sixth grade.
I madeit through until lunch.
I hadn’t seen Victoria or Sammy in any of my four classes before the lunch break, not even during our break between second and third period. Just when I was about to give up hope, I saw them sitting at a table in the cafeteria. They were laughing and pointing at a girl sitting alone at another table. I didn’t know why they were laughing at her, but at that moment IknewI didn’t want to be their friend anymore. That girl they were laughing at needed a friend just like I did. Maybe her best friend was at a different school too.
I pulled the ponytail of my dark brown hair to make it tighter, arched my shoulders back slightly, and took a deep breath as I walked to the table. “Hi!” I greeted, a huge smile on my face.
Her brown eyes blinked up at me. “Um, hi.”
“Can I sit with you?” I gestured to the table.
She stared at me for a second before responding. “Sure.”
“I’m Cat.” I set my backpack on the table and then sat across from her.
“Joss.”
“Where’s your lunch?”
Pink tinted her cheeks. “I forgot it at home.”
