Staring into the eyes of my brother, all I could feel was hatred. Our Father was an amazing King and ruler, and he had to give his crown to this pretentious, good-for-nothing, boy! At this point I can’t wait to be courted, just so I could leave this cold-hearted pig behind. “These people are just taking up space on the sides of our roads. If they weren’t killed by our soldiers, they would have died on their own within the next couple of weeks. Might as well save them the trouble of having to suffer, and end it faster.” “You are disgusting. There are as many poor people on the streets as there are because you became king! None of this would have happened if Father-“ “Father is gone! He’s dead! I’m the King now and you will listen to me! I’m doing this for my kingdom’s own good,” he yelled. Trying to get his point across, when I only felt worse afterwards. With tears running down my cheeks, I walked closer to Edmund’s face. Digging my finger into his chest, pointing at him so he can feel the pain he is causing me. “Your crown is made of the people’s bones and hunger! You feed off of their deaths by gaining money you don’t even need. You could be using it for good and give to the people who have less than you, but you’re selfish. You send our soldiers to kill homeless families each day, just to have another family go starving.” I turned to walk away. I was done discussing this with someone who wasn’t even going to consider anything I have to say. If only I was the first born male. So many things would have changed for the better, but no. Our poor, dying, city is suffering from the hands of a ruler who doesn’t care about them at all. The next words to come out of his mouth had me planted in my spot before I could reach my door. I slowly fell to my knees, feeling my soul crush beneath me. He promised. The one thing I begged of him not to do, he did. “I had too. The new law states that ‘Everyone who is on the streets, and who is of the age 50 and not working, shall be executed on behalf of the crown for the purposes of the kingdom suffering from starvation.’ Mother left the castle to go be on her own after Father’s death, and ended up on the streets suffering like everyone else. She didn’t listen to me to come back, so I had to kill her.” This monster couldn’t even spare his own mother. I watched as he lowered his head in shame. I couldn’t believe he let the soldiers kill our own Mother! He never said it was soldiers though. “You- You did it?” I saw tears stream down his face. That was the only confirmation I needed. “She said she was testing my loyalty, and asked me to shot her instead of General Gage. She-“ “She was testing your loyalty to the family not the crown. I guess she was right. All you care about is yourself and the precious crown. Father’s death meant nothing to you except that you will now be King.” I couldn’t stand within his proximity anymore, and slammed my bedroom door closed. I began packing necessities I’ll be needing for my long journey. I Maybe me leaving him alone teach him one day that the world doesn’t revolve around him.
There was a collective gasp of dread and concern.
“I’m fine. It’s not my blood,” but I wasn’t really fine. I watched a suicided during our own homecoming football game. I couldn’t stop it. I was only six feet away when the gun went off, and I couldn’t do anything. I was useless. I walked away from the front door. Leaving my parents behind with their jaws dropped, as I headed straight for the shower to wash the gruesome night off of me.
Hopping out of the car I look over to my best friend Riley who was looking very nervous.
“I know you you’re nervous for the half time show, but you’re going to do great!” I tried to cheer her up for her big solo.
“You’re right. I just need to get over myself. You’ve done this before,” she whispered the last part to herself. We continued our journey over to the homes side of the bleachers along with the rest of our peers. The seniors had the first couple of rows, so we went to the next closet set to the field. I don’t usually show up to these kinds of events, but I wanted to support Riley tonight after she told me about her solo.
With five minutes remaining of the second quarter, people were going crazy! We were on a losing streak in the first quarter, 3-14, but now we are in the lead! The score is 24-17, and we are beating our biggest rivals!
“Hey Broke, I’m going to start heading down so when they call me I can just walk on the field, and get this done with,” she shrugged and let out a laugh. Pulling, what I believe was her baton, out of her book bag and down the bleachers to the gate that lets you on the field.
I didn’t expect her to put on a show while singing until she told me in the car. At least that’s why she brought the bag, so she could hide her baton to make it a surprise for the half time show.
At that moment, I saw something shine in the corner of my eye. Gold and silver, sparkly tassels were hanging out of Riley’s book bag. I unzipped the bag and found her baton still lying in there. She never took it out of her bag.
I quickly grabbed it and ran down the bleachers, to the edge of the fence. Waving it in the air I shouted, “Riley! You forgot your baton!” But it was no use, she couldn’t hear me.
Unless she forgot it on purpose. She pulled something out of her bag. What-
I watched in horror as she pulled a gun to the side of her body, as she continued to walk across the field. I dropped the baton in shock. In sink with every gasp that filled the bleachers. Everyone was frozen, not knowing what to do. I on the other hand hopped over the fence, as I watched everything around me move in slow motion. I sprinted as fast as I could towards my best friend. The one who has been there for me through everything. None of the teachers were doing anything to stop me and I was glad. I don’t know what would have happened if they tried.
She was staring right at me with tears in her eyes. I watched the gun in her hand slowly stretch up to point directly at me.
“NO!” Mr. Hasher yelled across the field, and I heard his loud footsteps coming our way. It was no use. I knew my best friend and she wouldn’t shoot me. I kept going. I was almost there to take the gun out of her hand, but realization covered her face once’s she caught on I didn’t care if she shot me. As long as she is safe. So she quickly flipped the gun around, and that’s when I stopped.
Her body fell to the ground with a loud THUD. I felt arms wrapped around my body stopping me from reaching my best friend. I kicked and screamed and thrashed in this persons arms, but they were stronger then me.
My knees buckled to the ground as I felt a tear fall down my cheek, and then another. Suddenly I’m sobbing in Mr. Green’s arms. He knew how much Riley meant to me, and now she’s gone. She’s gone.
That night I rode home with Mr. Green. A close family friend, who is driving me home because I couldn’t stand to be in her car. I can’t even say her name anymore without crying. As we drive home, it hits me that I now get to face my parents, along with Mr. Green, as I’m covered in the blood of my best friend.
The weight of the world Carried by a hero. With a sword by their side And their alter ego.
They stand tall and proud Fighting by day and night. For us and the whole world Based on what they think is right.
A long, hard journey is traveled by far, Having left friends and loved ones for gone. A tear slips, the attacker pierced their heart, And yet their legacy still lives on.
I grab my sister’s hand, and pull her to the cliffs edge with me. She nods slowly in my direction. Then we jump. Taking in as much air as possible, we fall faster and faster. We are picking up speed as we watch the waves below us, crashing into the shore. The white wave tops fading back into the water, like stars in the night sky. As we get closer and closer to the thrashing waves below, I start regretting everything leading up to this moment. I see a blurry vision of Dad’s bloody knuckles from the ground I laid on. Shattered glass lay on the floor like a broken puzzle piece. The neck of the beer bottle stays in my Father’s grasp, while the remaining pieces puncture parts of me that I wouldn’t have ever thought possible. My heart having the worse puncture wound of all. The tears from my eyes fell harder than any weight on my shoulders ever could have. I grip my sister’s hand tighter, waiting for the hard hit to the water that will knock the wind right out of me. I hear my dad’s booming voice hitting my head in every direction. My mother’s screams echoing on for forever. My sister’s silence. Her silence being the loudest of all. She sat and watched while I was hit left and right. Dad needed to let his anger out, right? He has always favored the beautiful, smart, and talented twin. Not the one who likes adventure and has an attitude problem. A numb feeling starts taking over every inch of my body. The feeling that rides through me before each of my panic attacks. Leading to cutting with anything sharp within my reach. Each of those times being stopped by the comfort of my sister, my twin. Lilly. This time is different though. She is by my side as we both plummet into the depths of the ocean. The water hitting my back as if I was being thrown up against a brick wall. Putting my body into a shocked state. Our clothes absorbing the water like a sponge. Our hands parting like old friends. Resistant, yet inevitable. The image of Lilly fading the deeper into the water I go. Smearing as if it were a painting. The painting conjured by my own imagination. The wish to be with her is stronger than ever, and that’s where I plan on going. By her side just as we always were. The pounding in my head almost changes my mind, but I refuse to live the life I have been stuck with. Rude friends, ignorant people, horrible parents, a dead sister… She promised me she would never try to harm her self again, but so did I. Now look where we are. On the verge of passing out, I finally feel the water seep into my lungs. I finally feel free.
There were so many things that happened on my birthday last year. I couldn’t for the life of me tell you what happened that was worse over everything else. I was turning fifteen and I’ve never had luck, so the beginning of my day started off as such. My mom’s god awful singing woke me up, and it was to the tune of happy birthday. Mom made me a wonderful breakfast. It was buttermilk pancakes, with a side of strawberries and bananas. It was outstanding! I thought my day was going smoothly, until I tried picking out an outfit. I was in my closet for 15 minutes trying to find anything, until I heard my alarm go off. The alarm told me that the bus was almost here, and I should be on my way to the bus stop, or I’ll be late. So I kept my pajamas on, and ran down the street to catch the bus. Lots of people wear sweats and a t-shirt to school, so I assumed I was in the clear. Once I’d arrived at my bus stop, I saw everyone getting on the bus. I got on the bus right before it could shut the doors. Thank god because I can’t drive, and mom already left for work. Something worse has to happen before it gets better right? Wrong! It never got better from here. I tripped walking up onto the curb of the school and all of my papers fell out of my bag. To make this situation even better; people watched instead of helping me, so it was just an awkward situation for everyone. I didn’t think it could get more awkward until I saw a hand in my face. I honestly thought someone was about to slap me, until they started shaking their hand. I hand no clue what they wanted. A high five maybe? Since I didn’t do anything they reached for my hand, and helped me up. I was surprised to say the least. Then the moment came where I saw the face of my mysterious helpful hand. Ok that was a really bad joke, but anyway. I was assisted by the most well known; pardon my French, asshole in the school. All so known as the school’s golden boy Miles. Yeah you heard me right. In this case asshole and golden are able to be put in the same sentence. Everyone finds him this dashing, kind, and sophisticated guy, when all I see is a bully. What I mean by bully is that he makes fun of me and teases me all the time. It gets kind of annoying. The thing is, he knows exactly how to get on my nerves. Each and every time! God if he wasn’t so beautiful, I’d punch him in his pretty little face.
“Hey, my eyes are up here darling.” I then looked up to his hazel eyes. That stupid smirk of his needed to be wiped off of his face before I smack it off. I was looking at the ground, so the fact that he wants me to look at him is just calling for trouble. I picked up my belongings, and started walking as fast as I could, without running, towards the front entrance of the school building. No, this day wasn’t aloud to go smoothly for even an hour. Who would expect their own birthday to provide happy and fun filled times. Not me! Miles was able to catch up to me. He got a hold of my wrist, and pulled me into to him. This man had the audacity to wrap his arm around my waist, pull me in closer than I was comfortable with, and look me dead in the eyes. It’s not like I could do anything! I was trapped in this boy’s arms, and I couldn’t look anywhere but in his eyes. They were drawing me in as if I was drowning in them. I thought he was going to let me go, but as if he had heard my thoughts, he didn’t let go. Instead he leaned down, and lightly brushed his lips up against my ear. “Maybe if you watched where you were walking, you might have seen the curb,” he whispered as he walked away with a bigger smirk than before. Most likely because of how my checks went from a natural rose color, to a bright tomato red. I can never get over the way he makes me feel.
“What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve believed?” was the hardest question I’ve ever had to answer for a quiz grade. We had to right a five paragraph essay about it, and today my mind was messing with me because I couldn’t focus on anything. Today was not the day to have my focus else where. The essay the next day, and I wrote about four to six sentences. I’ve always been an over thinker, so it was hard to come up with only one. Some of the many ideas I came up with were…
The tooth fairy Ok well this one makes sense in away. What kid doesn’t believe in the tooth fairy? Now I know there were some families who couldn’t financially provide their kids with the belief of the tooth fairy, but any other kid… Ok looking back at it though the whole tooth fairy thing, it seems a bit creepy. Think about it, a fairy flying into your home without permission to enter your home, to grab a bloody tooth that is under your pillow and used to sit in your mouth connected to a root, and we expected this creature to keep the damn tooth forever? I’m sorry, but I would still like to know where the tooth fairy would have kept all those damn teeth, if she was real.
If you eat any kind of seed, that seed will grow into a plant inside you stomach This ones a bit more far fetched, but for a kid to think this, it’s kind of reasonable. Especially if they are learning about plants or plant growth in school. For example, if you were to eat a strawberry, all of the seeds on that one strawberry, would start to form a strawberry bush.
If your feet aren’t under your blanket, the monster under your bed with grab your foot, and pull you under the bed and/ or eat you alive Ok, but who didn’t believe this? I am genuinely wondering if anyone has ever been able to sleep with their feet out from under their blanket. If you are one of those people who can sleep with no blankets, or your feet are outside of the blankets hanging over the bed then there is most definitely something wrong with you. That shit is scary man. When I was younger I even named the monster under my be Jerry. For my essay though, I didn’t pick any of these. I chose…
Love I’ve found that believing in love is useless. Love is unrealistic, and not worth my time. Yes, so people have found the love of there lives, and I say good for them. For me, love has failed me in many ways. How am I supposed to believe in love when not even my parents lasted. Everyone told them that their love would last until they were old and grey. It turns out that it only lasted till I was about 15. They were high school sweet hearts, and they couldn’t even make it past 25 years of marriage. Sure that is a long period of time, but not when you’re being told every living second of the day that there was no way in hell that they would make it till forever. I’ve also dealt with my fair share of cheaters, assholes, and liars. I miss the days where I used to still believe in love. It provided me with hope for future relationships. Those days have been long gone after I walked in on my first boyfriend, cheating on me for the third time now. So what can I say. I gave up on the idea of love, and the “hope” it was said to bring me in bad times when I needed it most. When I chose love as my topic for the essay, I knew exactly what I was going to write for it. The essay was time consuming, but it was quicker to finish then most of the other essays I have written in the pass. I knew what I was writing about. I have had experience in why I don’t believe in love, so I happened to make my essay more of a diary more then a grade. I jotted down all of my feelings and experiences, and I wrote four pages. I handed in my paper, and the teacher was very impressed. I got a 98 out of 100, and it was my best grade all year.
It’s the last time I’m able to visit my best friend. At least that was our label the last time we talked. I never told him I loved him when we were kids, because I’ve never had an opportunity. I wanted to tell him at a time I felt was right, but so far I haven’t found the right one. It’s upsetting because I was a coward. I never told him because I was afraid of what he would think. I never thought he could love someone like me. He was always gentle, kind, and cared for everyone. We grew up together, and had been neighbors since we were born. Our parents met at college, and our families have bonded ever since. We have had so many great memories that I could never pick one to be my favorite. There was a time when he got water guns for his birthday. We asked if we could open them, and play outside. When our parents told us it was fine, we gathered all the neighborhood kids, and had a “war”. Technically it was everyman for themselves, but I only focused on him, and as did he.
“I’m coming to get you!”
“Not if I get you first Caleb!” I shouted after him, as I chased him up the drive way. I thought I had him until I tripped over my shoelace, and fell onto the curb. I heard Caleb yell my name as I stood up.
“Oh God! Are you ok?” he questioned, as he inspected my head, looking for blood or scratches. I shook it off, and told him I was fine, but then he did something I never expected. He kissed my forehead, and he told me that he hopes I feel better. I was head over heels at that point moving forward. This was eight years ago, and I’m sixteen now. I’ve been waiting eight years to tell him I liked him, and two to tell him I loved him. I’ve still never found the courage to tell him. I’ve never forgotten how I fell in love either. I’ve never found the crowd that suited my best interests. I was just a nobody walking through the school halls to most people, and an answer provider to others. Caleb on the other hand was sporty, smart, and may I say on the good looking side. He knew he was because he had girls lined up for him everywhere he went, but was always modest about it. We were in school, freshman year, and there were a couple of boys who were on Caleb’s football team who decided to accompany me by my locker right before the first bell. All of a sudden I hear my name being passed between the two boys, and some not so nice things following it. I’ve never felt so ashamed in my whole life. I couldn’t believe that’s how people thought about me. I ran to the nearest bathroom, but I ran into a wall. At least at the time I thought it was a wall. It was Caleb, and he already had his arms wrapped around my waist, whispering comforting words into my ear to calm me down. At home that day, Caleb stood right there reaching for the door handle as if he was about to walk into my house. He had a bruise on his left check, and his knuckles looked a little messed up, so I got a little worried. He then told me the whole story of how he beat up the two guys who were saying horrid things about me, because he happened to be right around the corner from me, and heard it all. I’ve never forgotten anything he has done for me. I told my mother I was headed to visit Caleb for the last time before we moved to Maine. Once I reached my destination, I opened up the gate, and walked up the long narrow path. I used to stop by almost everyday, but it became less and less as time went on. I finally have the courage to tell him that I love him. Even though I may never see him again. I stop once I find the stone carved with his full name imprinted in a fancy lettering. I kneel down, and place a few flowers I’ve found in Mom’s garden this morning. There were so many things I wanted to tell him, but I can’t now. It’s to late. He’s gone.
Just any normal day of high school right? Wrong! It just so happens that I’m in the 3rd floor bathroom, having my second anxiety attack today, and it’s only fourth period. I need to get over it, but it’s hard knowing that the person you cared for the most killed them selves the day before their birthday. Who would think this was all my fault too. My best friend Alice was the most well rounded person I’ve ever met. Straight A’s since 8th grade. She was very athletic, had the voice of an angel, and cared for anyone. Even if a person has treated her like shit, she would still go out of her way to make them feel better if they weren’t at least happy. Alice was also very pretty, but wasn’t interested in dating anyone no matter how many people asked her out. I never deserved her. I still don’t to this day, even if she is dead. I’ll never be able to live up to her, and her death was all my fault. I was balling when I found her suicide letter on her bed. She never made her bed, and her room was always messy. So when I walked into her room finding it spotless, and I could walk on the floor with out stepping on anything. I knew something was up. I grabbed the letter off of her bed, and read it at least twelve times before it finally sank in… I was too late. I should have seen the signs. I was her best friend, and I let her down. I should have been able to stop all of this from happening. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. She had a whole life a head of her, and I took it all away from her because I couldn’t help her! It should have been me. I should have been the one to go. She was all I had left, and I blew my last chance of having someone around who actually cared about me. So many people cared about Alice, or at least said they did. No body notices me. No body loves me. At least not anymore. The only people besides Alice to ever care about me were my parents. They died in a car crash when I was only twelve though. My father died on impact, and my mother suffered in the hospital for a year. For a year she was just lying there on oxygen, and I was praying for the day see would wake up, and give me one of her famous bear hugs. But she never did, and she never got the chance to say goodbye either. And the day I heard her heart monitor run a flat line, I knew it was all over. I’ve lived with my grandparents since, and they’ve treated me like shit since the day my mother died. It’s been five years, and nothing has changed. Not a single thing. Alice was the last good thing that I had left, and I couldn’t save her. I ruined my chance. Just like everything else. Fourth period turned to fifth, and then it was soon the end of the day. This was my routine for the last week. Since the day she left me all alone. I’d ask to leave my fourth period science class to use the bathroom, and cry all of my emotions I had bottled up over the past day, and let them all out until it was time to go home, but home is not what it used to be though. When I was younger, home used to be a safe and secure place. Now all I want to do is stay as far away from my “home” as possible. For the past couple of days I thought of joining my parents and Alice, and what would happen if I were to see them again if I were to kill myself as well. I wouldn’t do that. I was always a believer in how everything happens for a reason. I believe there was a reason why I only came out of that car crash with a few broke bones and cracked ribs. Plus I don’t think mom and dad would be very proud of me if I didn’t try for them. So here I am trying my best to fight through all the grief and suffering of my best friend’s death, and hoping that this will all be worth something in the end.
