A fist pounded on my bedroom door several times sometime between o’dark thirty and oh-hell-no o’clock. Melissa—not waiting for me to answer her—threw the door open and then threw off my comforter. Great thing for the both of us that I slept in a t-shirt and shorts.

“We got an hour to get to the school before the bus departs.”

“Last call everyone. You no have to go home, but you cannot stay!”

The bartender, Jakob Adamovich, bellowed. He was the sole worker, except for his wife and mother who worked in the back of house to deliver the best cheeseburger with a pretzel crust to ever grace the planet. I was able to try it once, three weeks prior when they had an extra one after someone mouthed off to the six-foot-three Jake who threw him out with absolutely no effort. Jake allowed me to sit at a table at the back of the bar so I could study as it was difficult to do homework by the dashboard light.

There was a time in my childhood where I tried to embrace the dream of being a girl. They had the better clothes, they were, for the most part, more refined and they seemed to be ‘with it’—having the knowledge needed to live.

Someone

Blowing florets
I want to dance in the air
Blowing florets
And just not care about anyone or anything
But you and me
So don't let go of me
Don't let go of me

Talk Good

I wish I said this, I wish I said that
But I kinda froze in my tracks
I wish I said this, I wish I said that
But I kinda had a panic attack
I wish I could talk good

I wish I could get you
Out of my mind
But I think about it all the time
And I wish I could not think
For once in my life
But when I see your face
I can't escape my mind

“Really?”
“Yeah, fake bitch. Think some dress makes you a girl?”
“I don’t need to prove anything to you.”
“Let’s check, Zach, How’s that feel?”
“Let me go and you’ll feel something!”

edited 6/15/2024 11:15 PM CT
 

“You have five minutes to get ready before I leave, and you’ll be walking to school.”
I rolled my eyes at my mother’s empty threat. There was no way she was going to let me walk ten miles on the first day of school, at least not after all that had happened.

A doll made out of glass
All her friends think that she's great
But I can see through it all
And she's about to break.

We walked to the entry of the woods and Anna pivoted on her foot and turned to look at something behind us. She had a look sadness on her face, like she was looking at something in the distance, but not behind us. Anna gave a brief sigh and then walked into the tree line.