Beneath the ground
It was my first day of Junior High. Everyone was excited like I was, looking forward to placing ourselves at the top of our classes and most importantly, the top of our social circles. Well, everyone except Kelly.
Kelly was what you'd call an outlier. She never came early, never studied and never cared about her second hand clothes from the thriftstore being presentable to fit among the most popular girls in school.
She wasn't the easiest person to deal with or stay friends with but she was, in her own way, kind and sweet. She was also very smart but I understood why she didn't care.
Kelly was always at the top of our classes, I guess you could say that's why she never cared about it and thanks to how notorious she could be, she was one of the most popular girls in school but not for the right reasons.
All my years of being friends with Kelly and nothing compared to the embarrassing feeling I got on the first day of Junior High when she came to school looking like she hadn't showered in days.
I have no idea what happened the night before or even that morning but the moment she walked into the school lobby, everyone went silent. I wished at that moment the floor beneath my feet could eat me up to hide me from the shame of having to walk to class with her.
And as for Kelly, she was unashamed. She walked up to me with a straight face, daring anyone to speak to her and when she got in front of me, I knew something was up with her so I smiled and hugged her like I always do and took her to the girl's bathroom where we usually had our gossips.
"I didn't plan this", she said and for the first time in the 9 years since I'd known Kelly, I saw her cry.
"Talk to me, K. What's going on?" I held her close and rubbed her back.
"It's my mom. She's getting married again or rather moving in with another trailer park trash. I promised her I would run away if she did and we had a little fight. She gave me a hundred dollar bill and told me goodluck. I don't know what to do" she said in one breath. I could see how vulnerable she was.
The only reason Kelly became so notorious was to save herself from possible dangers. She would never be anyone's push over and that kept her safe.
"You can stay with me. And that's not even up for a debate. My parents love you, you'll be happy".
Kelly moved in with me that day and her mom came around a week later to talk and beg her to come home. She promised to be different but Kelly decided it would be safe for her to stay with me until it was time to head to college. Her mom didn't object to that.
I'm glad she made that decision she finally became the loving kid she was meant to be and well, we became the popular girls in school when she became the valedictorian and prom queen in senior year.
It's good Kelly's mother changed her mind not to marry.
It happens in our real world where some widows or divorced women who have grown-up kids that are taking care of them but insist to marry another man
Kelly went through an unpleasant period. Despite the circumstances, she is a girl with a strong personality who knows what is best for her. Fortunately she has found in her friend and family unrestricted support.
Thank you for writing this story in The Ink Well, @young-boss-karin. Your interactions with the other writers help the community.
Sometimes all we need is love. You never know what's going on in people's lives to make them behave the way they do. That's why compassion is the number one practice for a more united world xx Lovely story.
A true story where the protagonist did not care about her physical appearance. Nobody understood her. But she was a teenager who knew what she wanted under that unpleasant facade. Her mother eventually came to her senses but Kelly preferred to be in a house where everything was different. Eventually, when she was calm, the real Kelly emerged.
Good message @young-boss-karin