Among the Living

Chapter Seven

I stare at myself in the mirror thinking, this is my last day at this school, this is my last day of being shoved into lockers, and this is my last day of being made fun of. But what I didn't know was, things were going to be the same at my new school. Five minutes passed and I'm still staring at myself. My reflection staring back at me. I have my mother's blue-green eyes, smile and nose. The only thing I inherited from my father was his chestnut brown hair. I think to myself what can I do different for my last day of school in Carver high school before transferring to Borne high school. Not only am I transferring schools, I am also moving to Borne, Massachusetts from Carver, Massachusetts. At first when my father told me that we were moving I got kind of excited knowing that soon I would be in a new school. I might even be able to change my image. Instead of a hippie freak I could be emo or something. But I don't think that I could abandon my flowered print dresses, grass sandals, head bands, bell bottoms, my smocks, or my long straight hair with a part down the middle. So I decided to not change my look. If people don't like the way I look, then they don't have to look at me.

"Mattie" I hear my father call. "Last day of school you don't want to be late."

My father didn't know what I went through every day. He grew up in a commune. Everybody got along in his community. I didn't want my father to know that I was the school punching bag. So whenever he asked how my day was, I would say it was fine and tell him a story about something that happened to one of my friends that doesn't exist anymore. You see, I'm psychic I can see and hear ghosts. So technically the stories that I would tell my father were true. But they just happened a long time ago or just recently depending who I am talking about. I guess moving was a good thing. Then I could make friends that were actually alive.

I throw on my red flower print dress and my good luck rainbow peace sign necklace-that my mother gave me before she died-and my grass sandals. I look in the mirror one last time, and then rush down the stairs. My father handed me my lunch packed in my tin lunch box. I grab my rainbow book bag and run out the door just as my bus pulls up on my street.

The door whooshes open and I climb up the steps. I scan the bus looking for an open seat. Just as I sit down, I hear someone say, “Hey look there's fatty Mattie!" Then the entire bus laughs.

I bounce back up and look towards the direction that the voice came from and shout back, "I'll have you know that I am absolutely not fat. Do you think a vegetarian would be fat?"

Afterward, nobody said anything to me the rest of the way to school. Finally the bus arrived five minutes before the bell rang. I got off the bus and stepped into the crowd that was pouring into the building. Someone shoved me to the floor. I sat there for a few minutes. Next thing I know, I'm being stuffed into my own locker. On the bright side, I had more time to finish my math homework.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I hear is not yelling but footsteps and the squeaking of wheels. I bang on the inside of the door, hoping it was the janitor. And just my luck it was. The footsteps get closer so I pounded on the door harder.

"Hello? Hello? Excuse me, janitor."

"What do you want?" the janitor asks in his gruff voice

"I would like to get out of here please."

"Well just let me go and get my bolt cutter." he said in a bored voice

"Okay I won't go anywhere. Not like I can anyway." I mutter

The janitor walks off. Then he is back as quickly as he left. He finally cuts the lock off. "I think you might want to get a new lock."

"I'm not that stupid. Don't worry after today you won't be needing to get me out of my own locker."

"I don't think that's the way to talk to your elders. You know what I think? I think you bought yourself a lunch detention. What do you think about that?"

"Well then, I hope I got a good deal on it. That's what I think."

"Don't be fresh. Otherwise you just might spend the whole year in lunch detention."

I walk off just before I could say anything else that would land me another detention. I decided to be a rebel for the first time in my life and skip lunch detention. As soon as I walked into the lunch room, I knew that I should have just gone to lunch detention. I sat at the table all by myself. I set down my silver tin lunch box and undo the latches. I take out my whole wheat sandwich that has chicken and mayonnaise and jalapenos; I take a bite. I feel an unwanted taste in my mouth. There was something else in my sandwich other than what was already in there in the first place. It was cold and slimy and it smelled like something died. I open the top bread and find that someone had put raw hamburger meat in my sandwich. How they did it? I have no idea.

All eyes were on me. Watching me take that bite.Them laughing.Me wishing to disappear. I do the first thing I can think of; I gather up my belongings and run out of the cafeteria, hoping that no one saw me staring to cry.

***

After lunch, the day seemed to go a tad bit faster than usual. It was probably because I slept through my second-to-last period. But I was wide awake and refreshed for my last and favorite class of the day; English. English was the only class where I felt welcome. Nobody bullied me in that class. But there were some whispers that I was the teacher’s pet. But there’s nothing wrong with being the teacher’s pet right? The only thing that I would miss when I moved is the English teacher and the English class.

At last the bell rang for school to be over. I collected my things and rushed out the door to be the first one on the bus. I walked towards the back of the bus and sit down. Little by little the bus started to fill up. Then the bus lurched forward. I look out my window taking in everything. We pass by the elementary school swing sets; and I think of the first time when I saw a ghost. She was just nine years old when she died. She would never tell me how she died. Once I entered middle school I never saw her again.

The bus screeched to a stop and finally it was my stop. I walk up to the front of the bus and pause. “Thanks for everything bus driver.”

“Any time Mattie. I will see you tomorrow.”

“I’m actually moving today so I guess we won’t be seeing each other.”

“Oh, where are you moving to?”

“Borne.”

“Well, that’s not far from here. I hope you come and visit. Anyway have fun at your new school and I hope everything goes well for you.”