Chapter2
530 Words
Not sure why, but lately the loneliness has been getting to me. No one to talk to. No one to confide in or giggle with. No one to give a damn if I was alive or dead. Often the sound of my own voice would sound foreign to my own ears. I have decided to try this time. I had decided to put forth an effort I never had before. I just wanted a friend. Just one and I would be happy. Because of the friendliness I have already experienced in this town, just maybe it would be a possibility. Just maybe my life would be OK here. Not even the rain was going to put a damper on my mission. I was determined. A fire was slowly coming to life in my soul. At least that is the way I like to look at it. It seems more dramatic that way.
I said I would spare no details. I was a lonely 16-year-old girl desperate to be loved. Desperate to just be kind of cared about. Desperate to matter to someone.
Anyone really.
I left a trail of water as I made my way to the office that morning. I didn’t avoid the eyes that gazed at me curiously. I tried my best to give off an open and friendly vibe. I wanted it to seem like the rain didn’t bother me at all. It did. I was freezing. It felt like even my bones were shaking from the cold. The middle-aged woman in the office rushed to me and wrapped her shawl around my shoulders the moment she saw me. Obviously, I didn’t come across cool and unbothered.
“Oh, you poor sweet girl. You must be freezing. They keep it like a freezer in this place anyway. It does help though. The girls don’t walk around half naked if it is freezing, you know.”
I don’t know if she ever took a breath. It all came out so fast it was like one giant sentence. The smile she gave me touched my heart. You could tell she was a genuinely good person. Not the kind that just puts on a good show when needed. I smiled back at her and thanked her for the shawl.
“Miss Jacobs. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. It’s not everyday we get new people around here. When we do, it is the talk of the town, so pay no mind. I’m Mrs. Jassy. I know it is the craziest name. My poor husband must have been harassed endlessly when he was in school. I am the vice principal and secretary and, well, a lot of other titles too. Small town living you know. Come into my office and I’ll get you settled in.”
Once again, no breath was taken but her singing voice and kind demeanor made me feel like I was going to be completely happy here. I followed her small frame into her office and stood beside the chair that was placed in front of her desk. She hurried around and sat down looking at me to do the same.
“Sit down honey.”
- Writer
