2 ~ Whynn ~
FOOSH!!! I fall backwards and a pain in my stomach grows. I look up at my friends and ask what happened. “It was Joey again.” My friend Melanie explains. I glance over at him and all his buddies laughing at me. I bay my anger and look around. Then in a daze, I get up and run at them. BAM!!!! I take another blow and he kicks my shin. It doesn’t hurt that much but I have a plan.
I buckle my knees and sway back and forth. Then I let go and fall.
All my friends gather around me and Melanie asks, “Okay Whynn, Your call. What do you want us to do?”
She says while pushing a strand of dark-chocolate colored hair out of her face. I nod and get up slowly and quietly, just in time as they turn around. I charge at them, knocking every single person down. Then I wrap the collar of his shirt around into my fist. I pull his face up close to mine, one of the other boy snickers, and I shoot him a ‘your next’ kind of look. That quiets him down.
Then I turn to Joey, I look him straight in the eyes and say,
“Look, I’m tired of this, you ‘beat me up’ then I pound you. It’s boring, so quit it.” I hiss.
He gets my point.
Once inside, The PA system turns on, “Would Whynn Dirksen please come to the principal’s office?” the lady says.
In the background you can hear,
“Thank you Joey, wait for her to come. Yes… Yes… Over there hon. Yes… Thank you.” Then her voice trails off.
I stand up in front of the whole class and I feel my face get hot and red. The teacher nods to let me leave class and I walk out of the room, glaring at the kids who think that their so tough as to laugh at me. I start down to the principal’s office.
Once I get down the Mr. Mullins, the principal, is waiting for me.
“Hello, Whynn. Have you ever met Joey Smith? He says you ‘pounded’ him at recess. Is this true?”
I hate detention. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Stupid Joey. Stupid principal. Stupid detention room. It’s all so stupid, even our lives are stupid. I’m missing Melanie’s sleepover. We were going to play truth or dare. Boom, the door flies open and Bree comes in.
“Go outside and wait for me.” She growls.
Well somebody’s in a bad mood other than me. This make me feel better because I know that I’m not the only one that is miserable, and I don’t have to do anything to make them miserable to make myself feel better.
Bree shoves me towards the door and I stumble out. After a few minutes, she strides out and over to the bike rack where I’m waiting.
“Bree...” I say, but she’s quick and sticks her hand in the air to stop me.
Then she ride off. I watch her for a while, her long blonde hair streaming behind her. She looks like me. Freckled face, high cheek bones, long blonde hair, naturally bright lips and big, blue eyes. I hated being pretty. It wrecked it all… my reputation, my tough impression on everyone.
When we got home, Bree said I could go to Melanie’s house for a sleepover, so I could make the time detention took away. When I get there, Mel is waiting out on the porch, tapping her foot like a big baby. She can be such a brat some times.
“So? What is your biggest secret?” Melanie asks me.
“Well……”
I take my time thinking how I can state this. “Well? I’m getting impatient here! C’mon Whynn! Hurry up!”
Oh my gosh, she’s tapping her foot again.
“Well… You know my sister Bree? Me and her… well… we live alone. No adults, no guardian.” Her expression changes from impatient to shocked.
“You and BREE? SHE’S YOUR SISTER? Ewwwww… she’s sooo…ANNOYING.”
I guess she didn’t catch that. I repeated what I said and then she screams,
“WHAT? YOU LIVE IN THE WOODS? YOURE AN ORPHAN?!?!? MOM!! MOM!!”
The next thing I know, I’m waiting on the porch for Bree to return. I see her turn the corner,
“BREE! BREE! THEY KNOW, I TOLD THEM, THEY KNOW!!!!”
When I get home, I rush to the bath room and puke. Then I collapse on the arm chair and rest.
“What happened? Where are we going, Bree?” my head is heavy and fuzzy and I can’t see straight.
“Get some rest. Melanie’s mom isn’t calling the child aid center until Monday. Today is Saturday. I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Joey Smith to come with us. His father hits him and he needs a real home.”
Oh great, I forgot Bree and Mr. Jerkazoid were friends. Oh, this is going to end real swell.
I wake up on Sunday morning and feel a-okay. The cereal we have is all home-made granola and I really don’t feel like oat meal so I really don’t have a choice. After breakfast I plop onto the chair for a good book.
Knock, knock kno… Bree answers the door and Joey’s fist lightly taps her skull as he brings it down for another knock.
“Oops. Sorry ‘bout that.” He says.
“Oh, that’s ok. C’mon in. Um… Whynn’s sick. She puked yesterday, steer clear if I were you.”
Bree likes Joey, everybody knows it. Once, in fifth grade, he asked her out, but it turns out, they couldn’t because Joey’s great aunt was coming.
“Jerkazoid” I greet him,
“Snotball” he nods to me. Then he plops down onto Bree’s chair and sprawls out for a cat nap.
“Soups ready! Come and get it!” Bree shouts. Then we all sit down to eat.
