LuLu

September 21st, 2009. School begins again. Hooray. I reluctantly get out of my warm bed and wishful hope that there’s been a mistake and that summer isn’t over. Maybe Summer and Tony would be okay if it weren’t… I think to myself. Since September 9th, the day the greatest love story of our time ended, Summer hasn’t left her room and Tony mopes around and Sylvia doesn’t know who’s side to be on; her brother’s or her best friend’s? I visit Summer whenever her mom calls to tell me she’s awake or not sobbing. At first, I thought I’d be on Tony’s side, Summer did cheat and she shouldn’t lock herself away and feel sorry for herself! But I realized that her tears and depression were all out of pure hate for herself; she did not pity herself, she completely hated everything about herself, and her tears were from the pain of losing someone she loved though she understood why she lost Tony. The girl was a mess. I’d been cheated on once before, and the guy had never, I mean NEVER, hated himself and tortured himself over it the way Summer was. I tried to point this out to Tony &Sylvia, but whenever Tony heard the word ‘Summer’, he flinched as though the word was a slap in the face. Sylvia would just stay quiet; not wanting to hurt Tony, but not wanting to deny that Summer’s pain wasn’t legit. I pulled on my new back-to-school outfit, and brushed my hair in the mirror. I grab my backpack, pose for a few pictures for my mom, and begin walking down to school. When I reached The Tree, the one that contains magic powers, I waited in vain. Summer would be going back to school, but I figured she’d be late, but Tony should be walking up any minute. I waited for another 5 minutes before setting off again, alone. I glanced back at the tree, a silent reminder of how happy we had once been. I wish Summer had never ended. I thought miserably as Rockwood Middle School came into view.






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School, 8th grade, last year in middle school. The hallways smelt new, as it always does on the first day and than the smell of old chalk and greasy cafeteria food always finds It’s way back. Everyone is in new clothes, and chatting excitedly with friends they hadn’t seen all summer. I stand leaning against a random locker, waiting for the bell to ring so we can put our stuff away and just get on with this dreaded day. Rob is nowhere to be seen; ever since I’ve been trying to help Summer out of her depression, I barely see Rob. I mean, it’s not like I can bring him to her house, it would only remind her of Tony and how she was the “worst person in the entire world”. I look around and see a beautiful, tiny blonde girl I’d never seen before. She was wearing a white mini skirt that twirled as she walked, her long, sparkly pink top made the skirt look even shorter. Gold necklaces & matching earrings twinkled under the fluorescent lights. Her blonde hair is curled with perfection and just reaches her shoulders. Her eyes are a bright blue. She must be the new girl Dana was telling me about. I thought to myself, I stood there, trying to remember her name, when the hallway got much quieter. I turned to see the source of the sudden silence, and walking down the hallway was another tall girl I didn’t recognize. She was painfully thin and sickly pale with red, puffy eyes like she had been crying. She wore a black sweater and black pants and the only bright thing on her that I could see was her wavy light brown hair. A single, tiny silver necklace hung over her sweater and I realized with shock that it was Summer. Everyone else seemed to realize it too. I could see the question written plainly on their faces; what happened to Summer?! The last time most of these kids had seen her, she was a bright, happy little girly-girl and it must have been a shock to see her so radically different. I rushed forward and pulled her out of the center of the crowd and back to where I’d been standing. Whispers filled the silence and Summer looked like she was ready to cry.
“It’s okay Summer, they’re just stupid 8th grade kids.” I said trying to comfort her as best I could. I hugged her tightly, she felt like a small, weak child in my arms and my heart melted for her.
“I don’t deserve your hugs or your friendship.” She said emotionlessly. “I’m nobody.” She didn’t look like she was going to cry anymore, and her eyes weren’t as red. She looked like a rock; cold, hard, emotionless. I was glad that she wasn’t going to cry in school or in front of Tony, but I hated seeing her like this; hateful of herself and emotionless. The bell rang, and we walked together to our lockers.
Change was in the air, this was going to be a year to remember, but for all the wrong reasons.
I looked over at Summer’s pale face and internally flinched.
Oh yes, things were DEFINAITLY going to be different.