Confessions of a Problem Child

The ride back from Pete’s was great; the sun was shining through the car windows onto Lacey’s lap, and each person’s stomach was filled contentedly with lunch. They quietly listened to music as they passed through town, and Lacey closed her eyes; flying on the plane had really made her tired.

As she got out of the car when they got home, Tommy helped her get out her bags and carried the two heaviest into the house.
“Jeeze Lacey, did you pack a bundle of bricks or something? I didn’t think you were one to pack your whole bedroom.” He said, grunting as he put down the bags in the front hallway after crossing the threshold.

“Well thank you kind sir. Would you like a tip?” Lacey asked with an accent, smirking at her brother.

“Why yes! That would be most delightful!” Tommy replied, winking at her.

“Alright, all I have are these leftovers from Pete’s… here you go!” Lacey snickered as she began to drag her bags up the stairs.

“It’s alright, I’ve got it.” Tommy brushed Lacey’s hand off of the bag to carry it up himself. “So, how have your friends been?” he asked as they ascended the stairs.

“Not bad, not bad. The usual I guess.” She stated, following him up the stairs.

“So- there’s nothing new with you, nothing new with mom and dad, nothing new with your friends… so far it sounds like you’re pretty boring Lace. I think I might have to change that while you are here.” Said Tommy, as he reached the top step.

“I’m not boring!” Lacey retorted, giving her brother the evil eye. “I just… happen to spend more time alone than with my friends.” They arrived at her door and he brought her bags in and set them at the foot of her bed.

“You know, just so you won’t be completely lonely while you’re here, I think there’s a few people that you could meet next weekend. Aunt Colleen is having a cookout on Sunday and she’s inviting a few neighbors and friends. Maybe you’ll even meet someone you like, eh?” Tommy nudged Lacey in the ribs with his elbow.

“Oh I don’t know. Maybe I should just leave it be. It’s not like I‘m going to be here for long.” Lacey pointed out.

“Just for two months. But don’t you think it would be nice to not be bored? Or at least have someone to talk to? I know I’m going to be kinda busy with my job.” He looked concerned for a moment, and then his face went back to normal. “Well anyways, I’ll leave you be so you can unpack and whatnot. Let me know if you need anything.” And with that he exited the room.

Lacey sat down on her bed and looked at her packed suitcases for a few seconds. She didn’t really want to unpack now; maybe she would do that later… or tomorrow. She sat back against her pillows and pulled her iPod out of her pocket.

Putting in her headphones, she began tapping her fingers on her knee to the beat of the music. This song brought back a bad memory of home so she switched it. The next song had the same problem. In frustration, Lacey tossed her iPod across the bed and got up. It was time for a walk.

**

The neighborhood was mostly like she remembered it. The same people lived in the same houses, the same trees and bushes still lined the sidewalk and fences. She could feel the sun making her sweat a little, so she rolled up her sleeve.

‘Damn it.’ She thought when she realized that the scab from her recent cut was still visible. She rolled her sleeve back down and continued down the street.

It would be her goal while she was here to not cut anymore. It seemed an easy enough task, right?
If there were no problems, why would there be any reason to? Maybe finding someone to confide in while she was here would work.

But that would mean opening up. And that meant trying to have an actual friendship, which involved a lot of effort on her part. Being sociable just wasn’t her thing.

Of course it wouldn’t be this difficult if her parents hadn’t burdened everything on her. How could they really expect her to be perfect? Perfection was almost impossible, and they seemed to not know what it even was.

“It can’t be that hard to get an ‘A’ can it?” they would ask. Why yes, yes it is.

Just like the fact that it couldn’t be that hard to spend every waking moment working on school work, just to make your parents happy. It couldn’t be worth it to ditch your friends so that your parents don’t threaten you.

It shouldn’t be this hard to stop cutting.

She strode down the walkway with all of this going through her head. She was caught up in her thoughts when she realized that she had no idea where she was. Again.

She halted and looked around for a moment. None of the houses looked familiar, not even remotely. They could have driven past any of them coming back from Pete’s, but she didn’t really remember.

She saw a car turn the corner at the end of the street. It seemed to see her too, and it slowed down.

Was this a good thing though? She didn’t know this part of the neighborhood. Should she run?

The car came to a stop before her, and the passenger’s window rolled down.

“Hey there, you look like you’re lost.” said a kind looking boy with light brown hair and green eyes.

He looked nice enough to ask for directions, so she replied; “yeah, I uh” she cleared her throat, “just started walking and then suddenly I didn’t know where I was… if that makes any sense.”

The boy smiled at her. “I know what you mean. So where were you coming from?”

“Over on…” she stalled. “Just kidding, I don’t really know.” Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Both the driver and the passenger chuckled in the car. “I’m staying with my aunt, so I could probably just point out the house if I saw it.” Lacey explained.

“Alright, do you need a ride?” The green eyed boy in the car squinted as her asked her. They didn’t look like bad people, so she’d take the chance.

“Sure, why not.” Lacey hopped off the curb and opened the door to the car. Despite the fact that the window had been open for a minute the interior was nicely air conditioned.

“Do you know about how far or for how long you walked?” the driver asked, looking in the rearview mirror at her.

“Twenty minutes maybe?” she looked out the window until she recognized a few of the houses.
“It’s right up here on the right. That one with the sunflowers on the side of the house.” She pointed.

The car slowly turned into the driveway, and pulled up behind her aunt’s car. Lacey got out, and thanked the two of them for the ride. She was about to walk to the front door when she heard the passenger’s window roll down again. She turned around and the green eyed boy leaned out and said; “My name’s Travis by the way.” He smiled at her.

“Lacey.” She said in return. She stuck her hand up to say goodbye as the car backed out of the driveway.

As she shut the door behind her and kicked off her shoes she heard her brother and aunt whispering from the kitchen. Oh she thought, they must have seen the car from the window.

She walked in and greeted them both as she got herself a glass of water.

“So you were out for a while…” her brother started. “Did you go anywhere special that you needed a ride?” he smirked at her. “Or did you get lost again?”

Lacey glowered at Tommy, “I… I didn’t get lost. I simply had gotten caught up in my thoughts and didn’t remember which way was back.” She hated it when he picked on her.

“Sure you did. That was the story last time too.” He said, crossing his arms.

“It was not! And anyways, it’s none of your business on whether or not I can find my way home. You don’t need to keep track of me and who I interact with.” She said as she stormed out of the room.

She was walking up the stairs when she heard her brother holler from the kitchen; “I wasn’t trying to be nosy Lace, I was just joking around!” she tried not to slam her door, and she plunked herself on to her bed in exhaustion.

Whatever he was being, it wasn’t necessary. It was time to relax again, and this time maybe she would take well needed nap.