Insanity Speaks For the Broken Soul
10 Years Later
*Present day 2016*
“Ughhh” I shivered. Those days were the worse days yet they were the best. I got up on my feet and headed to the bathroom to do my make-up. I put on some eye liner, filled in my brows, put on some blush and lipstick, you know, the typical make-up routine for any girl. I decided today really was a day that I should show how strong I am instead of hiding like an armadillo. I picked out my best floral dress and put a nice denim jacket over it. I put on my flip flops and headed downstairs for breakfast. “Morning mom, morning dad!” I gave them each a kiss and sat down in front of my pancakes and eggs. Ivy turned to me,” Well, someone’s looking awfully good today. What’s the occasion? Is it Brad’s birthday?”
“No it’s not silly. I just felt like I shouldn’t feel down and discouraged because of what happened on this day 10 years ago. So, I decided to dress up a little, you know, just to make myself feel good. Mom, these pancakes are delicious!”
Everyone agreed with me.
“Thank you, sweetie. Now you and Ivy better get going or you’re going to be late for school! Matt, you’ll drive them to school will you?
Ivy and I finished our plates and gave mom a kiss before heading out the door. It seems as though so much has happened within ten years. I have a wonderful home with a loving family, the Cruz’s. Matt is my dad’s legal name. He’s 48 and he’s a police officer. In fact, he was actually my life saver. Who would have known? My mom’s name is Emma. She’s 45 and she’s a nurse. She’s helping people all the time. It’s amazing how kind someone can be. I can see where Ivy gets her personality from. She’s exactly like both of her parents combined. It’s kind of crazy how identical they are. I’m just glad that Ivy exists or I don’t know what I’d do with my life.
Senior year is crazy so far. I’ve been applying for colleges and helping Ivy as well. Not only that, prom is coming up in a few days, which means I have to go shopping for the perfect dress. Great. But everything seems okay when you have a super loving, kind boyfriend aside you. Yup, I’ve been with my boyfriend Brad since sophomore year. We met in the library when I was working on my project. I accidentally bumped into him and since we both had the same project, we decided to work together even though we had no classes together. That one night I spent with him, I really felt at home, something I hadn’t felt in a very long time. One night of studying went to two nights and two nights went to twenty. We saw each other almost every day of the week. And then he asked me to be his girlfriend. April 11, 2013. It was an amazing day. Flowers, teddy bears, balloons, the whole shebang. After that day, we’ve never gone a minute without seeing each other. I’m actually still surprised I managed to pass all my AP classes. Brad was always visiting me and surprising me with the sweetest gifts. He was a brunette with blue eyes, 6’2 and he’s on our school’s varsity football team. I feel like after a long, rough life of being hurt and miserable, for once my life is falling into place. Which doesn’t seem so good. Something bad has bound to happen. But, let’s not jinx it.
Something that people find unusual about me is that I actually like school. I enjoy the challenge and I like being around the academic environment. It’s weird but at least it’s getting me somewhere in life. I always look forward to school. Ivy on the other hand, isn’t such a big fan of it. She’s decent in school but complains that I put way too much pressure on myself. That’s what everyone thinks. But it’s not true. It just seems like it because I have so much stuff going on this year. Prom, graduation, college prep, you know the typical senior stuff. It made me feel nauseous sitting there and thinking about it.
Ivy and I hopped out of the car and gave our dad a kiss.
“Bye girls, Mom will pick you guys up later to take you dress shopping for prom.”
“Eek! I’m SO excited. We’re finally going to prom!”
It felt like a dream. Prom was right around the corner. I’m not the typical girl people think I am. I’ve been through a lot and now I get to go to prom. Hopefully, my senior year will make up for the two years of torture I had to live through.
I walked up to my locker when I saw a sticky note on it. It was from Brad. “Meet me in the auditorium ASAP. Love, Brad”
That was odd. What was the rush? I grabbed my books and headed towards the auditorium. I found Brad with a bouquet of calla lilies and a teddy bear on the stage. I walked up to the stage and was greeted with a kiss.
“Good morning Brad.
He let go of me. “Morning. You look beautiful today.”
It felt good to hear those words. For once I was beautiful. “Awh, thank you. What’s the rush..and all of this?”
Brad hugged me “Well…I thought I’d give you a little something since today isn’t really your good day.”
It was really sweet of him. I grabbed the flowers and admired them. I wasn’t your typical girl who liked red roses and chocolates for Valentine’s Day. Instead, I loved Calla Lilies. They were my favorite flowers. The white petal with the accent of gold in the middle, it was perfect. It was also one of my mom’s favorite flowers. Oh, how I miss her.
The bell rang. Brad escorted me to class and kissed me goodbye.
As I was sitting in my Psychology class, I felt really uneasy, as if someone was hunting me down right now. I turned to look at the window. It was a busy street with lots of people. Just like any other day in Seattle nowadays. Then something caught my eye. A man. He looked familiar. Within a second of blinking, he disappeared. “Tracy, stop it. You’re hallucinating. Now pay attention before you end up getting a B in the class.” I refocused and continued class as normal. Something about that hallucination seemed so real. Hm, whatever. I’m probably just imagining things. After all, it is the worst day of the year. DING! I packed my bags and headed toward my next class. Before I left the door, my teacher, Mr. Nelson stopped me at the door. “Tracy, have you been checking your emails lately?”
“No sir, is something wrong?”
“Apparently, colleges have been wanting to get a hold of you so they can talk about scholarship offerings. You should check your email soon.”
Mr. Nelson has been one of my favorite teachers. I’ve had him for three years of high school and he’s been supporting me ever since. I’ve decided to be a Sociologist since Mrs. Hansberry has inspired me to help others and because I want to help people who have gone through the same things I’ve gone through.
When Mr. Nelson told me this, I was shocked. It seemed too soon to be hearing from them already. I thanked Mr. Nelson and headed out the door, hoping I’d see Ivy or Brad on the way out.
“Ughhh” I shivered. Those days were the worse days yet they were the best. I got up on my feet and headed to the bathroom to do my make-up. I put on some eye liner, filled in my brows, put on some blush and lipstick, you know, the typical make-up routine for any girl. I decided today really was a day that I should show how strong I am instead of hiding like an armadillo. I picked out my best floral dress and put a nice denim jacket over it. I put on my flip flops and headed downstairs for breakfast. “Morning mom, morning dad!” I gave them each a kiss and sat down in front of my pancakes and eggs. Ivy turned to me,” Well, someone’s looking awfully good today. What’s the occasion? Is it Brad’s birthday?”
“No it’s not silly. I just felt like I shouldn’t feel down and discouraged because of what happened on this day 10 years ago. So, I decided to dress up a little, you know, just to make myself feel good. Mom, these pancakes are delicious!”
Everyone agreed with me.
“Thank you, sweetie. Now you and Ivy better get going or you’re going to be late for school! Matt, you’ll drive them to school will you?
Ivy and I finished our plates and gave mom a kiss before heading out the door. It seems as though so much has happened within ten years. I have a wonderful home with a loving family, the Cruz’s. Matt is my dad’s legal name. He’s 48 and he’s a police officer. In fact, he was actually my life saver. Who would have known? My mom’s name is Emma. She’s 45 and she’s a nurse. She’s helping people all the time. It’s amazing how kind someone can be. I can see where Ivy gets her personality from. She’s exactly like both of her parents combined. It’s kind of crazy how identical they are. I’m just glad that Ivy exists or I don’t know what I’d do with my life.
Senior year is crazy so far. I’ve been applying for colleges and helping Ivy as well. Not only that, prom is coming up in a few days, which means I have to go shopping for the perfect dress. Great. But everything seems okay when you have a super loving, kind boyfriend aside you. Yup, I’ve been with my boyfriend Brad since sophomore year. We met in the library when I was working on my project. I accidentally bumped into him and since we both had the same project, we decided to work together even though we had no classes together. That one night I spent with him, I really felt at home, something I hadn’t felt in a very long time. One night of studying went to two nights and two nights went to twenty. We saw each other almost every day of the week. And then he asked me to be his girlfriend. April 11, 2013. It was an amazing day. Flowers, teddy bears, balloons, the whole shebang. After that day, we’ve never gone a minute without seeing each other. I’m actually still surprised I managed to pass all my AP classes. Brad was always visiting me and surprising me with the sweetest gifts. He was a brunette with blue eyes, 6’2 and he’s on our school’s varsity football team. I feel like after a long, rough life of being hurt and miserable, for once my life is falling into place. Which doesn’t seem so good. Something bad has bound to happen. But, let’s not jinx it.
Something that people find unusual about me is that I actually like school. I enjoy the challenge and I like being around the academic environment. It’s weird but at least it’s getting me somewhere in life. I always look forward to school. Ivy on the other hand, isn’t such a big fan of it. She’s decent in school but complains that I put way too much pressure on myself. That’s what everyone thinks. But it’s not true. It just seems like it because I have so much stuff going on this year. Prom, graduation, college prep, you know the typical senior stuff. It made me feel nauseous sitting there and thinking about it.
Ivy and I hopped out of the car and gave our dad a kiss.
“Bye girls, Mom will pick you guys up later to take you dress shopping for prom.”
“Eek! I’m SO excited. We’re finally going to prom!”
It felt like a dream. Prom was right around the corner. I’m not the typical girl people think I am. I’ve been through a lot and now I get to go to prom. Hopefully, my senior year will make up for the two years of torture I had to live through.
I walked up to my locker when I saw a sticky note on it. It was from Brad. “Meet me in the auditorium ASAP. Love, Brad”
That was odd. What was the rush? I grabbed my books and headed towards the auditorium. I found Brad with a bouquet of calla lilies and a teddy bear on the stage. I walked up to the stage and was greeted with a kiss.
“Good morning Brad.
He let go of me. “Morning. You look beautiful today.”
It felt good to hear those words. For once I was beautiful. “Awh, thank you. What’s the rush..and all of this?”
Brad hugged me “Well…I thought I’d give you a little something since today isn’t really your good day.”
It was really sweet of him. I grabbed the flowers and admired them. I wasn’t your typical girl who liked red roses and chocolates for Valentine’s Day. Instead, I loved Calla Lilies. They were my favorite flowers. The white petal with the accent of gold in the middle, it was perfect. It was also one of my mom’s favorite flowers. Oh, how I miss her.
The bell rang. Brad escorted me to class and kissed me goodbye.
As I was sitting in my Psychology class, I felt really uneasy, as if someone was hunting me down right now. I turned to look at the window. It was a busy street with lots of people. Just like any other day in Seattle nowadays. Then something caught my eye. A man. He looked familiar. Within a second of blinking, he disappeared. “Tracy, stop it. You’re hallucinating. Now pay attention before you end up getting a B in the class.” I refocused and continued class as normal. Something about that hallucination seemed so real. Hm, whatever. I’m probably just imagining things. After all, it is the worst day of the year. DING! I packed my bags and headed toward my next class. Before I left the door, my teacher, Mr. Nelson stopped me at the door. “Tracy, have you been checking your emails lately?”
“No sir, is something wrong?”
“Apparently, colleges have been wanting to get a hold of you so they can talk about scholarship offerings. You should check your email soon.”
Mr. Nelson has been one of my favorite teachers. I’ve had him for three years of high school and he’s been supporting me ever since. I’ve decided to be a Sociologist since Mrs. Hansberry has inspired me to help others and because I want to help people who have gone through the same things I’ve gone through.
When Mr. Nelson told me this, I was shocked. It seemed too soon to be hearing from them already. I thanked Mr. Nelson and headed out the door, hoping I’d see Ivy or Brad on the way out.