Status: On Suspended Hiatus
The Day All The Statues Came To Life
Chapter 2
When I was little, Bex and I used to capture lightening bugs. I always let the go again, but Bex liked to put them in a jar, with holes punched in the top. It always made me cry, seeing those beautiful lights trapped inside and I would always plead with Bex to let them go.
She never would though, her “stubborn streak” as my dad would say proudly, ruffling her hair. And I would sit on the balcony of our apartment and watch as the lights would slowly diminish one by one, until the jar was littered with carcasses instead of light.
Trapped. Trapped until they die. Are we the lightening bugs? Is that what God sees us as? Bugs in a jar, and slowly dying until the whole world turns dark?
I was sitting on a bench in some sketchy park downtown, the kind covered in bad graffiti and broken swings. I was rather comfortable, using my sweatshirt as a pillow, and reading, when my phone rang.
I picked it up and saw I had a text message from James. “Hey, come over tonight.”
Typical James. Demanding rather than asking. I sighed and made a feeble attempt to say no. “I have plans tonight.” Yeah, to clean the house and then go to bed early.
The response came quickly: “Change them.”
I growled in irritation because I felt the stupid Teagan take over, the kind that felt really happy that he wanted me to come over. I quickly lit up a cigarette and then furiously typed back: “Fine, I’ll be there at 9.”
He responded, “Make it 8.”
Fuck my life. “Alright.”
I fell in love with James all the way back in 9th grade. It wasn’t really my fault. We had a stupid art class together and neither of us knew one end of a paintbrush from another, and we ended up talking and hanging out.
I’ve never been one to make friends. I had skipped a grade in Middle School and I never went through the motions of making friends with all the people in my grade. It didn’t help that Bex was Miss Queen Bee of the Freshman Class and ignored me.
But James was the only one who made an effort. And he was charming and handsome and before I knew it, I was head over heels for him. And I still am.
The first time he broke my heart was a week after I told him how I felt, and we had kissed and made out, he got himself a girlfriend. A cheerleader. Someone I could never compete with.
I tried not to talk to him, but he would call me at night, usually drunk, and bitch and moan about all of the problems in their relationship. When they broke up, he asked me to come over to “talk” and instead, I ended up giving him everything. I was so happy at the time. Finally, I thought, finally he realizes he loves me back.
But he didn’t. He got some new girlfriend, and the process repeated itself over and over again. If I had any sort of spine, I would have stopped it. But I couldn’t. I loved him too much by then. So what if he was the world’s biggest jerk? So what if I was the rebound girl? So what if he used me when he was feeling lonely?
I still had hope that he would wake up one day and pick me. I still hoped he would change.
After I cleaned the house, made dinner and showered, I started the difficult process of trying to make myself look somewhat decent.
“Hey Teagan.” Bex said, hooked on her arm was Captain Amazing himself. Perhaps I’m being too harsh. He’s actually a really nice guy, very handsome and really nice to Bex.
“Hey Bex.” I said. “Hey Jake.”
“You look nice,” Jake said with a kind smile. “Where are you off to?”
“Do you have to ask?” Bex said, rolling her eyes.
“Oh.” Jake said suddenly looking embarrassed.
My face flushed red, and I turned away from them both. I wish I could punch Bex in the face, but it’s not like it won’t be all over the school by Monday. For someone who liked privacy, I sure made a spectacle of myself.
“Hey, well, my brother is having a party tonight.” Jake said suddenly. “Our parents are out of town, and he’s throwing one, it’d be really cool if you could come.”
I see Bex shoot him “the look”, but I don’t care. “You have a brother?” I ask.
“Yeah, he’s like 19, out of school, and doing school part time. So, you in?”
I hesitate for a second. “Yeah, I’ll see if I can drop by.” I say finally, smiling at him.
“Great!” He says happily, like he just scored a touchdown.
“She’ll probably be too busy doing something else.” Bex hisses, so only I can hear. She narrows her eyes and then follows Jake into the cramped family room.
I think I’m sneaky enough to get away with murder. And Bex is first on my growing list.
She never would though, her “stubborn streak” as my dad would say proudly, ruffling her hair. And I would sit on the balcony of our apartment and watch as the lights would slowly diminish one by one, until the jar was littered with carcasses instead of light.
Trapped. Trapped until they die. Are we the lightening bugs? Is that what God sees us as? Bugs in a jar, and slowly dying until the whole world turns dark?
I was sitting on a bench in some sketchy park downtown, the kind covered in bad graffiti and broken swings. I was rather comfortable, using my sweatshirt as a pillow, and reading, when my phone rang.
I picked it up and saw I had a text message from James. “Hey, come over tonight.”
Typical James. Demanding rather than asking. I sighed and made a feeble attempt to say no. “I have plans tonight.” Yeah, to clean the house and then go to bed early.
The response came quickly: “Change them.”
I growled in irritation because I felt the stupid Teagan take over, the kind that felt really happy that he wanted me to come over. I quickly lit up a cigarette and then furiously typed back: “Fine, I’ll be there at 9.”
He responded, “Make it 8.”
Fuck my life. “Alright.”
I fell in love with James all the way back in 9th grade. It wasn’t really my fault. We had a stupid art class together and neither of us knew one end of a paintbrush from another, and we ended up talking and hanging out.
I’ve never been one to make friends. I had skipped a grade in Middle School and I never went through the motions of making friends with all the people in my grade. It didn’t help that Bex was Miss Queen Bee of the Freshman Class and ignored me.
But James was the only one who made an effort. And he was charming and handsome and before I knew it, I was head over heels for him. And I still am.
The first time he broke my heart was a week after I told him how I felt, and we had kissed and made out, he got himself a girlfriend. A cheerleader. Someone I could never compete with.
I tried not to talk to him, but he would call me at night, usually drunk, and bitch and moan about all of the problems in their relationship. When they broke up, he asked me to come over to “talk” and instead, I ended up giving him everything. I was so happy at the time. Finally, I thought, finally he realizes he loves me back.
But he didn’t. He got some new girlfriend, and the process repeated itself over and over again. If I had any sort of spine, I would have stopped it. But I couldn’t. I loved him too much by then. So what if he was the world’s biggest jerk? So what if I was the rebound girl? So what if he used me when he was feeling lonely?
I still had hope that he would wake up one day and pick me. I still hoped he would change.
After I cleaned the house, made dinner and showered, I started the difficult process of trying to make myself look somewhat decent.
“Hey Teagan.” Bex said, hooked on her arm was Captain Amazing himself. Perhaps I’m being too harsh. He’s actually a really nice guy, very handsome and really nice to Bex.
“Hey Bex.” I said. “Hey Jake.”
“You look nice,” Jake said with a kind smile. “Where are you off to?”
“Do you have to ask?” Bex said, rolling her eyes.
“Oh.” Jake said suddenly looking embarrassed.
My face flushed red, and I turned away from them both. I wish I could punch Bex in the face, but it’s not like it won’t be all over the school by Monday. For someone who liked privacy, I sure made a spectacle of myself.
“Hey, well, my brother is having a party tonight.” Jake said suddenly. “Our parents are out of town, and he’s throwing one, it’d be really cool if you could come.”
I see Bex shoot him “the look”, but I don’t care. “You have a brother?” I ask.
“Yeah, he’s like 19, out of school, and doing school part time. So, you in?”
I hesitate for a second. “Yeah, I’ll see if I can drop by.” I say finally, smiling at him.
“Great!” He says happily, like he just scored a touchdown.
“She’ll probably be too busy doing something else.” Bex hisses, so only I can hear. She narrows her eyes and then follows Jake into the cramped family room.
I think I’m sneaky enough to get away with murder. And Bex is first on my growing list.