Marcia wanted to call Naomi after she talked to Sarah, but it was easier to talk to Rebecca and Naomi at school together. As she drifted off to sleep, her mind raced with many thoughts and questions. She knew Ralph would be around at the party. Sarah still held a grudge against Marcia. The Halloween party would certainly test the relationship between the two girls. She slept badly tossing and turning all night. When she w...

Life returned to pretty much normal the next day. Taylor and I were in suspension but still hated each other. My mom still hadn't come home, but I wasn't worried. Bill still came over every morning. Life was life no matter how you looked at it. Or that's at least what it seemed."Why the hell did you sit next to me?" I growled."I have a matter of importance I wish to discuss with you," Taylor replied cooly."Not interested,...

Wednesday. Once more it was four in the morning and I was just waking up. Mom hadn't made it home the previous night, telling me she was probably with one of her co-workers from her second job again. A knock at the door quickly drew my attention. I already knew who it was. I couldn't care any less. That bastard could stay out there all morning. I wanted nothing to do with him today.  I prepped myself for school. Glancing...

Bullyboy skipped lunch. He accomplished what he wanted. Marcia sat confused with the morning's events. She had no idea who did it. It turned out he had an unwitting accomplice who was also a suspect. He knew Rebecca was Marcia's cousin and the school darling. When Marcia arrived, all that disappeared for Rebecca. The logical person for the perpetrator of the prank was Rebecca. Marcia sat alone at lunch. Naomi was out sleu...

You want what? It was Christmas Eve 1996, daddy was back from the war in Vietnam. It had been a long year with daddy gone. Everyone was so excited about Christmas. We all bundled up and everyone jumped into the car to go and see all the Christmas lights. We were having such a great time and suddenly our five year old son excitedly said, “I can't stand it. I want it to be Christmas morning.” I made the comment that he must...

Marcia spent the rest of the day looking at her plight. Bullyboy knew she was there. He had not made any threats, but the gestures were bad enough. He ruined her day. School dragged on and Marcia's depression deepened. By the end of the day, she had no will to leave the classroom. Naomi dragged her to her locker and pulled her outside to walk home. "Come on Marcia. Snap out of it. You will be fine. Remember you are strong...

Summer arrived with high heat and humidity. Being near the Hudson River did not help with the humidity. To escape the heat most families had places on the Jersey shore where the family stayed all summer. Neither Marcia nor Naomi's family had a place like that. The girls endured the summer heat together. Almost daily, they went into the woods. The trees provided a canopy, which shadowed the whole area underneath. It was co...

The classes all sat waiting for the third bell, which signaled the start of the school day. The school went quiet, while it waited for the morning announcements. Before the announcements began, a loud scream echoed through the halls into every room. Soon the putrid smell of a skunk penetrated the air in every classroom. Naomi looked at Marcia and they both smiled trying to contain outright laughter. Of course, they missed...

It was Friday, the weekend before the Spring Concert. Cricket walked home with Naomi to spend the weekend at her house. Naomi planned to have a few friends over for a small party. The girls played in Naomi's room trying to keep her brother out. Her brother always wanted to be around when Marcia was there. After thirty minutes of playful fighting, her brother gave up. Shortly after the family ate dinner, two more friends a...

I knew what I was walking into. It wasn't the first time I had walked home to find the apartment empty and the snooping old broad next door trying to find something now to complain about. She had told my mom of a fight I had gotten into just outside the gates. Mom freaked when she found out, worrying about lawsuits that would destroy us financially and ruin her chances of ever getting a better job. I was just happy I had...

 School dragged along at a snails pace all day. My first period, and English two class, felt like it would never end. It was hard enough trying to stay awake with the few hours of sleep I got every night. And the teacher's droning voice did little to ease my suffering. Second period was a bit easier, though my lack of friends within the class did little to help me defy complete boredom. I could care less about solving for...

Okay. So let's just say that you were having a crappy day and at school it only seems to get worse. Would you respond violently? Scratch that. Let's pick a target. Okay, so we have a bully - we'll just call him Bundy L. Levy for fun - and a bully always seems to have that one target - how about Taylor Regis Ethers. Great, now we have our characters, or players rather. Now we need a setting. I'm thinking a high school call...

I remember when I first read a Maya Angelou poem. I was literally awestruck. I was in high school and we were studying poetry in English class. We studied Norman MacCaig, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and few others. Maya Angelou wasn’t one of them, actually. I was on the Internet one day after school and was looking poetry up on the web, when I stumbled across one of hers. A few years later, I saw her on the TV an...

Marcia's mom hurried to Sarah's summerhouse and ran inside. Marcia sat on the couch with her feet up and a damp cloth on her forehead. The rest of the guests sat on the floor and watched, as Marcia moaned and held her stomach. It appeared that she took a wee bit too much ipecac and now suffered from the effects. Her mom looked at her and shook her head. "Let's get you home, young lady and into bed. Your friends can come w...

The Monday before Thanksgiving was bright and sunny. Marcia woke and thought, "Tonight is the night of the sleepover." A small feeling of dread settled in her head, when she thought about the pranks tonight. How should she act about them? Should she retaliate for them? It was a hard choice to make. She felt good that she knew about the pranks, but wondered why Sarah was so vindictive. It was good of Naomi to come forward...