Good Morning, Arizona! Kaleb Richardson (essential books to read TXT) 📖

me too. Friends. I’m not alone anymore. I’m not setting people aside for Po. I’m not all alone with dad. I have D and C. I’m… joyful. Once again, I. Am. Ecstatic. Tomorrow is another day.

8

The next couple days of school were… I don’t know. I really don’t know what to say about school. It’s not like it’s any more fun. Derrick and Cindy are expelled. They’re great new friends but fuck, I wish they were here. So, now I’m alone in Mr. Solomon’s. Before, Po would make this better but I’m happy he isn’t here. Neither is Marcy, she’s in the hospital still because of Cindy. So, there’s Mariah. I’ve noticed she’s quieter when her twin isn’t around. I watched the principal walk to the door of Mr. Solomon’s room.

“Sorry to bother your class, Mr. Solomon. Ms. Hendricks, can you join me in my office please?”

What was this about? Did I do something wrong? Could my situation realistically get any worse? I don’t think so. Principal Jeffers and I used to be neighbors. He was my 2nd and 6th grade teacher until he was offered the high school principal job. I hoped for the best. I walked into Principal Jeffers’ office and he had a seat pulled out just for me. I sat down and he began to speak.

“Heather. Are you aware of the situation that happened a week ago?”

“With Derrick?”

“Derrick and Cindy.”

“Yes sir, yes I am.”

“I’ve seen them talk to you the most.” That’s weird. Cindy and I hardly spoke to each other. Maybe he saw all the times we actually did? “I would like to hear your reasoning as to why they did what they did.”

“Sir, I can’t say.”

“Ms. Hendricks, you need to tell me.”

There was a long pause. I sighed and began to tell my story.

“Mr. Jeffers, can I trust you with a secret? I mean a BIG secret.”

“Yes, you can, Heather.”

“I was sexually assaulted, sir. It was at a graduation party. I can’t tell you who or it will make things even worse in my situation. They are very powerful people. I don’t know what would happen to me. I hope you can understand.”

“I am so sorry to hear this. I hope you are okay. I don’t mean to step on toes or cross any boundaries, but may I ask for more information?”

“Yes sir. I understand. When people hear a story like such, their first instinct is to find out all the details they can. It’s a trait that came from middle school or high school and it sticks with people for life. It was a student and his father. Cindy and Derrick attended the party too. Cindy was drugged; Derrick and I were almost drugged. I have no remorse to inform you that the M gang (yes, everyone called them that) was part of this. Cindy, Derrick, and I have concluded through our three stories that it was a plan. Well thought out. It wasn’t a perfect plan by any means but sadly, it still succeeded. So, I feel no empathy towards Marcus, Myan, or Marcy. I believe they got off easy. What they’ve done to me in the past and now this, it could have been worse, and I would’ve felt nothing.”

“Well… thank you for your statement Heather. I had brought you in here to make a decision, but I believe I know the answer now. I want you to decide; will Cindy and Derrick graduate?”

“Absolutely. Yes.”

“Granted. They will remain expelled but will graduate and I’ll take the expulsion off their transcripts. Thank you for telling me your story. You know you can come to me for anything you may need. Best of luck with everything. Dismissed.”

I just wanted to get out of that room, so I hurried out. This school really sucks dick. As soon as Ms. Julian’s was over, she came to sit and talk with me. We talked about our days and just some idle conversation. It honestly made feel better. She started to when I returned to school. It’s made my school days end better than the suffering throughout.

After school, I drove to Cindy’s aunt’s to meet up with Cindy and Derrick. It was a little too close to the Gladys’ for my comfort. I picked them up and we went to the park in the center of town. Tope has better public locations than Vanetta but Vanetta’s got the landscape. All depends on the day where you’ll want to be. We sat down at a picnic table in park and began to chat.

“I’m thinking… nicknames. We definitely need nicknames!”

“You gonna come up with them all, Derrick?”

“I guess I will.”

I loved watching those two pick on each other. It’s really entertaining. I love these two. We just kept going on and on about random ass things. The party ended up on my mind and I wanted to talk about it.

“So, um, you both said that you didn’t like Po. Why? And why did y’all come to the party?”

“Derrick, you start.”

“Fine. He was an asshole to me back in junior high. I wanted to be friends with him. We were close in elementary, but he did nothing for me. I realized this and quit trying to appeal to him. That’s pretty much why I didn’t like him. I came to the party because I knew you were going. I wanted to spend time with you and Cindy. I wanted to build our friendship then. Cindy, you’re up.”

“Well, Po and I used to date in junior high; the summer going into freshman year. It was like four months. Miserable months. He kept trying to have sex with me and I kept telling him no. He refused to listen, so I eventually told him to back off. We broke up and he’s made me out to be a slut who