Feelings

Prologues

I prefer Jay. With a y. It looks cooler than my actual name, Jae. Grade 10 at Southview is coming up. The name is dumb though because the entrance actually faces north. Who knows what the builders were thinking? Anyhow, that's tomorrow but it's not like I'm looking forwards to it. A lot of my friends disappeared after my parents divorced two years ago in Grade 8. I became really quiet and stopped talking as much as I did before. It wasn't great for me, so all I did was not say anything about it and just accepted everything that happened. That led me to this ok apartment with my dad.

"Grade 10. Tomorrow," says Zoe. She's one of my best and only friends after the divorce because she was the one who helped me first to deal with everything.

I lay flat down on my bed. "Yeah. Are there any like, doctor-related things that you'll do this year?"

Zoe sits by my feet. "I am. Are you doing any drawing stuff?"

"Drawing."

"Yeah, what class?"

"No, the class is called Drawing."

"Ohh. Why don't you wear this hat?" I sit up, and Zoe's wearing a hat Dad got me a year ago that I barely ever use. It's teal green, has "1995" in white facing front and a black visor. Her coily hair's almost pushing off the hat, like it's rejecting it.

I reach out to try and take it off her while still laying down, but I can't reach it. "I just... don't." I'm too lazy to get up.

"Can I keep this? It's cool."

"What? No! It's mine."

"Yeah, but not like you ever use it."

I don't want her to have it, but my naturally kind self won't let me not let her have it. "Mmh, fine. But you have to give it back end of the week."

"Ok. Thanks. I think I gotta go now, see ya, Jae!"

"Bye."