The most beautiful roses have their cruelest thorn

Sorry doesn't fix mistakes.

It's 3:00, and the day is finally over. It turns out my algebra teacher was available after school today. I can finally abscond home and relax. I'm on a mainly empty bus on the front seat, sharing with two other conjoined. The modern tech bus was blue and black. It was rather peaceful. Out of slight boredom, I thought about checking social media for a minute. The first thing I notice is I get a text from Armando. Confused as to why he would want to talk to me; now out of all times, he didn't give any greeting. Instead, he started with...

A: So, what are you going to do to fix this?

M: I'm sorry, what??

A: You started this whole thing. You have to change it.

M: What exactly am I changing?

A: You got Daniel and me in trouble.

Ohh, I see what you're trying to do. You're trying to get yourself out of what you started. No sir, that won't work on me. I carefully plan my response. But, I don't plan on arguing with him.

A: You have to change this.

M: How?

A: Tell Mr. Dennis you lied and say that you were mad at me.

A: You have to fix this.

M: "Ok, I'm sorry."

I meant to sound disappointed.

A: Sorry doesn't fix mistakes.

That hit me harder than Sophia telling me her advice about this situation a few days ago. But, sorry doesn't fix his mistakes, either. I'm not the one at fault for this. I began to feel indignant. Who does he think he is?! Trying to get out of what you caused is unbelievable. Manipulating me like I'm the one in trouble. Since, I'm not in the mood of giving him long, circumstantial lectures, I decided to play along again.

M: Ok. What about Daniel?

A: I don't know. Find a way to help him.

Wow, you don't care about your best friend, do you? I guess as long as it benefits you, why should it benefit someone else?

A: Text me when you find a way to fix this.

I instantly had the thought I should tell my mother because she could also see through what he is trying to do. But, I wonder if he knew I was leaving school? Did he know I was on the bus? The moment I got on the bus, that was when he texted me. Is it possible he's... watching me? No, that's crazy, outlandish talk. Every day, Jonathan's father would drop Armando home. I remember seeing it every day. I mean, I don't see him... Anyway, my stop is coming up. I turned off my phone, came off, and crossed the street to my house.

Inside, a small, 2 family home, with mint green and lavender walls. The deep brown wood banister glistened when I came up the dark brown and slightly creaky stairs. You could see all the rooms from the stairs. I entered the living room, with its mint green wooden door ajar. My brown desk with a red and black gaming chair was in place. With it had a desktop, and a glass jar of multicolored assorted pens were neatly organized. I put my bag down on my lap. I greeted my mother, as I looked around, slightly distant from reality. Usually, when I'm zoned out, I stare outside the large, black-framed windows taking up 3/4 of the wall. Its gray windowsill glistened as the glare of sunlight peered into the house. The TV was on, but I couldn't see what my mom was watching due to the glare.

Ready to reveal the inevitable, I pulled up the messages. Before I knew It, Armando texted me again. He texted me one minute ago, says the status of the message. He was reiterating the question. I guess he's forcing me to feel pressured and go along with him, impulsively. If he keeps bothering me and persuading me, does he think it would be effective? This reminds me of all the mistakes I made back in 6th and 7th grade with him. But, since my impulsive behavior was leading to a million mistakes, I'm trying to change myself.