1950s Summer

Chapter 2- The Pond

"Hey Munchkin, are you going to come swimming with Carol and I?" Abby stood at the doorway to your room. She was already in her bathing suit with a thin dress over it to cover herself.

"Yeah. I'll be down in a second." You said knowing that they would be chatting in the pond in the backyard by the time you were ready. You would be included, but not entirely. Somehow you still felt out of place, like you would never be a part of their group when it was really only Elaine, Carol, and Abby.

You quickly got into your bathing suit and hurried down the stairs and out the back door. The pond was a 2 minute walk from the house because the back yard was large and stretched for acres.

You saw the two women giggling and smiling together just as you suspected. They were the closest in age compared to the 4 girls. Therefore, they were closest to each other. They both listened to Elaine though. Elaine was the leader of the pack if anything, she was the one who was in charge and Carol and Abby followed her.

Carol and Elaine bickered the most though, Carol would always push Elaine for power and control, but ultimately, Elaine always won. Then, all three of them would gang up on you because you were the youngest and the smallest. You were the easiest target and the end of most of the jokes. It wasn't the best feeling in the world, but by making fun of you, you were included with them.

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Age 10

One afternoon, you were out swimming in the pond, enjoying yourself. You had it all to yourself at that moment and you loved swimming laps, round and round, until you were tired and sore. It was almost therapeutic to you.

Elaine came out and shouted at you, but you didn't understand as your head would bob up and down in the water, disrupting your hearing. She came closer and you realized that she was shouting at you.

"Y/N! Y/N!" You couldn't figure out what she was saying, but it looked important, so you stopped by the edge to hold yourself above the water.

"Y/N! THERE'S A SNAKE IN THE WATER! WATCH OUT Y/N!" Elaine yelled. You began to panic because you were afraid of snakes. You hated reptiles in general, but snakes really freaked you out.

All of a sudden you felt something touch your foot. You squealed and started to swim away, but it then grabbed you and pulled you back. Your heart was racing and you looked back to see that Elaine was busting out laughing. Having a blast at your expense. You looked behind you to see where the snake would have been, but only saw Abby come up from the water laughing her guts out.

You were furriated with Elaine and Abby. They always treated you like a baby, but at least you were part of the joke.

You walked out of the pond and Carol came up to you. "Are you okay?" She looked like she actually cared, but you were too upset to say anything nice back, so you walked past her. She grabbed your elbow, holding you in place and asked again. "Hey, are you alright?"

"What do you care?" You sounded whiny and like the child they were treating you like. You saw that Carol looked hurt, but you just left her anyway while Elaine and Abby were still rolling on the ground with laughter.

You went inside and cried later that night because you felt humiliated. Carol didn't come in your room to try and comfort you which made you even more mad because you had been mean. You hated everything about that day and decided not to tell anyone what you were afraid of anymore. You also promised yourself to not brush off Carol again, if she were to come up to you again in a similar situation.

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You dipped your toes into the water and sat at the bank, testing the temperature. Carol and Abby were at the far end, away from you, and they weren't even swimming. They just floated around not paying any attention to you or even noticed that you had joined them.

Elaine, came and sat beside you, putting her hand on your shoulder to steady herself as she lowered herself down. "Hey Y/N." She said looking at her reflection in the water.

"Hey Elaine." You sounded disappointed that she decided to talk to you which made you feel bad.

"How have things been?" She seemed like she actually cared about what you had to say, but you weren't in the mood.

"Alright I guess." Maybe you were disappointed that it wasn't Carol that had come up to you.

"Hey I'm going into town soon, want to join me. I have to get some groceries" It was nothing special, but you noticed how she didn't ask Carol or Abby, just you.

You looked over at them, still at the other end of the pond, they wouldn't care if you left and you knew it. Elaine knew it too. It was probably why she asked you, but she still asked you and that's what mattered. "Yeah, I'll come with you." You sat up and walked out with Elaine.

Carol watched you leave, but she didn't say anything. She didn't care enough that you were leaving. Not enough to stop you which added to the many reasons that you had to let her go.