It's My Life • Shawn Hunter

76| Sixteen Candles and Four-Hundred-Pound Men

It had been a few weeks since Shawn went to the police about Lucy's boyfriend. Lucy was absolutely furious when she found what he was doing to her daughter and instantly dumped him before he taken into custody. Zoey's bruises had healed up nicely and now you wouldn't be able to tell what she had been through.

Zoey's chin was settled on Shawn's legs as he stretched out across their desks to sleep. Her arms were folded on top of her desk behind the barrier of his body as she listened to her best friend.

"... And in the night, he searches. And in the day, he searches. And on the morrow he will search. Close, reaching, yet it will not be found and he knows that." Cory read from the book he was holding as he stood at the front of the class.

"Nice passion, Matthews. Very nice." Mr. Turner said before he approached the pair, nudging Shawn. "Hey, Hunter. Hey, how were you affected by that reading?"

"I don't wanna go to school, daddy." Shawn mumbled in his sleep. "Cory's ready poetry."

Mr. Turner sighed. "You get your butt out of that bed and get to class!"

"Okay. Okay." Shawn mumbled as he immediately sat up, half asleep and stumbled out of class.

"Gee, I wonder what's gonna happen." Mr. Turner said. Frankie raised his hand. "Frankie, do it, buddy."

"What the poet is saying in this beautiful piece which was movingly read, might I add." Frankie began.

Cory saluted him. "Hey."

"Is that sometimes we love and though it seems the object of our love is within reach, it does not reciprocate and we must keep reaching." Frankie explained.

Cory furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "It's not about a doggy?"

Topanga turned to Cory and placed her finger against his lips. "Shh, honey, don't speak."

"Outstanding, Stecchino, outstanding. Anything else?" Mr. Turner asked.

"Yes. Thank you." Frankie replied.

The bell rung.

Zoey scooped up her books, chucking them in her backpack before zipping it up, throwing it over her shoulders and walked out of the classroom.

••••

Zoey was standing at her locker and opened it, placing the books and folder in her arms into the metal storage. In a few days it will be her sixteenth birthday, and she was going to have a party. Cory then walked over to her with a smile on his face.

"Cor, can you do me a huge favour?" Zoey asked desperately.

"Sure! Anything." Cory replied.

"Read this and tell me what you think." Zoey said as she closed her locker and handed an invitation to him.

"'Someone is turning sweet sixteen and if you could be there, it would be keen'." Cory read out.

"My mum wrote that. It's silly. It's dumb. I can't believe it. A sweet sixteen parting. It's embarrassing. I'm sorry you even have to read this." Zoey said frantically and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Zoey..." Cory trailed off.

"Yeah?" Zoey wondered.

"Slow down, girl. Separate your words." Cory advised her.

Zoey huffed. "Please come to my sweet sixteenth. It doesn't mean a lot to me, but it means a lot to my mum. So what do I tell my mother?"

"Am I your best friend?" Cory asked.