Life According to Wyatt Smithers

Patience

It was Saturday. Four days of school remained. Just four and it would be over; the hatred, the jealousy, and probaly never seeing any of my friends until next year. Of course I would still see Leigh-Anne and Tiana but there were others I wished not to part with. Leigh-Anne and Tiana's Sixteenth Birhday Party and summer school lied ahead. But the party may prove troublesome but it may not.

Leigh-Anne had a boyfriend now as of Friday. I was happy for her but keeping Tiana and me from such knowledge until hours later was consequential. How Tiana refrained from committing any crime or distributing any damage to either of them was unknown to me. Tiana was the one in the group that said it how it was. Helen may have had the courage to do what she desired without caring but she cared about things such as not having a boyfriend. That was where Tiana was different. She didn't care if she had a boyfriend. Tiana was titanium and striking against metal would only hurt the attacker.

Jogging with Leigh-Anne was eventful. Secrets shared and laughs were the result as well as physical fitness. The trail was black and split in two by a line signifying the directions one would jog towards. The trees of green mesquite were on my right side and the dried up Rillito River was on my left. The sun was sitting on the horizon. The Rillito was a place where people jogged, walked their dogs, and rode their bicycles.

It was one of the only places where I could leave my worries and troubles behind. It was a sanctuary. Living in Arizona was horrible. Every time I left Tucson my heart was in pain. Almost as if forgetting a part of me behind, my friends, my home. That was the terrible price of attatchments. However, there were consollations to having attatchments. At home and in the company of my friends I felt whole.

Alas the days went on and Monday was upon me. The day hastened and afterschool I saw him. Ali Bedele walked past Tiana, Leigh-Anne, and I. Another boy was with us; Harrison Thatcher. His short golden hair was bright and he wore a red Dr. Pepper T-shirt with dark kacki pants. Ali approached us. His beard was dark and his walk emitted confidence.

It was as if nothing in the world could bring him down. He greeted Harrison, Leigh-Anne, and Tiana but not me. I supposed it was because he did not know me but I was still hurt. The priviledge of being able to call him friend would have been glorious. But that was something that I suspected would never become a reality.