School's Out- A Randall Pink Floyd Story

Don't Leave Me Here

Pink angrily walked toward me, but Shavonne stepped in front of me.

"I'd stay back if I were you, big guy," she said. 

"Pink, come on, man," Melvin said, "Let's keep playing."

He looked at me and shook his head, walking away. 

But I heard him mutter something before he went out of earshot, "Bitch."

"Care to repeat that?!" I snapped. Pink didn't even turn around.

I shook my head and turned to my friends, "Come on, guys. Let's go."

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The girls dropped me off at my house, and I grabbed my stuff.

"I'm so sorry about today, Cam," Kaye said.

"It's not your fault," I said, "You guys just wanted to have a fun day."

Shavonne squeezed my hand, "I'll pick you up tomorrow, and we can get lunch or something, ok?"

I nodded and smiled, "That sounds good. Ok, I'll see you. Thanks again for getting me out of the house."

I went inside and immediately heard arguing. 

"Mom, we've been together for seven months!" Michelle said, "Why can't he come over tonight?"

"Because this is my house, and I say so!"

"You know what? Fine!" she said, "Maybe I won't live here anymore then." 

I watched as my sister ran up the stairs.

"Fine, get out!" my mom yelled, "You're a disgrace and you're not welcome in this home anymore. You or Kevin!"

My mom looked at me and then collapsed onto the couch, bursting into tears. 

I ran upstairs to find my sister stuffing things into a duffel bag.

"Hey, that's my top!" I said before she threw it at me, "You can't be serious. You're actually leaving because Mom won't let you have Kevin over?"

"No! I'm leaving because she makes my life miserable, and I know she hates me like I hate her," she said.

"That's not fair, and that's not true," I said. 

"So, what? You're on her side now?"

I crossed my arms, "I'm not taking anyone's side. I just want to come home one day without you two at each other's throats, but apparently, you can't even do that!"

"Fuck off, Cammy."

She tried to leave, but I blocked the doorway. 

"Please don't go," I said, "Please. Michelle, don't leave me here."

At that moment, although I knew Michelle had 99 reasons for leaving, she was thinking about the one reason that made her stay. She looked like she was about to cry, but she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Cam," she said before leaving. 

I stood there, not sure what to do, but then I finally came back to the real world and walked downstairs, where my mother was still on the couch, crying. 

Baseball was on the TV, so I quietly sat in the armchair next to her. 

"I've failed as a mother, haven't I?" she said.

I didn't respond, knowing she wouldn't like the answer I gave her. 

"I give up, Cam," she said, "I have two daughters who can't stand to be around me, and Coach Conrad left me three days ago."

I know I should've felt bad for her, but I didn't. 

"Cammy, please, talk to me," she said, her voice breaking still, "Tell me what I can do to make this better."

I scraped some dirt under my nail and resumed looking at the TV, "Maybe remember I exist for once. And stop screaming at my sister all the time."

"Honey, Michelle has no one to blame but herself-

"Mom, you kicked her out!" I said, "Seriously. I know she's not fully innocent, but you can't do that to us. And you've never given a good reason for hating Kev, he's a great guy."

"I'll give you a reason, Camryn," she said, sitting up, "Before she met him, she was a well-behaved sweet little girl. And now she's this cranky, mean, lazy pothead who hates me. Some of my friends who've come over have asked me if she's been in an accident or if she's retarded."

Ok, yea, part of that was true. But it wasn't all his fault. Michelle was constantly coddled by our mom, and she always wanted to try to break away from that. 

"Well, you have some nosy ass friends," I said, "Second of all, so she's changed. Big deal! What? Did you expect her to be your little girl forever?"

"Maybe, I did, Cam," she said, "Maybe I did. You're so much like your father. You've never been a kid, and by the time you turned ten, you barely needed me anymore. Forgive me if I miss my little girl."

I shook my head and got up, storming upstairs. How dare she compare me to my dad, or say I didn't need her? There were so many times I needed her. I could've used my mom when I got humiliated in front of my whole class in eighth grade, or when I fell on my bike and scraped my arms and legs. 

She just didn't care and didn't want to admit it.