I'm New York City

six

"Are you like seriously never coming back?" Lily asked through the phone. I was on FaceTime with James and Lily to let me know what has been happening in class. 

I tried to get ready for school the other day and Mom was very strict on me not leaving the house. My parents needed to go to the school to talk with some teachers and the principal and I was upset that I couldn't go. It happened during a school day which meant I would see Lily and James, but I was stuck at home. Mom said that I could invite them over, but I knew Ivy would be bothering us the whole time. 

"From the way my Mom's acting... that's a no" I said with a sigh. 

"Well, at least your birthday is soon!" James exclaimed, making me shake my head. 

While we've been dealing with my school situation, my parents have also been trying to plan our birthday party. They insisted that we have separated parties, but I kept telling them that I didn't need a big party and would rather hang with my friends. We compromised on having both parties in one day, but Ivy's in the morning with all of her friends and at night, it's my turn. 

"What does your little sister want to do?" Lily asked, snacking on some chips on the other end.

"She's having a Barbie themed party. I don't know why though, it's been a while since that came out and she's just now into it. Pretty fake if you ask me" I smirked, watching their jaws drop to Ivy's theme of choice.

"Girl, what's your theme?" Lily asked. 

"I don't have a theme, all I care about is the food" I said truthfully. My favorite food was tacos, so my parents were going to have my favorite restaurant cater.

I heard a short knock on my door and it opened, revealing my mom who walked over to me smiling. She sat down next to me in bed, showing herself in the camera making Lily and James smile. 

"Hi, girls!" Mom said, giving them a big smile. 

I guessed that my mom wanted to talk to me, so we all said our goodbyes and ended the call. I shut off my phone, rolling onto my side, sighing into the pillow. It was the weekend so there wasn't much for me to do, unlike Ivy who had a school event to attend to. 

"Can we talk, baby?" Mom asked, rubbing my back. I groaned, rolling over facing her as she smiled at me. 

"I talked to your teacher, Mrs. Smith. She was so happy talking about you. She told me how talented you are in writing and how amazed she is every time you turned in an assignment," Mom said, staring at me with a proud look on her face.

"But she wanted to apologize. She told your Dad and I that she noticed your mood changing and she wished that she would've asked about it sooner," She continued. 

"It's not her fault" I mumbled. 

It was true. It wasn't the teachers fault to be constantly checking up on me. What if I was just having a bad day? Also, the year had just started, she had so many other students to focus on. 

I heard Mom sigh as she continued to pat my back. I honestly knew from the start that in person school was never going to work out. I was constantly anxious wherever I go, especially if I was away from my parents. I thought it was getting better after I met Lily, but some people just had to ruin that experience for me. 

-

"How is she?" Joe asked as I sat next to him on the couch. 

I sighed as I leaned into his embrace. "It just seems like she's getting worse. She just seems so sad and lonely. I don't know what else to do, I knew we shouldn't of let her go back to school," I said, cover my face with my hands.