Flor De Muerto

Anna

Seeing as I didn't get much sleep last night, I knew school was going to be ten times worse. Normally, I showered every night, it had sort of turned into a routine. I would wash away all of the stress and simply cry, letting the water cascade down my face and blend with my tears.

In this case, it felt weird going to shower after Josh was last there, so I made the collective decision to skip it. Dad was already in the driveway when I went downstairs.

Luckily, Dad gets home in time for me to take the car to school. As I'm heading out to the car, I notice Josh walking. Don't get me wrong, it's been months since he's been in school, but after last night I feel like I have a chance to start actually getting him back on track.

I get in the car and pull up next to him.

"Hey, you need a ride?" Josh stopped, and looked at me, "To school." I will clarify. He shook his head no. "Are you sure?" He starts to walk again but I follow.

"God, you're relentless." He rolled his eyes and adjusted his backpack.

"Just get in, you know I won't leave you alone." He finally opens the car door.

"This should be interesting. I'm sure that the school won't take me back, especially after what happened with my boy Octavio." Josh jumps in and shuts the door.

"Who's Octavio? And what happened?" Our school was pretty big, I'm not really surprised that I don't know who he's talking about. But rumors spread like wildfire in a big school, still, no idea what happened between them.

"Don't worry about it Anna Banana, just worry about acing your classes." I let out an annoyed huff.

"Whatever, is it really that hard for you to go through one day of school without getting in trouble?" At this point I was completely annoyed.

"Oh hush, would it really kill you to break the rules at some point miss priss?" I don't let his idiotic nicknames affect me; I just continue driving.

"At Least show up to some of your classes, it's the bare minimum Josh." I turn into the school and catch a glimpse of Josh. His hand was resting on his head, and he looked annoyed. I wish I knew what happened all those years ago when his parents kicked him out. "Do it for your grandma, we are only two weeks into school it's not too late." Josh remained silent the rest of the drive. When we parked, he got out and gave me a glimpse of a smile before walking away. 

When we were younger things were completely different. Since I didn't have many friends, I would depend on Josh. Every weekend he would come over and we would play games, watch movies, and just be kids. But as he started reaching adolescence, something changed. It wasn't puberty, it was something that happened to him emotionally. It's as if a switch flipped. Ever since that happened, Josh stopped coming over, he stopped going to school, he stopped being my best friend.