Perspectives

Chapter 1

*Lesley on top*
Narrator's Perspective

Sage McCarthy was a 16 year old in an AP Biology class. She wasn't a perfect student, but she had good grades. She was gullible but humble; and that is what everyone loved about her. She was funny, kind and helpful.
As a child Sage would look at magazines of pretty girls with their swimsuit model body shape and their perfect skin toned face. She knew she wasn't even close to what they looked like, and it lowered her self esteem. She was bullied at times during middle school; but that changed when she began high school. She hit puberty at the age of 14 and had a very interesting first year of 9th grade. She had made many new friends and her life changed for the better. Or so she thought as of now.

Sage's growing intelligence had pushed her sophomore year into a few AP classes. She was in AP Literature and AP Calculus. 10th grade for her was really hard, but she was able to sit through it whilst continuing to have a social life. She was able to provide for herself because she was independent and willing. This life she had seemed pretty good until it had changed without sudden notice during the end of sophomore year.

Her father had been sent to jail for a crime and was set to be in prison for 11 years. Her mother was a drunk; she never knew how to control her liquor and was not in good care of Sage and her little sister Sadya at all. But she did not want to lose her mother and she didn't want her to be taken away after her father was incarcerated. Every night, her mother would come home from the club or work drunk and wasted, and Sage would have to take care of her until the next morning to do it all over again. She would try to tell her mom to stop drinking but she wouldn't listen.

"I know how to control myself and I'm not an alcoholic", she said. Of course Sage didn't agree but she still has love for her mother, even though she does things that hurt her and her sister so much.

When sophomore year finally ended summer had seemed like a never ending amount of fun. Sage's mother would always take them to the beach to relax, to the zoo, watch movies together at the movie theater and to just go sightseeing in Brooklyn, New York. Her summer was amazing, and she couldn't have had it any other way. Her mom had controlled her drinking just enough for her to be taking care of her children. It was like her mother noticed what she was doing to herself and wanted to change. Sage's life became a little bit better again.

"Ms. McCarthy, what is the biggest organ of the body?"
"The skin Mrs. Leroux."
"And who was the first doctor to perform a heart surgery?"
"The first to perform a heart surgery was a South African Dr. named Christiaan Barnard." Mrs.Leroux had smiled at Sage for how confidently and easily she answered the question. "Good job Sage, keep up the good work."

The bell had just rung and 5th period class had ended. "Remember class to do pages 15 through 20 in your medical text books for homework and it's due on Thursday." Sage got up from her seat and left the classroom to meet with her friend Lesley.

"What's up Sage?" Lesley looked at her with a mischievous expression on her face.

"Come on girl I know every time I see you with that look you have something going on, tell me what it is," Sage replied looking at her grin.

"I'll tell you when we get to lunch but I heard  from a classmate that one of the popular guys were talking about you."

"Why would they talk about me? And who told you that?"

"It doesn't matter who told me, It was overheard that they were saying things like how you're really smart and you know you're a hard to get type of girl."

"Which guy said that?"

"I'm not sure but I think it was Dylan."