They follow you everywhere.
Wherever you go, they go.
Whatever you say, they agree with.
Whoever you hate, they hate.
They want to do everything with you. If you have to pee, so do they. If you work on homework at lunch, they do too. If you get one thing for lunch, they get the same thing. If they could, they probably would sit in your lap. I'm not saying it to be mean. I'm saying it because there are people like this. This is all true. I once had a shadow. Worst few weeks of my life. I finally told her off. Funny thing is, she hates me because I wanted some space. Like sorry, but if you had something breathing down your neck 24/7, you would want some space too.
They live their life through you. If you have a bad experience with something, they think that they will too. If something good happens in a class, they think that something good will happen to them as well. It's like they use you for support because they can't support themselves.
They need to know everything about you. They need to know your favorite color, your class schedule, what bus you take, what car you drive, where you live, what grade you got on the science test, where you meet with your friends before school, who you like. They need to know it all. You don't understand why. You see them talking with other people at school. You wished for them to cling to someone else. You want to lose your shadow. You want your privacy back. But as long as you have a shadow, you will never have it. For crying out loud, if you went to the bathroom they need to know if you pissed or crapped. They need to know if you washed your hands with hot or cold water. They need every detail of a situation that they weren't a part of. They need exact words from a conversation that they didn't hear.
Everything is about you, but at the same time it's for them as well. You don't know how to get rid of your shadow. When you try to push them away, they only come back. When you step into the light, the shadow doesn't disappear. When you tell them that you need some space they simply walk at a distance. They don't understand that you don't want to talk. They don't understand that you don't need them like they "absolutely need" you. They don't want to leave you because they have no one else to go to.
You can be mean to them and they won't notice. They are blind. They don't think for themselves. They only care about what you do, say, and think. If you say something, they will say it too. If you think something is one way, they will as well. They are a copy of you. They are you, just in a different body. And you don't understand it. You start to ask, "why me? Why me?" But you don't get an answer. Your answer is your shadow. And your shadow never leaves you.
It spent years getting rid of my shadow. I don't even remember how I did it. It was just one minute they were there, the next they were gone. He's one thing that I'll tell you though.
Getting rid of a shadow is hell. But once it's gone, it never comes back, ever.
YOU ARE READING
The Label Maker
ChickLit"Nobody wants to admit they do it, but everybody knows that everybody does it." ✎✎✎ Gwen Harmon is trying to survive high school just like every teenager. With her senior year approaching she's trying to play it safe, keep her grades up, and of cou...