preoccupation

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"So your mom
really said that
to her?"

It's lunch the next day,
and as has become habit,
Matty is sitting in the seat
across from me
in the corner of
the cafeteria.
It's weird how
quickly
it's all happened -
after the incident
in gym class last week -
she's been talking to me
almost every day now,
as though we're
the best of friends,
rather than mere acquaintances.

Of course,
I'm not complaining.
Even if we
barely know each other,
the chance to have
a friend
in a school as intolerant
as this one
is a chance that I
will gladly take.

My mind is still on
what had happened
at the hospital yesterday,
though -
and it must be obvious
how conflicted I am
over it
because as soon as she
had sat down,
Matty had asked me
what was wrong
with a more
serious expression
than I'd expected
the situation to warrant.

And I couldn't help it -
the words just came
pouring out.

"Yeah,"
I respond to her now.
"But I don't exactly
blame my mother
for what she said,
because my grandparents -
my grandmother, really -
were at fault
to begin with,
but at the same time..."

"You don't think
that your mother
should have responded
in kind,"
she fills in for me.
I sit in silence
for a moment
before finally nodding
my agreement.

I've said it once,
and I'll say it again:
this girl is much
too perceptive
for her own good.

"So what are you
going to do about it?"
she asks after
a moment,
when I haven't said
anything more.
"If she is going to...
pass away soon,
now would be the best time
to make amends."

I don't even know if I
want to 'make amends'
when Grandmother was so
rude
and inconsiderate
to both my mother and I
in the first place.
My mother shouldn't
have said what she did
so bluntly,
but Grandmother did deserve
to know just how much
she had hurt us -
how much she still is
hurting us.

"I guess so,"
I say at last -
but I'm still unconvinced.
"I think I just need
time
to think it all through
and talk to my mother
about what she said..."

Though then again, my mother
won't want to talk
about what had transpired
yesterday,
so what's the point?
As soon as we had
gotten home yesterday,
she'd locked herself
in her room
and had refused to come out,
even for dinner.
I'm not sure,
but think I heard her
crying
at one point.
I'm still worried about her
now,
especially since
she didn't go to work today...

But Matty doesn't know that.
She just smiles
and, with an encouraging nod,
gives my hand a
friendly squeeze
across the table.
"I'm sure you'll make
the right decision
in the end,"
she tells me -
and I can only hope
that she's right.

×

I'll say it again for the people in the back: Matty is a beautiful creature and deserves to be protected at all costs.

Actually, I probably couldn't pick who my favorite character in this story is so far, because they're all amazing people and I have plans for Matty and Flory in the form of  prequels/sequels/whatever. It will be wonderful.

Alright, enough of my blubbering over my own characters-- If you guys liked this chapter, please feel free to vote and leave me some feedback below! I love hearing from you guys (even all you silent readers who say nothing, I wanna love you guys too--)

Excuse the weirdness, I'm sick. That's my excuse, so deal with it.

(I'm so sorry lmao.)

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