XY and Z

2: Strategy

     It had been a few days since she saw him and the girl from English class together. Had they broken up already? she thought it would take at least a month. she guessed that this girl didn't like him that much but she, herself did. Meanwhile she was winning the girl's favor to get some more information on him.  The girls name was M. At times she felt bad that she was just using M but she was the safest and best way to get information. M was a nice girl and there was something off about her, like she hated her life.

     That night she looked M up on Facebook and found out that her father was the major. She lived in a good part of town and had a huge, lavish two story house with a pool and a back porch. To her M had everything a sixteen year old could want. So why was M miserable? It kind of made her mad that M didn't appreciate her luck. Maybe her parents were never around?

     The earliest memory of the places she lived before was behind a sandwich shop in-between two drunks and drug addict with a toddler. when she turned four the family moved in with her grandma and grandpa on her dad's side. That is were she stayed and grew up with her grandparents just across the house. her grandma who she called Nana slept on the couch and sometimes when she had nightmares ,she would take all of her covers and pillows and sleep next to her Nana on the floor. Her grandpa who she called papa slept upstairs where he painted sculptures of monsters and movie characters. She was sometimes afraid to go up there, because the monsters were so realistic. She knew they weren't real but they gave her nightmares. She dared not say anything about being scared though. Her great grandma E slept in her own room that linked to the porch. She avoided Great grandma E at all cost. Great grandma E was about 96 years old and she had always been mean. One time a cockroach ran over her toe, she squealed and her great grandma E smacked on the head for being a wimp. she loved them all and she sometimes questioned why but none the less she was sad to see them move out.

      She was seven years old when they moved over 100 miles away. Nana was the first to tell her. Her nana answered all her questions and helped console her feelings of abandonment. To her nana was always the one she went to when she had questions and she answered all of them in someway. She also went to her nana when she was truly afraid like when late at night she heard a gun shot and police sirens outside. Turned out the neighbors dog attacked a kid.

     Maybe M didn't have a family like mine. M might have been adopted or maybe a foster kid. She had no clue, but when she inquired ever so slightly to the subject the conversation changed. She wasn't going to push M for answers about her personal life that would be rude and disrespectful. Yet she was using M to get information on her ex-boyfriend. how is that justified? It doesn't matter she had to do it M was the best and only lead she had.

     It was about three weeks into the school year and it was time that she started getting answers about him from M.

     "So I saw you with this red head guy earlier this year. Where you guys dating?" she asked M.

     "Oh you mean Z? No we're not dating." she mumbled looking sadly at my bag.

     "What's wrong? what's that look for?" she asked concerned.

     "It's nothing, do you like him?" M asked. Shoot she'd been caught! She just hoped that M didn't react too harshly to been used for information.

     " Yeah I do. she answered. "I'm sorry for asking, because I thought you two were dating  and you guys just broke up" she apologized.

     "No we never dated, we're kind of friends-with-benefits type deal." she said embarrassed.

     " I could introduce you to him if you want?" she suggested. How was she supposed to answer that? Did she really want to have a crush on a guy who has a friends-with-benefits deal with her friend? Maybe if she met this Z and saw for herself what a jerk he was maybe her feelings for him would go away. A cold splash of water to wake her from her daydream?

     "sure, thanks." she said less excited than she was a few minutes ago.