The Scars Within

Looking Up

After the sleepover with Ricca, things finally started looking up. The cops sent a statement to the local news, so my name has finally been cleared. The bullying at school has stopped, and now, instead of finding rude letters and the like in my locker, I find notes of apology and small gifts asking for forgiveness. Everything seems to be back to the way it was before. I'm definitely happy about that. Just in time too. There's only two days left of school right now, so I've been stuck doing finals for the last week. All of that extra stress going away is doing wonders for my concentration.

The only thing that hasn't gone back to normal is my Dad. He still drinks, but he's never home anymore. It's rare that I see him at all. You would think that after he learned the truth about Mom's death he would sober up, right? Well, apparently not. On the subject of the murder, Leon and Stacy were sentenced yesterday. I didn't hear what the sentence actually was, but I hope it's life in prison without parole or bail. That would serve as a good reminder that even rich people are trapped under the law. Granted, Stacy and Leon's parents would probably do everything in their power to lessen the sentence, but their reputations are ruined now.

Luckily, throughout the whole experience, I was able to keep my grades up. Finals were this week, and I'm proud to say that I aced all of them. Chemistry was a bit iffy at times, but I still got an awesome grade on it. Tomorrow is the last day of school, so everyone who actually showed up today is super restless. Unsurprisingly, only about half the students showed up today. Finals finished up yesterday, so apparently that means no one has to show up. At least Ricca isn't skipping. We both agreed to finish out the year together.

"Why does no one show up after finals?" Ricca asks.

"No one wants to feel the wrath of the teachers. The ones who skip are the ones who absolutely bombed their finals. It happens every year, so everyone's used to it by now."

"Doesn't that mean that they'll have to go to summer school? Or do they just get held back?" She questions further, clearly confused by our 'American ways' as she puts it.

"I really don't know, to tell you the truth. I think their semester grades are still high enough to pass so they don't have to go to summer school. I'm not 100% certain on that though." Before our conversation can continue further, I see Jason, Rian, and Travis heading our way. 'Great. What do they want now? As they get closer, I notice that all three of them have embarrassed, apologetic looks on their faces. Once they're a few feet away from Ricca and I, they stop. "What do you want Jason?" I ask bitterly. Crossing my arms, I look him in the eye. He doesn't hold my gaze for long, and turns his gaze towards the floor, scratching the back of his neck.

"Hi Carmin. Um, I just, I wanted to say I'm sorry. I acted like a complete and total ass, and it wasn't even your fault." Seeing my infamous 'No-shit-Sherlock' look, he winces, then continues. "I know that's not an excuse, but I really am sorry. Not just about this year, but everything. I shouldn't've listened to my friends all those years ago. We were friends, bestfriends even, and I just threw it away for the popular crowd. I'm sure that just saying 'sorry' isn't enough, but I would really like it if we could try and become friends again. I promise I'll make it up to you, even if you say I don't have to or you don't want me to." We were best friends when we were little, so it hurt when he stopped hanging out with me. I'm not quite sure if I can trust him yet, but I'm willing to try.

"Alright Jason. I'll take you up on your offer. Just know that I won't accept any bullshit from you until I know I can trust you again." Jason's eyes light up as he looks at me.

"Thank you, Carmin. I promise you won't regret it!" Before I can say anything against it, he pulls me into a hug. It's fairly awkward, but it's nice. Things are finally starting to piece themselves back together again. After we separate from the hug, Jason turns towards Rian and Travis. "Guys? Don't you have something to tell Carmin?" He questions, raising an eyebrow.

Both of them move forward with their heads bowed. They look almost exactly like Jason did a few moments ago. "We're sorry too Carmin.", they say at the same time.

"Like Jason said, we kinda got caught up in the teasing. We never meant to take it so far." Rian says. Travis, the more quiet one of the group, nods in confirmation.

"That's alright guys, I understand. No need to worry, alright?" I smile at them. Rian and Travis sigh in relief, then smile back at me. "Friends?" I ask, holding my hand out.

"Yea, friends."

After everything that happened, I definitely could use more moments like this. I can already tell that these guys will be better friends than all the ones I've had for the last three years combined. Now, all that needs to happen is for my Dad to sober up, and life will be perfect again. Well, as perfect as it could be without Mom here. I'm sure that it won't be too difficult after a while. Yea, it'll be different at first, but I'm almost 100% certain that Mom wouldn't want us to dwell on her death. Her killers are in jail, hopefully locked up for a long time, and Dad and I are both safe.

The next day, all five of us, Jason, Rian, Ricca, Travis and I, were virtually inseparable. We learned a lot about each other, and we have plans to hang out during the summer some times. Apparently, Rian is going to be working at the coffee shop next door to the bookstore, so we can talk during our lunch breaks. Also, all of us got a lot of awards from the teachers today. We made up about 30% of the student body for the last day, but we were fine with that. There's no classes today, and all of our lockers are already cleaned out, so we're just relaxing in front of the school for now. Eventually, we all go our separate ways, ready to start our summer vacation.