I Will Never Forget Him

Friends?

It was sometime after my party, maybe in August, when I had finally convinced my mother to let me go to the park by myself. She had been reluctant for so long, due to some of the crimes that took place in that park. But I was one persuasive little shit and she finally broke down.

"Mom, I'm 11 now. I'm going to be a teenager soon, I can take care of myself." I insisted for the sixtieth time.

"Jessica Rae, if I let you go you need to put on your watch and I need you to be home at 5:30." she said,  waving a chicken breast in my face. I just rolled my eyes, nodded my head, and grabbed my basketball. Now, the park I live near is literally diagonal to my house, I was there within thirty seconds.

I was really excited because it was my first time going somewhere without an adult. Everyone was like that as a kid. It was like your invisible leash was taken off and you could finally breathe. It was pretty awesome at the time, I have to admit. But my excitement was soon destroyed the minute I turned into the park. There, on the mini basketball court, was that damn boy.

     "Crap." I'd thought to myself. Suddenly, this weird feeling etched its way into my stomach. It was like my insides were doing back flips. I only got that feeling when I was nervous, but what did I have to be nervous about? I walked slower than intended and approached the basketball courts. Him and a few other boys were playing a game. They seemed to be having a lot of fun; they were laughing and just screwing around with the ball. Seeing this, I wanted to join in. Making some new friends and having fun was what I came here to do. So I continued my approach and made myself known. They all stopped and stared. It was a long hard stare that made me very uncomfortable. Then out of nowhere, a burst of courage made it's way to my vocal cords and I asked;

     "Can I play with you guys?" The words tumbled out of my mouth. Eyebrows were raised and snickers were heard. One guy even shook his head.

      "But you're a girl." One of them said. He had a dark complexion and towered over everyone.

     "Yeah and you're a boy." I retaliated. They all laughed at that. I smiled feeling proud and I made my way onto the court. I'm a girl, my ass. I still had two arms and two legs. True, I never played before, but there was a fifty-fifty chance I was good.

     "Hold on, we didn't say that you could play." Just as I was about to say something, my dysfunctional prince jumped into the conversation.

     "Come on guys, just let her play." And with that said, everyone agreed to my participation. But from that moment on, the pain in my stomach would only get worse.