365 Days

April 26th 2016

April 26th 2016...

Today's diary entry was not well. As expected, April 26th 2016 was just another day. Another bad day.

In our 7th grade social class, Mr. Saldana told us he could talk to birds. Not in actually words or anything, but if you really paid attention to the amount of times they chirped and then chirp that many times back, it works.

I thought it was interesting, cool to think about. I may've even believed it was possible. The rest of our 7th grade class just laughed at him. Some of them videotaped him on their snapchats. I felt so terrible. I'd never felt more sad for teachers in my life.

But I believed. Even when nobody else had hope something so bizarre and far fetched was possible, I did. With the birds and with me and Jess. I always believed, no matter how crazy it seemed.

April 26th was also the day I had my first meeting with the intern school counselor, Kayley. She was a former student at both LCS and LCHS. She'd graduated in 2015.

I opened up to her about my life at the time. Then, my parents had just set off on their business trip. I'd just learned that it was going to be longer than a week I'd be staying there. I was real mad at my parents for having the guts to do this without telling me in person.

I also told Kayley about how hard it was living with Jess. All about our history as long-term best friends and lovers. And that all of a sudden, at the most inconvenient time possible, he just bailed on me. And just like my parents, he didn't have the guts to tell me in person what was happening.

Kayley suggested I talk to Jess. I'd been a half month and maybe it was a good time to start communication. But I couldn't. She could never understand how much I just couldn't.

Even now, now that April is over, now that Jess and I have long talked since. Even now that it had a happy ending, at least for the time being, anyway.

I still know where I was coming from. In fact, faced with the same dilemma today, I would still respond the exact same way. No. I can't talk to him. I can't just talk to him.

It's been a whole year and I still get it.

Jump ahead one year and we have some good news to deliver on.

Last night, Tom came home safely.

Yes, I was BEYOND relieved! Brenda, being the little twat that she is, was writing an essay in the entrance and got the door when Tom came back.

She'd nearly brought him upstairs before starting a conversation about god knows what until she finally spilled the beans and announced that Tom was alive and well.

I was the first one to jump from the couch, living life like we normally were, and throw myself at him, embracing him so tight, he may have been dead after all.

Grace nearly killed him. She shot at him for daring to not contact anyone and inform us that he was okay. I mean, she was harsh but she also slept in his bedroom every night because she was so worried and missed him so much so I can see where she was coming from.

Barb wasn't even there until after Tom so when she did show up, casually talking until she noticed him, she flipped as well. More like how I did though, relieved not mad.

Tom refused to share the details of his 15 absent days with anyone. He has this strange brace on his wrist that looks like he broke it punching a locker in or something. However, he did tell us the story about how he stepped on a squirrel and it went nuts.

Get it?

Nuts?

Yeah, I know. I'm hilarious.

Anyway, so for whatever reason Tom seems to believe if he tells either Barb, Grace or I what happened in those 15 bitter days, it'll somehow end up being spread throughout the school.

The less they know the better, I guess.

Today, we went shopping. That ended up being a really bad experience, nothing I actually wanna explain.

But Tom didn't go to school today, he's actually not coming back until next week. And so when he came to the school to pick us up and go shopping, he told me that everyone was staring at him, all looking like they had something to say but just couldn't do it.

Well, duh. What are they gonna act like he's been there all along? I'm sure they tried, but it's kinda hard when the kid who's name has been all over the news outlets across Virginia shows up at the school like he never went missing at all.

It's been a strange day.

After the whole mall fiasco that wasn't my problem but ended up being my problem, Tom saw how hurt I was and took me out for dinner and dessert. And we stopped at Dollarama for a little snack of sour skittles for later, when we watch the Y&R tonight.

If nothing else, I'm just glad he's okay. Emotionally and physically, he's still kicking. And so am I.