Don't Go Into The Woods

Chapter 9

The rest of the day was spent up in my room with the exception of having breakfast and then supper downstairs in the canteen area. The place was a lot more packed then what it had been the evening before so I could not see the guy from this morning anywhere. Not that I was searching for him anyway. I kept to myself while in the canteen with Carmen who forced herself at my side. She babbled on into my ears while I decided to just eat finish and leave every time. I also avoided becoming acquainted with anyone else here. When I was done with breakfast, I returned to my bedroom and started to finally unpack my clothes from my bags. It took me a while but when I was finally done I felt depressed which made me drop down on my bed with a heavy sigh. It was slowly beginning to dawn on me that I was here to stay. At least for now. Carmen eventually fell silent as she got to work preparing for classes tomorrow. A delivery was made during the day which ensured that I had everything I needed stationary wise for the new school year. If only there was something extra. Like enough cash to call for a taxi away from this place. Of course my mom and Rick were not prepared to do anything that I wanted to do. They were all for punishing me and they were determined to do so no matter what. After dinner, I returned to my bedroom with Carmen right behind me. I managed to take a break from Carmen as I stepped into the third shower for me for the day. Carmen knew this school inside out so she must have been here since she graduated to high school. So why did it seem like she had no friends as the only person she ever spoke to was me? I wondered if that was the reason as to why she was so over me as I stepped out of the bathroom. I caught Carmen standing next to my bed, staring at a very special frame which I had put away in my drawer. And it was put away for a reason. I stormed up to her and grabbed hold of the frame, yanking it right out of Carmen's hands.

"That is mine and I don't appreciate you going through my personal things!" I hissed angrily. I glared at Carmen who by now had backed away from me.

"I'm sorry. I-I just wanted to try and get to know you better and maybe try and figure out why you want to leave." Carmen said, whimpering in between every word that she spoke. "I did not mean any harm. I just saw you putting that picture away and wanted to know what it was." I stepped away from Carmen with my picture frame firmly in my hands. Carmen dropped down on the side of her bed with a heavy and deep whimper. "That is you and your dad?" Carmen asked. I stared down at the two smiling faces looking back up at me. Two very happy faces.

"Yes." I replied. To be more precise it was a picture of my dad and I on my very last birthday that I spent with my dad. He had taken me to a carnival for the day and had both our faces painted just for fun. We were both lady bugs for the day. I remember having so much fun. Then the car accident happened and he was taken away. Just like that all my happiness was gone.

"Where is your dad?" Carmen asked.

"Dead." I replied.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Carmen said sincerely.

"It is cool. I'm over it." I said, trying to make that sound believable. It did not seem to work. Unfortunately Carmen was really annoying at times. Especially when it came to times like this. Emotional and soppy times which I preferred to avoid. Carmen obviously preferred to talk about all of this. She suddenly seemed so eager for it. I sat down on the side of my bed and was about to shove my picture frame back into my drawer when Carmen tried to stop me.

"Why don't you leave it out? It clearly means a lot to you so don't you want to see it? Just to remember the good times?" Carmen quickly said. I hesitated before tossing the picture into the drawer. Her words had sparked a memory of mine. It was something my dad said that day when we were climbing off of a ride. My dad helped me down and I was so excited I said that I hoped I would never forget this day. He then said, "Always remember our time together even when I am not here. Always remember me and how much I love you Savannah". His voice tingled in my ears. My eyes began to burn as I fought back the tears that wanted to wet my eyes and make me cry. I did not want to cry. It was simply because I did not want to seem weak. I swallowed down the large apple that had formed in my throat. "I'm sorry." Carmen said sincerely.