The Evolution of a Teenage Girl

One

As I ran to the beat of the newest pop song I pushed myself faster around that high school track. I continuously ran and ran until I felt as if my legs were gonna fall off and my lungs were going to deflate. How much longer could I keep doing this to myself? I was waking up every morning at five to escape the displeasure of being stuck at home listening to my parents argue. In order to truthfully leave the house, I needed to come up with an excuse, a hobby. Luckily for me, running was a great way to escape. When I first began, my running looked sad, I would pant hard, maybe pass out from walking just one time around the track. The more unbearable it became at home, the easier it was to push myself and get better at the sport.

How could my parents not see that they were causing me this much trouble? While they spent their time fighting and arguing over trivial things, I started to distance myself from home.

Pushing away all negative thoughts, I stopped just right before I hit my two mile mark. Pulling out my phone, I dialed the number to my home.

"Cam, are you finished with your morning run?" my mom said into the phone.

"Yeah, I only called to tell you that I am just going to walk home. I think I want to stop by the library and maybe pick up a book or two. Plus, that assignment you gave me has to be done Friday right? Im gonna hit the books on WWII and finish it while I am already at the library."

"All right, I love you, be careful and call me when you're on your way home."

Hanging up with my mom, I walked over to my bag thrown half hazardously on the cement. Some of the contents spilling out onto the ground. I picked it up and swung it over my shoulder and started walking away from the school. My mom homeschooled me. After my seventh grade year ended so badly with the bullying, the puberty, and the multiple warnings from my therapist, my mom took me out of public school. The high school a mile away allowed the gates to the track be open from five to seven fifteen every morning for people that wanted to use it. I was grateful that even though I wasn't a student I was able to use that space for myself.

When I got to the main road I started walking left. Don't ask me why. I truthfully don't know. The library was a couple blocks forward and home was just a mile to the right. A sense of "whatever" overcame me and I decided I wanted to do something out of the ordinary.

I walked for about forty five minutes. I took my headphones out of my ears and glanced around. I had walked far from the high school and even farther from home.

Deciding that I was done with whatever it was that I was doing I texted a quick text to my best friend.

Mary SOS. I need a ride really quick.

Knowing Mary, her phone was open and probably almost dead from a night of reading. That girl could read a book a day and would always have some sort of adventure to share with me. My phone buzzed and I looked down

Alright I'm coming.

As creepy as it may sound, Mary and I shared location with each other. Mary got her phone first and we thought it was so cool that you could share location with people. When I got my phone months later, we were finally able to test it out and see how well it worked. She tracked me and I tracked her. At first it was kind of silly, but now it's just really convenient.

I walked a little further to a bench that caught my eye and waited about fifteen minutes for Mary to arrive.

Honking pulled me out of my mind and I saw Mary waving like a mad woman. I smiled a bright smile to her and walked to the passenger side of her old Porsche. People loved to look at the cherry,red blob. It wasn't a nice or expensive car by any means. It was old, not collectors, but it always caught people's attention. We didn't care though. Mary had turned sixteen first and got her car a year before I did. We wouldn't have even cared if the car was missing all its seats. It was a car that got us from point A to point B and we were grateful to it.

We drove to Mary's house listening to parachute and not saying a single word to each other. Mary and I could do that and it wouldn't be weird. We didn't need useless talking to fill the void. Our friendship was one of few words, but a lot of heart.

When we arrived at her house, Mary stopped the ignition and got out. Following suit, I pulled my sweaty body from her car and grabbed my things. We walked through her house and to her room. It was summer for Mary, but her parents were still working. The only reason I was still in school is because I still had one last final and a couple assignments and then I would officially be a senior in high school. I turned seventeen in a month and I was determined to be done by then.

When we had got to her room, Mary flopped on the bed and I landed my butt in an orange fuzzy chair to the side of it.

"I can't believe we are going into our senior year of high school."

"Don't remind me, I am really hating this getting older thing."

"It's exciting Cam and not only that, but it means our lives are just beginning. I just really need to say something to you and you can't stop me halfway through. I really need you to listen to me. Please." I nodded my head keeping my mouth shut. "I really want you to consider coming back for senior year. It sucks going to school every day and not seeing you."

I started laughing and Mary looked at me confused. Little did she know I had already enrolled in school. I was getting antsy and lazy at home and I really wanted to maybe go back for my senior year. I couldn't let her go through college scouting, trigonometry, and prom all alone. The only thing stopping me from telling her that information was the fact that I still hadn't finished my junior year final and assignments. So technically, I wasn't a 'senior'. My laughing must have hurt her feelings because she looked down defeated and kind of annoyed.

"I wasn't going to tell you but,"

Before I could finish, Mary jumped up from her bed and screamed so loud. It was an excited scream, but scared me nonetheless. She came over to me laughing and crushed me in a hug. "Yes! Cam why didn't you tell me?"

I smiled sheepishly and let her know that I only kept it a secret because I hadn't finished my classes and I wanted to get that done first. Mary promised me that she would make me get the classes done before this week was over. Then decided for us that swimming would be our celebration.

I pulled out my phone remembering my mom thought I was at the library. I shot her a quick text that I was at Mary's swimming and would probably stay the night.

Mary walked to her dresser and rummaged through the top drawer. She pulled her swimsuit out and threw one of mine at me. I always kept extra clothes at her house, knowing half my life was spent at her house. We changed and walked to her backyard and jumped in the pool.