Struggling to Survive

Chapter 2

Crystal! You gotta hurry up before we miss the bus again!" Stephanie was of course rushing me to get ready for school again. Two more weeks left and we'd officially be seniors. I remember there was a point in my life when I didn't even think I was gonna finish high school. Until Stephanie found out and she basically told me if I dropped out she'd murder me.

I quickly threw on some gray nike sweats with a matching hoodie and my white hurraches. I already had my hair tied up in a bun so I grabbed my bag and walked out downstairs.
"Girl no bueno mami. What is you doingggggg?" Stephanie began to talk to me in her Dominican accent whenever she felt like sounding sassy.
"What I do now?" I said with annoyance in my voice.
She quickly got up and went over to me pulling on my clothes.
"Honey it is senior picture day and I refuse. Absolutely REFUSE to let you leave the house like this. Listen I know you're bad. You know you're bad. Now let this school photographer know you're bad." She winked at me while dragging me up the stairs. I tried to push her off of me but for a tiny person this girl was strong as hell.
"Now what you're gonna wear is you're mostly ripped blue jeans with your white shirt that says 'love yourself'. Put on some winged eyeliner, hoops, and gloss. Now don't forget to slay them edges girl! Oh! And you keep the shoes you have on. Just put on a jacket cause it's chilly." She smiled and left the room closing the door behind her.

I followed her instructions and after about an hour I was ready. I went back downstairs and we left to go to the bus stop.
"See we're doing better, we only missed first period." I said nonchalantly while checking the bus time. I could tell she rolled her eyes at me but I didn't care.

Stephanie was always more into school than me. Not saying I don't want the education and to be able to say ' hey I graduated high school and college'. But school doesn't change your life the way people make it seem. My mother had her masters in business then she got addicted to drugs. She was only introduced to them when one of her coworkers said they knew a way she could stay up to finish work and go to school. Even when she was sober for a year, no one would hire her.

"Girl did I tell you about Leon?" Stephanie said pulling me out of my thoughts. Stephanie always had the gossip on everyone. Even people she never even met.
"No. What about him?"
"So I heard he got arrested for getting caught taking steroids."
Leon was our star quarterback at Wilson High. I always thought he looked a little too buff to be 17.
"Well I'm not shocked are you?"
"Girl I'm not shocked but honeyyyyyyy! I was hoping I had a shot with him!" I began to chuckle remembering that Stephanie had the biggest crush on him in our first year of high school. Guess she never got over it.

We got on the bus and made it to school in the end of second period. I told Stephanie I'd meet her during lunch 3 hours from now. I walked into my third period class and put all my stuff down. Nigel walked in and sat next to me as usual.
"Hey beautiful" he winked at me
"What do you want Nigel?" Since the first day of tenth grade he has constantly tried to shoot his shot and miss every time. But besides the fact that he never knew how not to flirt with me. I honestly considered him to be one of my closest friends. He was a really cool down to earth person. When he wanted to be of course.
"Babygirl I'm just trying to make you mine. Don't you want someone who can treat you right? Buy you all the things you like? Talk to you on the phone every night? Even when you're feeling tight?"
"Boy if you don't stop quoting lyrics from songs" I began to laugh so hard I had tears in my eyes. He shook his head in defeat and began to write what was on the board.
My on and off again friend, Araya, sat at the table behind me and we began to talk.
"Girl two more weeks of the hell hole and we will be one step closer to graduating!"
" I know but I feel like time flew by you know? Like just yesterday I beat your ass at lunch?" I said this with a grin.
On the second day of sophomore year, I heard Araya telling one of her friends that she thought crackbabies weren't smart enough to go to high school. There was a rumor going around that my mother was hooked on crack and I was born a crackbaby. When I heard her say this I instantly grabbed her ponytail and started punching her until her nose was bloody and eye was swollen. It took 4 guards to get me off of her. A week after having therapy she apologized to me and ever since then we've been cordial.
" Crys you only got the best of me because I wasn't even facing you. Therefore it wasn't a fair fight." She said while shrugging her shoulders and looking away.
"Oh please ask anyone who was there and they'll tell you it was fair."
For the rest of the class I took notes while Nigel was knocked out on my shoulder. The only way he's even passing this class is because I let him copy me.
After the bell rang I went to my next two class periods and then it was lunch. Stephanie saw me first and ran over to me.
"So why didn't you tell me that you're fighting today?" Startled by the question, I gave her a confused look and shook my head.
"Uh uh nope. Not this Crystal. I stay to myself all the damn time so who do I have beef with?" I shrugged my shoulders and walked away. I was always in some damn drama no matter how much I stayed to myself.
"Look my sources told me that you and Trina are supposed to fight during lunch." She crosses her arms against her chest and I could tell she was getting annoyed. Stephanie always caught an attitude when I was about to fight someone.
" I'm not fighting Trina! She made up some beef between me and her just because her boyfriend want me! That's not my problem that's hers. Therefore she beefing with herself " I sat at the table and began to eat my food when I saw Trina walk in.
Trina was about 5'8 and real thick. No one ever wanted to start problems with her because she was scary. Well no one except me cause I never back down from a fight honey. She began to walk over to my table and sat right across from me.