ideas

the truth will set you free

"Life gets hard, it throws punches when you not looking and it kicks you when your down. Life isn't a game like the board game might suggest, it's a demon, one that wants to eat you whole. It likes to toy with you and taunt you. Life is a cruel but not unusual punishment.  It is not nice and forgive like people want you to believe, it takes the innocent and it hardens them, until they are just as mean and cruel as life is.  So no, life is not easy, but why should it be, I mean no one's getting out alive anyways" Jackson finished reading his essay out loud to our class, wearing his signature smirk.

He had started off his speech with the question "Why are we all dying to live?"  The teacher just stands at the front of the class room, not really knowing how to respond to that.  At the being of his essay he had talked about how as a young boy his father abused him and his mother neglected him, so I'm guessing Mr Henry is thinking about what he's going to tell the counselor later.

Everyone else in the class is quite until Jessica stands up "Jackson stop telling people that story, Dad died when we were there and mom spends almost every spare moment she has obsessing over you, I highly doubt making your lunch and kissing you goodbye this morning counts as neglect," his smirk drops, and she then turns to Me Henry "what Jackson just read was a beginning to one of our fathers books that he never finished writing,"  she turns back to Jackson "seriously, stop doing this, I'm tired of getting called to countless because they think we're being abused." She flares at him and he visibly cringes,  which is funny with the; wears a  leather jacket, rides a motorcycle, and cuts class, bad boy persona he had going on.

Me Henry clears his throat "uh thank you for that information Miss Scott, in Jackson you can sit down." He looks over towards me " Andy, your up"

I stand up and walk to the front of the class room, then just stand there. Mr Henry looks at me "you can start any time now Miss Harper"

"I know, I'm just trying to figure out how I'm supposed to follow that" I say and I can hear a few snickers from a couple kids through out the room.

Mr Henry glass at the class and then turns towards me " Well try"

"Okay so here's the thing,..." I pause he looks at me more intently " i..... " another pause "didn't write it" is say quickly.

"You didn't write it" he says flatly and I shake my head, and you can hear some kids still laughing.

I lets out a sigh and runs a hand over his face, "you kids are going to be the death of me" he mumbles to him self. I imagine he wanted to say more but then the bell rang and I didn't stay long enough to find out.

Jessica follows me out off the class room, "Why is it that we've only been friends for a week and I get they feeling that you not doing your homework is a common occurrence?"

" I did do my homework, it's on My Henry's desk, I just like messing with him" I tell her.

"Why?" She asks with this look on her face day I g she's not sure if she's going to regret asking me this later.

"because Mr Henry may be my biological father" I tell her simply.

"Wait what?!" She stops abruptly.

I sigh and turn around "I found out a couple months ago, at the beginning of the school year, it's a long story that I don't have the time to tell you if we're going to make it to geometry on time."

......  

Andy Harper never new her father, but upon moving back to her mother's home town she finds out that he may be closer than she thinks, with some new friends she's on a mission to find out the truth even if it does result in her being grounded for life.