Ava Jones

•2•

I was standing at my locker reapplying lip gloss when I heard someone yell in a mocking voice.
"Everyone bow! It's the queen!" I rolled my eyes. When my dad died my mom was supposed to be the Serpent Queen, but it was too hard for her. So I took my rightful place as Serpent Queen. If you have a problem with the serpents you answer to me. And only me. Someone hugged me from behind, picked me up twirled me around, and landed a soft kiss on my lips. I playfully screamed it was my boyfriend, Andrew. He moved here two years ago from Greendale, and I am absolutely in love with him.
"Hey babe." He said.
"Hey." We started to walk down the hall towards our classes.
"I tried to walk you to school this morning, but nobody answered the door."
"Oh yeah, my mom was having a hard time last night so, I stayed up really late with her then I accidently slept in."
"She's still not over your dad?"
"Well, her antidepressants mess with her and give her headaches so she doesn't take them. So the doctor tried to give her a different medication but, she's too depressed to leave the house to go get her depression medicine."
"I mean I know it was hard on you guys. But that was six years ago. You just think she'd be okay now."
"Well, my dad was her first love. Her only love. He was her first kiss, her first real boyfriend, her first everything. I can't imagine what she felt when she got the call, and then she attempted suicide and I just. Oh my gosh I don't even want to imagine what would have happened if I didn't walk into her room at the right time."
"I'm so sorry baby. Is the therapy helping?"
"Which one? She goes to three different therapists."
"Any of then I guess?"
"I don't really know. I have to force her to go, and then I end up having to drive her most of the time. But she does seem more stable then she did six years ago."
"Well, I hope one day she'll finally be back to her old self."
"Honestly, I don't remember what my mom was like before my dad died. The only Betty Jones I can picture is the one sitting in her room, only getting out of bed to get food or go to the bathroom. I can only picture her with red puffy eyes from crying too much, and tissues all around her bed. I just wish I could get my old mom back. The one that used to laugh and smile all the time. The one that was only happy." Andrew kissed my forehead and hugged me.
"I promise, someday it will get better. I love you, bye." He ran down the hall towards the boys locker room and I walked the other way towards my french class.