05' Adolescence

Maisha-Part 1

August 6, 2005

1,379 Days Until Graduation

"When you get to highschool everything changes", I've heard that for as long as I could remember. My older sister Alyssa who was in the tenth grade, reminded me of this every chance she got, she said it when we were school shopping, washing TV, even while we were brushing our teeth, she was renlentless. Even now as she dropped me off at my friend Rita's house for the night she said "You know y'all not gonna stay friends in high school right?" I wished she'd quit with this, it was annoying to heave to hear, especially since I knew this was more about the fact that she and her ex-best friend had just gotten into a real life fist fight or some ugly ass guy that they'd known for like a month. But me and my friends weren't like that, we were different, more mature for our age, and we'd walk out of Madison High the exact sameway we'd walked in, we'd be the exception.

"If you say so." I said as I threw my Bratz backpack over my shoulder and ran up the seps to the front porch. Alyssa honked the shrill horn of the golf cart and sped away-well almost sped the thing really only went 25 miles per hour but seeing as she hadn't been allowed to get her driver's licence yet-long story involving our Aunt's car and a mailbox- she drove that thing like is was a Ferarri.

Rita's grandmother opened the door and the smiled at me. She was an old Indian woman, I think she was about 80 but she looked so much younger I could never tell, the only hints to her age were in her wrinkles and her extremley long gray hair. "Good afternoon, Chitrita and the others are in the back already."

"Thank you Mrs. Arya." I say kicking off my shoes and placing them at the front door. Mrs. Arya is a sweetheart but track mud into her house and it'll be a whole nother story.

In the backyard of Rita's house was this old barn, her grandparents used to use it for their horse until Snowball died from old age and Coco was euthanized, after that they had it turned into the coolest hang out spot for us. The barn wasnt big and it wasnt much but there was a couch, a table and Bratz Tv, enough for us. When I got to the back Daisy and Rita was fussing while Daisy sat on her sleeping bag eating a plate of brownies.

"What are y'all arguing for now?" Tiffany and Rita were always arguing for one reason or another. Daisy claimed it was because they didn't like each other, I think its because they're too much alike.

Rita turned to me with the posture of a lawyer about to break down a witness "Question. Brownies from the E-Z Bake oven taste the same as brownies from a real oven right"

"It taste like sugary mud." Tiffany said.

"Tastes fine to me." Daisy said as she stuffed another brownie into her mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Rita told her and Daisy opened her mouth wide enough for us to see in.

"Wait," I said "Look what I stole." setting my bag down on the floor.

"I don't want to see, I don't wanna be an accessory." Rita said before looking at my bag "Did you steal it from Alyssa?" I nodded "Show me."

I reached in my bag and pulled out Alyssa's CD player and her collection, she won't miss it, she'll just lie and tell mom she had spent the time at Rita's when really she was at Derek's house.

"What does she have?" Tiffany asked going through her CD's. "Eww Greenday."

"What's wrong with Greenday?"Daisy asked.

"Nothing but doesn't that mean that she's...you know?" Tiffany responded.

"No I don't know."

"Emo. Goth. She's one of those weirdos." she said.

Rita pulled out a CD and a picture fell out behind it "Is this a mix CD?" she turned it around so we could see it I Luv U- D Man written in blue sharpie on the cover. "Who is DMan?"

"Derek," I answered picking up the picture that fell "Eww look at him." it was a picture of Derek and Alyssa at the homecoming dance last year. Derek was wearing jeans so low you could damn near see his butt crack and Alyssa was wearing denim capris and a brown Bobby Jack T-shirt.

"Awwe they look so cute." Rita said.

"Cute? He's a two-timer." I said.

"So this is the guy she and Michelle got into a fight over?" Tiffany asked examining the picture. She looked at me "If we ever get into a fight over a guy can he at least not have braces in his mouth?"

"We're not ever going to get into a fight over a guy." I said.

She shrugged "I know, I'm just saying."

Daisy popped the CD into the compartment and the first song that began playing was I'll Make Love To You by Boyz II Men. "Eww."

"Why is this even on here? It's about love not sex."

"Love and sex are the same thing. That's why they call it making love." Tiffany said, "So are Alyssa and Derek making loooove?"

"How am I supposed to know?" I asked. Alyssa and I are close but we're not that close, that's not really something I'd want to know about anyway.

"You'd hear them. Trust me I can hear Ty and Anya everytime they do it." Ty was her older brother, he was starting his senior year and was finer than Neyo. Anya was his girlfriend-I didnt like her but I also didn't know why.

"What does it sound like?" Daisy asked. Rita thought about it for a little while then started making a sound like a dog panting.

"That is not how it sounds."

Rita made the sign of the cross "Cross my heart hope to die stick a needle in my eye." she laughed "And the sad part is that it's mostly Ty. It is so disgusting."

"So what do you do when they're...you know?"

"The first time I banged on his bedroom door and told him to shut up, but after that I just went downstairs and turned the TV up loud."

"Didn't Ty have to fight some guy over Anya?" I asked.

"He didn't have to but he did. He fought this white guy named Mark because they both liked her when I was in like sixth grade. You should've heard my dad when he found out, I honestly thought he was going to kill him."

"Anya's not even that pretty, she has nice boobies though." Daisy said.

"Do you guys think we're still going to be friends in high school." I asked and Rita nodded.

"Yeah," Tiffany said.

Daisy stuffed another brownie in her mouth.

"Daisy?" I asked. She looked up like she didn't know what she had done. "Do you think we're not going to be friends.

She looked at Tiffany and then at Rita then stuffed another one in her mouth. "There's your answer." Rita said.

"It's just, I mean you two already argue a lot so..." she shrugged.

"But it's different, it's not gonna happen if we don't let it." I said.

It was quit for a moment until Tiffany said "We'll be alright."

"But just to be sure," Rita reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper and an orange fluffy pen "This is a contract, to make sure that no matter what we'll always be friends, it goes as followed..."