The Trials and Tribulations of a so-called Trouble Teen

Chapter 19 - Punk Rock Girl

TW: Descriptions of physical violence

I had terrible sleep last night. I was either too warm or too cold, and I kept waking up scared because I thought Maya was crying. Thankfully she wasn't, but having seen how she was at the start of the week, I was just afraid. She's been a mess all week and can't seem to stay "stable" for more than a day. We've spent most of the morning just cuddling, but we probably should think about getting up and ready for the day.

Today's plans involve volunteering, practicing for tomorrow and chilling. Maya and I are taking on a bigger shift to make up packages to be delivered to families and households in the area, as well as our usual helping people find the specific items they need then and there. Dad has asked us to try and fit some dusting in once we're home because he's spent the morning doing as much as he could, but he's not able to reach some areas around the house. I'll happily do it, although I may come out in a sneezing attack by the end of it.

Outside of our scheduled plans, there's a few other things i want to get done today, notably a plan for the show thing Gomez apparently wants me to do. October 5th... I get roughly 2 weeks to get stuff together. I don't understand why Marino host things such as award shows on a Saturday. Wait a minute... a Saturday means time for people to "spruce" themselves up and show themselves at their best for when their child wins an award that won't matter in the future. I've got until October 2nd as that's when Adam and Roger are coming. 3 days should be enough time to rehearse something, right?

Another thing on my agenda is working on that presentation, cutting it down so that it fits into the time and it still makes sense. Would it be unreasonable to not do it and just speak with Fry on Monday about it? Probably not. It's just a case of getting teacher help. I rather she read it and told me what to keep, rather than me cutting it up and accidentally removing some of the most important stuff.

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The genius of the group, also known as Maya, suggested that the four of us (Wendy, Shannon, Maya and I) come up with a certain way of filling these boxes. We've got 25 boxes each, so we'll take on 5 at a time. Each of these parcels contain the same things:

-Rice

-Pasta

-Cereal (so something like corn flakes, occasionally some porridge or even something wheat based)

-Soups

-Tinned tomatoes or pasta sauce

-Tinned fruit and vegetables

-Tinned others

-Tea and coffee

-UHT (so shelf) milk

-Fruit juice

This, of course is assuming the recipients are able to afford heating/electricity to make or heat these goods. Poverty involving heating/electricity isn't one of those things we directly deal with, but we provide outside help recommendations and guidance. Clothing poverty is another issue that we often see here as well, but again this is usually "outsourced" to other charities in the area. I'm not referring to missing out on the latest fashions, I'm referring to having clothes so old or inappropriate for the person to wear that they're literally falling apart, ripped, tatted, all sorts of stuff like that. The analogy I read once where one person could only afford a £10 pair of shoes that lasts 2 months, whereas another person can afford a £50 pair of shoes that last years. The first person will spend so much more money because they need the shoes then and there, and can't afford to save money to buy a better pair. It is expensive to be poor. It's a never ending cycle.

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E: [into camera] And if you can - please help us out by either directly donating the goods we need or donating money to allow us to get what we need. Thank you.