The Power Of Friendship

     The bus ride on the way to school in th morning were always long. Somehow the always had a way of calming me down before having to go into "hell" or what they call "school" or my favorite and the most ironic "a safe place like home". Isn't home supposed to be the place where your heart is? A place where your safe? If thats the case then hoe is most definetly not here.The rain against the roof of the bus made a soft "pitter patter" while the noisey middle schoolers made their way off the bus and onto their lives while I was left on the bus alone with my thoughts.. My past.. Eentaully the noise of them would fade away and my demons would take over and consume me and force a scene -normally one i didn't like- to play back in my head.

     I was alone back in my old house. It was a dark and rainy day there. When I turned there was a long distant hallway (you know the kind that looked like someone would rob/rape/murder you in) and on the side the living room where I spent my happy times in my childhood watching cartoons in with my brothers, laugh, eat toast, fall asleep on the couch with my dog.. But it didn't look as inviting as it use to, no this time it was darker it had an erie taste to it. One that I didn't like. One that filled me with fear. Suddenly my father appeared before me with his dark, angry eyes. The yells pierced through my ears and into my veins which made me jump back. I felt his hand meet my face a few times for it and behind leave a dark red sting, and when I made no reaction to it he threw me up against the wall. My back agonized in pain and I was sure I heard a crack somewhere. "You stupid w***e!" he'd yell "You ruin everything!!" my lifeless body made no reactions to this sense I was used to it all the time. This happened quite often. It was no surprise if I came to school with bruises or cuts. Normally, teachers would mistake them for "playing to rough" or "falling off the swing" never wouldve the guessed this type of nightmare from such a happy young girl. His nails had melt my scalp and I felt them dig deep into my skin and grab a fist full of hair and pull me up "I said get up!" my hands flung up to his as I yelped with pain. This only made him angrier and more abusive. "You dare defy me?!"  He swung my body to the wall but still kept his hand on my hair "Huh?! Answer me!"

     "I-I'm sorry" I choked through my tears.

     "Girls like you are only good for sex"

     "Please no..." And then he spat in my face. It mixed in with my tears and rolled down my cheek along with my hope of ever getting out. He lashed me onto the wall and kept me up with his hand against my neck. The he got inches fro my face and whisphered into my ear

     "Don't tell me what to do" when he let me go I felt releif even though my body hit the floor. I felt a warm liquid roll of my head and slowly drip onto the floor, blood. and somehow it managed to relax me. My bones and muscles ached and his constant kicking in my gut certainly didn't help. I kept focus on the red pool above my head and watched it grow bigger and bigger and bigger and each time it grew bigger my breath grew fainter.

     Then a voice appeared "Ali.. Ali.. Ali!" and I snapped out of the memory and was back on the bus. "Its time to go!"

     "Oh yeah.. Thanks" the mornings were always like this.

                ~*~

     I walked into the school with my bag on my shoulder. My legs and arms hurt from the normal chaos of last night. My razor laid hid in the bottom of my shoe to help me make it throughout the day. Girls wore their yoga pants and guys let their pants sag basically down to their ankles. Yup. It was a normal day here at Westland Grove which usually meant bad news for me. Which was exactly why I wasn't surprised  when I approached my locker the familiar a*****e voice of a guy filled my ears.

     "Hey babe" Then his normal hand gesture came where he slapped my a*s and I pathetically attempted to swatt it away. I shook my head and and shut my eyes to avoid crying from his cheap cologne which had intoxicated the air around me.

     "Go away!" I tried to say through my coughs.

     "But-"

     'I said go away!" at this point I was choking on the air sense his cologne was practically suffocating me. He had stepped closer to me exactly the way my dad had used to and my eyes grew wider This all seemed too fimiliar for me to handle at this moment.

     "Hunny you know I'm just trying to have fu-"

     "Incase you didn't get the memo Shitface she said go away." I felt the guy step away and then stop dead in his tracks when he had realized who it was. The air grew silent and everyone just waited for the next move "So if you don't mind" he stepped towards the guy and placed one finger on his neck "Leave her alone shes my business and if you don't" he traced his finger across his neck slowly while the guy shook under him in fear. "Well you know.." Then he grinned.

     "Oh my god bro lets get out of here!' and then they ran off into the distance. I laid against my locker in relief and smiled up at the guy who had appeared in front of me. He had his normal dermal piercing and cheeky smile across his face. He wore purple skinny jeans, vans shoes, and a typical wrinkly band shirt. He had skinny chicken legs, gauges, tattoos, and then his blue saphire eyes and brown hair to finish him off. Why are so people so afraid of this boy? You may ask. Well someone made up a rumor that he killed his father with some witchcraft spell when really he had died in a car accident about a year ago, but sense though nobody had messed with him which was good for me and him. "Ali!" he laughed and ran up and hugged me.

     "Oliver" I wrapped around him tight. His maple syrup-canadian smell filled my nose and comforted me from all the s**t thats been happening lately. He always had his way to make me smile

    "Dude when I get my hands on them."

     "No its fine I'm just happy to see you. Its been rough lately and I just want to stay like this for awhile."

     "Ali, what they just did to you was sexual harrasment" I looked up into his eyes which were watering. I could tell he was concerned for me. "how about we just leave this hell-hole for today and go relax in the field for awhile"

     "You know, thats actually a great idea." Then I opened my locker put my bag inside shut it and then walked off with him by my side with my hand on his hip and his hand on mine.