- 5.
After school, I didn’t go back to the
Johnson’s. Instead, I walked back to my old
place.
Standing outside, I smoked and watched the
く
woman inside, passed out on the floor.
She was probably drunk again, trying to
forget her problems.
I kicked the door open, but she didn’t even
wake up, her face red and snoring loudly.
I went to the balcony. My corner was a wreck.
I moved a dead houseplant and grabbed the
thing I always hid underneath.
A crooked drawing of three people.
I carefully folded it and put it in my bag.
I glanced at Heather Smith one last time, then
looked at the place I’d lived in for 17 years. I
left without a second thought.
I went to a junkyard.
A middle–aged couple was busy sorting
through trash. A young boy was doing his
homework by a dim light.
Next to him was a little girl, playing with her
toys without bothering her brother.
Suddenly, she saw me, her eyes lit up, and
L
she started to run over.
I ducked away, leaving only a cigarette butt
on the ground.
I quickly heard a confused voice.
“Ashley, what’s wrong?”
I watched the little girl pointing and trying to
speak, but nothing came out.
The boy looked at the cigarette butt, then gently patted her head and led her back
inside.
I watched for a while, then went back to the
Johnson’s.
Mom asked why I was so late, but I ignored
her.
Ashley told Mom that she’d gotten the best
grade in the year on her test.
We were both seniors. I was at the bottom,
but she was at the top.
Seeing Mom’s happiness, I laid down on the
couch, remembering when I was a kid.
<
Moms always liked good kids who got good
grades.
So, after I got the top mark in the class, I
happily showed the certificate to Heather Smith.
I thought if Mom saw that I was top in the class, she wouldn’t hit me or let me starve. But she wasn’t my real mom.
Heather flew off the handle and grabbed my
arm, cursing me.
“Why’d you get the top grade? You don’t
deserve it!”
So, I was always at the bottom.
It made Heather happy.
When she was happy, I got to eat, and I didn’t
get beat.
But it was time for her to face the music.
The night before the results came out for the
second test, Ashley finally snapped.
Wearing pajamas, she pulled me aside at her
L
bedroom door.
“Harmony, can I ask you something?”
I raised an eyebrow and followed her into her
room.
There was a maid cleaning.
Ashley asked me hesitantly in front of the
huge window,
“Can you let go of what my mom did?”
I laughed.
“Why should I?”
She bit her lip, looking like she was about to
cry.
“Exams are coming up. If my mom gets in
trouble, it’ll hurt me.”
She grabbed my hand, like she was begging.
I tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let go.
Suddenly, she grabbed my hand and pushed
herself.
Even I was shocked at how hard she went.
The window shattered, and Ashley fell.
<
But she gave me a smile that was gone as
fast as it came.
She fell from the second floor into the
garden, and the white flowers around her
looked like they were soaking up her blood. The gardener screamed, and the maid
screamed.
The Johnsons ran to the garden. The maid pointed at me and said,
“She did it! I think they were arguing about
the other girl’s mom, and I saw her push Ashley!”
Mom screamed and hugged Ashley, who was
unconscious. Josh and the others called 911.
My dad slapped me hard.
My ear rang, and my mouth filled with blood.
He yelled.
“Harmony, you’re still a hoodlum! You’ll never
change!”
