Sunday, November 28, 2010

My Only Friend

     Even though I grew up with an older sister, there was still a void in my house. We never went anywhere together and every time her friends would come over, I was non-existent. It wasn't until I was enrolled in an after school program for troubled teens, that I met Corrine Johnson. She was the second child also, but Corrine and her sister, Janet, were a lot closer than Nadia and me. Corrine was taller than I was, a little heavier too, but she had a boyfriend and lived with him on occasion, (i.e; when her mother got on her nerves). When I went to visit Corrine at her house on the fourth of July, also my birthday, I noticed a table secluded in the corner. On top of the table sat a small urn with a little girl's picture propped against it. She and Corrine both shared those big brown eyes and chubby cheeks. I asked Corrine about the little girl. All she said was,
    "Another member of the family." Corrine then walked by the picture like it was one of those store brought frames, never mentioning the little girl again.

   That night Corrine and her boyfriend, Freddy, along with Janet and her boyfriend, Harold, threw me a birthday party. We celebrated with fireworks and liquor on top of an abandoned bridge. It didn't matter that we were only sixteen. Life had handed us lemons and we were making lemonade, which was a great chaser for all the liquor we drank. My small frame couldn't handle that much Vodka in one sitting. After six straight shots and three screwdrivers, the entire world began to spin. Just then, everything I had consumed forcefully exited my body. Then I passed out. For the next three days Corrine taunted me about my intolerance for alcohol. It was pretty funny the first ten times, the way Corrine imitated me staggering and falling to my knees. Now it was just annoying. Every time I would stand up, she would shout, "Be careful! Don't fall, again! Hahahahahaha!!!!!!!" Freddy appeared embarrassed and tried to change the subject. He and Harold started talking about sports. Corrine added her two cents in.
     "Ariona couldn't play. Not swaying back and forth like a balloon! Hahahahaha!!!!!!" No one laughed this time.
    "Corrine! It's not that funny anymore." All she did was stare at me with that stupid grin on her face. Without warning, Corrine allowed the biggest, most evil laugh to escape from her throat. What was wrong with her? I just stood up and ran down the street with Freddy behind me. He had followed me around the corner and cuddled me in his arms.
     "She gets like that sometimes. An evil streak is in that girl." Freddy invited me to a movie later that night to apologize for Corrine's behavior.

    After the movie, we met up with Corrine at the mall. To my surprise, she apologized to me and we went to a local bar  for drinks. No liquor for me, of course. As we sat at the bar, two girls walked in and laughed as they passed us. All of a sudden Corrine hauled off and slapped one of the girls, causing a fight in the bar. I ran out outside and waited for Corrine, who was followed by Freddy cussing her out.
    "You always gotta cause a scene everywhere you go! I'm sick of that shit!" Freddy walked off to get the car. Corrine paced back and forth, cussing under her breath, then stopped dead in her tracks and stared at me.
     "Why did you show up at the mall with Freddy?" She walked closer.
      "He saw me walking to your house. He said you were at the mall. I couldn't call you." Even though I lied, that made sense because Corrine's cell phone was turned off. Freddy didn't pay the bill. In the car the argument continued between Corrine and Freddy.
     "You gotta change that attitude! You so mean! I had to take Ariona to the movies last night because you made her feel so damn bad. It was nice to go out and not have a fight for once. You crazy Corrine!" My heart fell through my chest as I looked up to see Corrine staring at me from the mirror in the passenger visor. Why in the hell did he say that? Freddy dropped me off reassuring that he would see me later. I just shut the door and ran into the dark house.

    Mama was in the living room with candles circling her. She obviously didn't pay the light bill again, due to her heroin addiction. She looked so pathetic sitting on the floor with her head swaying from side to side. I sat on my bed thinking about the whole night, when I heard something outside of my window. The curiosity to investigate the noise came from the Caucasian side of me. As soon as I was standing near the window, it popped open and there was a hand around my neck. I screamed for mama to help me, but she was so high and incoherent, it did me no good. Pushing me so hard, that I hit the floor, the person jumped through the window revealing themselves. Corrine!
    "What the hell is your problem?!" Angry that she had literally scared the shit out of me. I scrambled for some clean clothes and felt my way to the bathroom.
     "Leave Freddy alone." Corrine was calm as if nothing had just happened.
     "I don't want Freddy! He was making me feel better because you were picking on me. I guess you're going to have a field day with this one." The odor of fresh feces was enough to close anyone's eyes. What had I eaten? Corrine stood there, just staring at me.

     "What if I don't? You're going to tell everyone about this? Go ahead! I'm sure Freddy likes keeping me company." In less than a split second, Corrine had a butcher's knife to my throat.
      "You really want to know what happened to that sweet little girl in the picture? She was quiet, cute, didn't bother a soul. In fact, Freddy loved her. He took her out, spent money on her and compared me to her every chance he got! I hate being compared to sweet little bitches that play by the rules. Even if she was my daughter! Freddy didn't compare me when I robbed those banks for him or when I stole that car he's driving!" Corrine pressed the knife harder to my throat.
     " I may not be a genius, but you can't compare something to something that doesn't exist." Just then a turd slipped out of my anus and splattered on to the floor. Splat!

     A month later, I walked to the store to buy mama some syringes, when I saw Corrine and Janet outside the store. Freddy was parked in front of the store in his stolen car, waving. I ran as fast as I could back toward the house. Corrine had the nerve to yell out,
    "Hey what's wrong?!" I nearly broke my ankle getting around the corner. As I rested on a slab of concrete, I heard Corrine say,
    "She was my only friend, too."

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