Another Day In 7TH Grade Chapter 11

Chapter 11

It was a Saturday afternoon and I was kind of depressed. Why was I so depressed on a Saturday you ask? I was supposed to go over to Tommy's house today, the only problem was it was pouring outside! I asked my mom to drive me to her house, but she said she was too busy. Of course she was. She always was…
"Rain rain go away come again another day." Isabel sang next to me. We were both just starring out the window, hoping the rain would let up soon.
"What were your plans?" I asked, trying to break my rain trance.
"Me and some of my friends were supposed to go shopping this afternoon, but I don't see that happening. Trisha's mom was coming to pick us up, but changed her mind when she seen all the rain." Isabel answered followed by a long sigh.
I was so bored. I wished I had a back up plan. Sidney was reading a book and Keyda was playing the Sims. I was thinking of writing a little bit, but I was in a writer's block for a few days now. I could not find a thing that inspired me, and this rain wasn't helping.
"The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout…" Isabel sang. She continued singing any song she could think of involving rain. I bet her next song choice would be It's Raining It's Pouring. I really didn't want to listen her depressing songs anymore. I got up to see what my mom was doing.

"Hey honey. Do you need something?" She was in the kitchen doing some paper work she brought home from her office. Being a lawyer was one career I knew I never wanted to have! It was way too much work!
"Mom, I'm bored. Can't you just run me over to Tommy's house? Please! I will be out of your hair for the rest of the day." I begged
"Sofya, we already went over this. I can't today, I have too much work to do." She said quickly. She didn't even think over my request for a moment.
"But…"
"No buts! Now go do something. Maybe you can play with your sisters." That was a terrible idea! For one thing, I don't play, for another, neither do my sisters. They start out just bossing me around for a while, then make me their slave. Trust me I know from experience!

I stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind me. I groaned loudly. I could faintly hear Isabel singing It's Raining It's Pouring. I could not stand this anymore! I had to get out of the house! I needed to find something to do before my brain rotted from all the boredom I was drowning in! I held my head with my hands, trying to get rid of the headache that was forming. I was scared half to death when I heard a knock at the door. I literally jumped off the floor.
           "Sofya, was that the door?" My mom asked.
"I think so."
"Who on earth would be crazy enough to come over in this weather?" I heard her muttering to herself. I was wondering the same thing, but only for a nano second. I knew exactly who was crazy enough to come over in the pouring rain. I ran over to the door and swung it open eagerly. In the doorway stood a soaking wet Tommy.
            "Hey! What are you doing here?" I asked surprised.
"Well, when I talked to you earlier you sounded so depressed about having to stay home. So I decided to just come over here to get you myself." Tommy said cleverly, I think she would have been even more prepared if she would have worn a raincoat. She had on an over sized hoody, which now was even larger with it soaking in the rain. Even her faded jeans seamed to be losing their blue dye every second she stood there.
"Hold on, I'll go tell my mom you're here." I offered her to come inside, but she said it was okay.
"Mom." I said happily when I reentered the kitchen.
"What is it? Who was at the door?" She asked while she lightly tapped her pen against the table top.
"Tommy is here. She wants me to walk over to her trailer. Can I go now? Please?"
"Wait, Tommy is here? How did she get here?" She asked surprised. She turned her head a little, trying to see into the hallway.
"She walked here, she really wants me to come over. If we walk together nothing bad will happen."
"But it's pouring outside. You'll catch a cold." My mom argued, trying to think of any reason she could to keep me home. I think she just didn't want me to have any fun.
"I will wear my raincoat, and I'll bring an umbrella, and I swear I won't go anywhere but straight to Tommy's house." Judging  by her face my argument didn't look too promising. "Please!" I continued. "If you don't let me go over there, Tommy will have wasted her time coming over here. That isn't a very nice thing to do to someone." I added that last part for the guilt. I know when it comes to my mom she goes along with my ideas faster if she thinks saying no will make her feel guilty.
"Well, she did come all the way over here. It would be a shame if I sent her back  alone." She stopped to think for a little bit. "Alright Sofya, you can go over to Tommy's. If you promise to be careful and no goofing off. I want you to go straight over to Tommy's house and that's it. The longer you stay out in this weather the more of a chance you could get sick. Do you understand?" Leave it to my mom to make a happy time seem strict and boring.
"Okay Mom. I promise, no funny business on my part." I reassured.
I ran to the hallway closet to grab my raincoat. "Have fun sweetie." She said. She still sounded worried, but she always worried, so I didn't think much of it.
"I will." I yelled as I ran to the door. I opened it quickly, Tommy was still waiting there. She had on her 'what did she say' look.
"She said I could go!" I yelled happily.
"Sweet! Lets go!"
We did a little victory dance that made us both feel like dorks, but who cares we were happy! We started walking down the sidewalk, as we talked about what we would do when we got to her house. Every puddle we came across Tommy had to be sure to jump in. "Why do you still jump in puddles?" I asked. "I outgrew that a long time ago."  I stepped over a big puddle filled with mud as I spoke.
"What kind of question is that? I like to jump in puddles, I always have, and I always will."
"But it's childish!" I argued. "Most people outgrew that phase a long time ago."  I  didn't know why I was making such a big deal out of jumping in puddles, but that's what came to my mind. I walked on but noticed Tommy had fallen behind. I turned around to see where she was. Tommy had stopped dead in her tracks. I wasn't sure what she was planning on doing. I hoped I didn't make her angry. If I did I would have been the first person, in history, to make Tommy lose her cool. She looked at me straight in my eyes; they appeared icy cold, not the warm eyes she usually had looking back at mine.
"Sofya." She said calmly. "You have a lot to learn about growing up." That's all she said. She looked away from me and just stood there, without saying another word. All I could hear was the rain falling on the ground around me. I stood by her quietly; I had no idea what to say. I couldn't tell if she was mad or just annoyed. Every single raindrop felt like a drop of ice on my skin. I never thought someone doing nothing would be scarier than someone yelling at me. I found out at that moment, silence was a very chilling way of dealing with problems. It really confuses people.
I felt like I was standing there forever. I knew this was more than what I had said about the puddles. "Tommy.. I'm sorry." I finally said to break the silence. "Please don't be mad at me."
She took her eyes off the ground and turned to me. "I'm not mad at you. I just have a lot on my mind." She explained. "Lets just get going." She said trying to sound normal. I could tell by the tone of her voice something wasn't right.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, hoping she would open up.
"No. There isn't anything to talk about." She said quickly, she always bottled everything up.
"Okay." If she didn't want to talk about her problems now I wouldn't mention it again. I did hope she would open up soon and talk to me, I would listen... Even if I wasn't very good at it.
. . .

When we finally reached Tommy's trailer the rain was starting to let up. We didn't talk much on the way over, but she did put on a smile when we entered the door.

"Hey Ethan." She said to her brother. He was nineteen years old and about as good looking as a guy in this town could get. Every girl that meets him has some kind of crush on him. Ethan had dark green eyes, like Tommy, the same brown hair, and naturally tan skin. Both inherited their looks from their dad. I tried not to crush on him too much for two reasons. One, I liked Alex, and two, what would a nineteen-year-old guy like about an awkward twelve year old girl?
"Hey! Little Red is here!" Ethan yelled.
As you may have guessed I'm Little Red. I hated the nickname I was branded with, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it. "Hi Ethan." I said, trying not to blush. He smiled at me showing off his amazing white smile.  
"Come over here." He said. He moved his finger, signaling me to come closer to him.  "Arm wrestle with me! I bet I can beat you!" He mocked. He put his arm upright on the coffee table, waiting for me to give in. Of course he could beat me! His hobby was lifting weights! He was so muscular it was scary! You could mistake my weak arms for two pieces of thin spaghetti noodles. Maybe I'm over exaggerating, but the truth is, I had no chance at even coming close to winning against him!
"I don't think so." I said softly.
"Come on Little Red! Show me what you got!" He bit his lip and raised his eyebrows. His legs shook back and forth, he was always so jumpy.
"Come on Sofy, he wont stop bothering us until you do." Tommy sighed. She nudged me closer to the fighting arena. I knew I needed to taste defeat before we could hang out.
"Fine, but just one game alright?"
"Oh you're no fun." Ethan said in a fake whiny voice. "Alright fine." He gave into my agreements, but wasn't happy about it. "Come on Little Red! It's time for you to go down." I sat down on the floor across the coffee table from him. Tommy sat on the couch next to us. I put my hand in his. He glared at me, trying to syke me out. It wasn't necessary though, he knew he could win no matter what he did. I stared up at him as he slammed my arm down on the table.
"Ouch!" I yelped. I quickly took my hand away and rub the sides. My hand not only hurt from when it hit the table, but also from when he squeezed it on the way down.
"Oh come on! Don't be such a baby." He snapped. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard. "Do it again." He demanded. I pulled my hand away and shook my head.
"I said I'd only play one game. Now I'm going to hang out with Tommy." I tried to stand up, but he pushed me down before I could.
"Come on! Just one more time." He said between his teeth. I really didn't feel comfortable around him when he acted like that. I didn't know what to say or do. I was really scared. I looked over at Tommy and noticed she looked worried.
"What are you looking at her for?" Ethan yelled. He put his hands on my cheeks and turned my head to face him.
"You've been drinking! Haven't you?" Tommy yelled. I heard her getting up and come closer to us.
Ethan took his hand off my face and started laughing. "Come on Sofy, let's go to my room." Tommy whispered. I quickly stood up and followed her down the hall to her bedroom.
"I'll see you later Little Red." Ethan laughed. I gulped and made sure not to turn back.

Tommy shut the door behind us and locked it. "Sorry about him. He's not the greatest person when he's drunk." She explained. I could tell she was embarrassed by her brother's actions. So that's what she was upset about. Her brother picked up a new hobby, he now likes to drink in the mornings as well as at night. I didn't have any good advise to give her, so I hoped she wouldn't ask. Why was it when it came to my problems Tommy knew just what to say, but when it came to Tommy's problems I was even more clueless for solutions? I think her problems are on a whole different class than mine were... Hers were much worse!   

Tommy's room was very small. Her bed was the only piece of furniture she owned. Next to her bed was a tiny space to walk, a tiny window, and next to that was a closet with wooden sliding doors. Her walls were covered with posters of rock bands and pictures she took of her friends. She loved to draw when she was stuck at home. She kept all her masterpieces under her bed. I always wanted to draw as well as Tommy. Whatever you could think of she could draw it perfectly! I tried to be as good as her, but always came up short. I guess I never did inherit my dad's artistic skills.  

"So what do you want to do?" I asked. She was looking out her window at the rain, which now had the company of thunder and lightning.
She turned to me before she spoke. "I was hoping it would stop raining soon so we could play basketball with some of my neighbors."
Oh great. That was not at all what I wanted to do. "Okay." I replied. I wish I could just tell her I didn't like sports, but for reasons I'm not sure of, I am never able to tell people, out side of my family, how I really feel. I just didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
. . .

For most of the day we listened to the radio, which was conveniently located under Tommy's bed. Sadly, the station we listened to I didn't really like, so I didn't know any of the songs. Tommy knew every one and sang each song word for word.

Things did get interesting when Alex's name came up. "I saw Alex at Wal-Mart yesterday." Tommy said, when the radio station had a commercial break.
"You did! What was he doing?" I asked excitedly. Tommy started laughing.
"I never seen you get so excited over anything in your life except for that guy!" I started blushing. She was right; he was the only thing that I was really interested in.
"He was buying worms." She said once she stopped laughing.  Tommy leaned in closer to me, like she was about to tell me a secret. "You know what that means don't you?" She asked in a whisper. I shook my head. "It means… It means…." She dragged it out for as long as she could.
"What? What does it mean?" I was really curious now; did she know a secret I didn't?
"It means he likes to fish!" She finally blurted out. She burst out laughing at her joke. I should have known her answer would turn out to be nothing but unimportant information. I already knew he liked to fish. He goes on fishing trips with his dad almost every Sunday.
"Very funny Tommy."  I said as I hung upside down on the bed.
She pointed out the window. "Look! It stopped raining!" She yelled. "Come on let's go outside!" Her voice filled with enthusiasm. She unlocked her door and run down the hall. I followed her, but stopped in the living room. Ethan was sleeping on the couch, surrounded by a bunch of beer cans and a full ashtray.
"Sofy! Aren't you coming?" I could hear Tommy ask from outside the trailer.
"I'm coming." I answered. I quickly left the trailer myself. I hoped Ethan was just going through a phase. He used to be a really great guy. I hoped Tommy didn't turn out like that. I'm sure she wouldn't, but I still couldn't help but worry a little. I felt the freezing wind blow through my hair. I knew winter was on its way.