Things got bad, again. My dad and my mom were trying to find a job, but no one was hiring. That was a very bad summer. I saw the world crumbling beneath my feet. My parents were fighting more and more every day. I remember hiding in my sister's room with her and my brother, and we will hear them yelling so hard the walls shooked. Sometime during the fights glass would break or doors would be ripped off the hinges. My sister said to ingore it, my brother would cry, I would inhale, exhale, and read. I was getting good at that. When things got bad I would just
Inhale
Exhale
Read.
When my dad said that he found a job in a different state, and he would be gone for two years, I just
Inhale
Exhale
Read.
When my dad said that I would have to be the man of the house now, I would just
Inhale
Exhale
Read.
When my mother made me sleep with her, because she missed my dad too much I would just
Inhale
Exhale
Read.
When I fought my brother about not being an ass to mom, I would just
Inhale
Exhale
Read.
When my mom would cry when she thought no one was looking, I would just
Inhale
Exhale
Read.
Then school started, another year of failing classes, and speech. Inhale. Another year at the school where people avoided me, and treated me special. Exhale. Another year where I wouldn't speak, and pray that no one notices me. Read.
Now please imagine if you could, you're tried of that. You're tried of being "the man of the house". You're tried of not having any friends, and people avioding you. No screw that! You can be crazy if you want. Who says you can't? Who says that you need to only inhale, exhale, and read? NO. You will make a new friend, and get out there!
I had Ms. Something-French, and I was sat next to some kid name Josh. He had glasses, so he was automatically cool.
Me: "HEY!"
Josh: "Umm hi?"
Me: "I'm Arron! Two "R's" not two "A's""
Josh: "I'm Josh, with one 'O'"
Instant friends.
Third grade was during 2001, and during that time my aunt, and cousin was living in New York. On September 9, 2001, we were having one of my favorite days: camp out and read! I was reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, underneath a table, and Josh was reading the encyclopedia, when I heard over the overhead. "Ms. Some-French, could you send Arron Reinhardt to the office, he is leaving for the day."
My first thought: Dammit, I'm going to miss camp out and read!
My second thought: I can always camp out at home.
The office was packed, and the phones were ringing off the hooks. The television was set on the news, and all you could see was smoke. People were yelling and crying. I was just wondering if my mom could take me to McDonald's since we hasn't had lunch yet. My mom was driving hard core though the neighborhood, crying. But me and my brother were too busy talking about the episode of Everwood tonight. It took us nearly two hours to get my sister out of school, because there were so much people there. It was there in the office of Farimont Jr High, that I saw the towards fall, on the tv. I turn to my mom, she was crying on her cellphone.
Inhale
Exhale
Read.
TV read:"The twin towards fell."
Me:"Mom?"
She hangs up, shaking her head, and redials.
Inhale
Exhale
Read.
TV read: "New York"
Me: "Mom?!"
She hangs up, shakes her head, and redial.
Inhale
Exhale
Read.
TV read: "Terrorist"
Me: "MOM!?!?"
This time I say it loud enough, people in the office jump.
Mom: "WHAT?"
Me: "What the hell is going on?!"
Mom: "The twin towards fell. Your cousin and Tia Cookie works across the street and now they aren't picking up! Now please Arron, I have to find out what the hell is going on!"
I was shocked I have never heard my mom cussed, even when she is fighting with my dad. I got really scared. There is another thing you should know about me. Friends come and go, but my family is here forever. I love them, all of them, all of the crazy Mexican mess. And the thought of losing any of them, scares me shitless.
When we finally got Brandie out of school, we headed over to my aunt's house. My mom was on the phone the whole time, speaking in Spanish, so we wouldn't understand. All I could understand was "Pentagon", "major cities", "NASA". Now I understood why my mom got me, and why my whole family was going over to my aunts house. If we go, we go together.
Inhale
Exhale
Read my book where terrorist don't live.
At the house, no spoke. Which is weird for my family, normally we don't shut up, but now no one dared to make a breath. Everyone had their cell phones out, waiting for my Tia Cookie to call, please god let her call. It was my mom who got the call, it barely rang once before my mom jumped on top of it. It was Tia Cookie, she decided to call in today, thank the lord. My cousin did go to school, and all that she saw was smoke. Tons of it. It was like a wall she said.
Lucky nothing happened in Houston, thinking about it now, I doubt Houston is a major target, but the idea in a 8 year mind is scary and yet very comforting to have such a tight family. God I love my family.
After that, we had to sing the national anthem everyday, after the pledges. But on lighter news, things with Josh were going great. He was smart, like a genius, and plus he let me cheat. He was smart, but he liked to act dumb and mess around. He was great, he liked my house, which was weird because my house was crap back then. He would never let me go to his house.
Josh: "You wouldn't like it."
Josh was cool too, because his parents worked at a movie rental place, which was going out of business. So we got movies for free! I loved talking to Josh about nonsense. We would play a game where we make stupid faces, and the other would see how long it would last until he laughed. I would talk about how how my dad isn't living with us, how my parents were still married, and stuff, but we needed money and he had to move to work. And he would get sad, and he wouldn't like to talk about his personal life.
Any who, like I said, Josh was smart, like VERY VERY smart. During the middle of the year he had to take this two months test. I didn't understand it, it was just a bunch of pictures, and some were letters, and shapes, he had to make the pattern, which was stupid, there wasn't any.
The test proved how smart he was. Then all of the sudden, he was leaving class early, and having more test, and other weird things. I saw little and little of Josh, soon he would completely ignore me, and started to hang out with the super nerds. They worshiped his brain, they didn't give a crap about him. I felt bad for Josh, so one day I came up to him, and made a stupid face like the old days. He looked like he wanted to laugh, but then he got serious when he saw the super nerd faces.
Josh: "Umm Arron.
Me: "With two 'R's' remember?"
Some super nerd: "Hahahahaha what? You can't say 'R'?!?"
Me: "Well not yet, but I'm in speech, and hopefully soon.."
Another super ass: "Speech? Ahahaha retards go to speech! Are you a retard? You sound like one! Why don't you go play in the mud, retard!" *Pushes me into mud*
Me: I look at Josh. He looked sad, but then...
Josh: "Retard like mud? Say R stupid" Picks up mud, and throws it at me.
Me: "Screw you!"
Inhale
Exhale
Run.
Josh soon moves to some very hard smart school. On his last day he pulls me aside.
Josh: "I'm sorry Arron, but I had to make it in the smart group, my family needs me."
Me: "Yeah Josh whatever, your family has nothing to do with this."
Josh: "You have no idea Arron. I got a scholorship to go to this school, they are going to move my family to a nice house, a very nice house. They are giving us money to go to this school!"
Me: "Go f**k yourself."
I never saw Josh again.
But it was okay, I lost my only friend, again. But I have my family.
Inhale
Exhale
Love.
I love my family.
Thank you,
Arron.
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