Girls Like Me
Page 8
Later, in English, Angel noticed Sha-rice had chosen a seat on the opposite side of the room, as far away from her as possible. Not once did she even look at Angel during class, though Angel tried several times to get her attention. Sharice’s eyes were pink and puffy, and she kept blowing her nose.
In all their time as friends, Angel had rarely seen Sharice cry. She wanted to talk to her but then remembered how disgusted Sharice had been when she stormed out of her room.
“I’m sorry, Sharice,” she thought to herself as she reread her poetry assignment one last time.
Trey entered the classroom just before the bell, eyeing her nervously.
“Can we talk after school today?” he asked. She could tell others in the class were listening. She could see Trey noticed it, too.
“Okay,” she agreed, wondering if he felt the same way as his brother. She noticed he avoided looking at Sharice, who sat stone-faced except for a quick sniffle when he took his seat.
“So this is it, everyone,” Mr. Collins announced. “Your last chance to make a contribution to poetry in middle school.”
There was a scattering of groans and sighs.
“Come on, now,” Mr. Collins said, glancing in the direction of the loudest protests. “This is your very last English assignment at Lincoln Middle. Think of this poem as your last golden moment, your swan song, your farewell, your final hurrah!”
A few students chuckled. Angel felt a nervous twinge in her stomach. She had finished the assignment days ago but decided to rewrite it last night. The talk with Mom, step dancing at East Park with Justice, the idea of a new start—she wanted all of it reflected in her poem.
When Mr. Collins finally called Angel up to read, she glanced once at Sharice, who she knew was listening, and then at Trey, who watched her intently. The poem was her answer to what Mr. Collins had asked her once in class: “Why does the caged bird sing?” She had discovered an answer, one that came to her lips like a song:
“Why would a bird locked in a cage
Ever want to sing a song?
All the free birds sing together
Because they feel like they belong.
“But the bird who’s not allowed to fly
Into this new spring day
Sits inside her cage by herself
And sings out loud anyway.
“It may seem strange to hear her song
It may be hard for some to see
How a bird that’s not like all the rest
Can sing just like she’s free.
“The song rings out as clear as sky
Loud and strong and free
‘Cause you can’t lock away her heart
You can never cage her dreams!”
* * *
At lunch, Angel mistakenly headed toward her old table with Sharice when she heard voices call out to her.
“Angel! Over here!” She was surprised to see Justice waving at her. Marcus sat across from her.
“Looks like we both had to find a different table, huh, Angel?” Marcus said as he nodded across the cafeteria at Sharice, who sat alone, hunched over her phone with a scowl on her face. Two tables over, LaDonna snapped her gum and chattered away with her same old circle of friends. “I wish we did this sooner.”
“Me too,” Justice said.
“Why isn’t Sharice with LaDonna?” Angel asked.
“Are you really surprised?” Justice asked as she speared a chicken nugget. “Once she found out Sharice wasn’t her ticket to hooking up with Trey, she dropped her.”
“Wow. That’s kinda sad.”
“You know what’s really sad?” Marcus asked with a fake sad face. “Me not having anyone to go to the party with now. That’s a tragedy.”
“Oh, boo hoo,” Justice said, and she tossed a carrot stick at him playfully. “Are you really that upset about missing the party?”
“Actually, it’s supposed to be pretty cool,” Marcus replied with a grin. “I mean, a live DJ and free all-you-can-eat pizza. That’s all I need.” Suddenly, he turned to Angel. “You still going with Trey?”
Angel shrugged. “I don’t know. He disappeared after English class. I doubt he wants to go—at least, not with me.”
“You’re wrong about that, Angel,” Marcus said, suddenly looking serious. “He told me he’d really like to go with you, especially now. You know... as friends.”
“Really?” Angel noticed he seemed to pause on the last word as if it had special meaning.
“Hey, I know!” Justice said, snapping her fingers excitedly. “Why don’t all four of us go together—as friends! My granddad drives for a limo service, and I know he’ll hook us up with a ride!”
“Oh, man—a limo! You know I’m in,” Marcus said, slapping his hand on the table. Then he looked at Justice shyly. “And it would be great to go with you, too, of course. I mean, with all of us. You in, Angel?”
Angel could hardly believe what they were asking. She was going to the party with Justice after all.
“Yeah,” she cheered. “Let’s do it!”
Marcus stood watch at Angel’s locker at the end of the day, protecting her like a bodyguard until she had emptied her belongings and slammed shut the metal door for the last time.
Although the halls roared with students cheering and hollering, no one laughed or teased Angel as they made their final exit from Lincoln Middle School.
Outside, Trey and Justice waited. Trey approached Angel as soon as he saw her. Justice and Marcus hung back to give them space.
“Angel, I just wanted to say, I’m sorry about all this party drama,” he said nervously. “But if you still want to go, I’d really like to go with you as friends.”
“I’m sorry too, but I think we should go. Justice is getting us a limo,” Angel replied. “I still can’t believe Sharice tricked both of us into going.”
“Me neither. But it kind of makes sense though,” he said with a knowing grin.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say. We have a lot in common. I know how tough it is, too,” he said, his eyes locked on hers. “You understand?”
Angel’s jaw dropped as his words sank in.
Trey was gay, too.
That’s why he never went out with girls. That’s why Marcus had gotten so furious at Sharice and why he was so protective of his brother’s privacy. It all made sense.
Staring at Trey, Angel realized that she had never been as alone as she thought. There were others all around her, trapped in their own invisible cages.
Girls like me, she thought. People like me.
She glanced back at the middle school. It seemed smaller somehow, diminished by what she had learned.
“Now you understand?” Trey asked.
Angel nodded and smiled, blinking back tears of gratitude for her new friends and the secret she no longer carried alone.
The four of them left the middle school together, laughing about the party and the limo ride to come.
And for the first time, Angel’s spirit soared, uncaged and unashamed.
Epilogue
On a warm summer day in early August, Angel stepped off the bus with Justice. They walked a few blocks, past a busy commercial strip with some restaurants she had never seen.
The Golden Grill. Niko’s Pizza. Phat Burger.
They passed SuperFoods and then reached an enormous school sitting atop a shallow rise. Surrounded by a metal fence, the campus included a track, basketball courts, and a pristine football field framed by silver metal bleachers.
A large sign next to the field greeted them.
Welcome to Bluford High
Home of the Buccaneers
Angel’s stomach tightened with nerves. 128
“There it is,” Justice said. “Your new school. That paper says to drop off your cheerleading forms in the front office. Let’s do it.”
Angel looked at her friend and took a deep breath. A whole new world awaited her. She knew it would be different from middle school.
New teachers. New kids. New enemies and, she hoped, new friends. Either way, Angel was ready.
She was grateful to put middle school behind her. She wouldn’t reveal what happened there to anyone at her new school. The less her new classmates knew, the better. That was the way it had to be. The world would see a new Angel.
It was the fresh start she wanted. Angel seized it with both hands.
“Let’s go,” she said, walking to the front doors of Bluford High.
Stories to Experience
The Bluford Series
Lost and Found
A Matter of Trust
Secrets in the Shadows
Someone to Love Me
The Bully
The Gun
Until We Meet Again
Blood Is Thicker
Brothers in Arms
Summer of Secrets
The Fallen
Shattered
Search for Safety
No Way Out
Schooled
Breaking Point
The Test
Pretty Ugly
Promises to Keep
Survivor
Girls Like Me
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Lost on the Mountain
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