The Stranger by Zoe Olivia (book club recommendations .txt) 📕

My life is like any other teenagers life. I am in high school, I’m sixteen years old, and nobody notices me. I guess you can say my life is pretty simple. Except I have had to grow up faster than the normal teenager. My younger siblings think I am their mothers.
My mother was never around and our father died in a car accident. I guess you could say everything is falling apart. I have only one friend. He’s amazing. We have been friends for many years now. My little brother Zack and my little sisters Sam and Sarah, think of him as their big brother. His name is James Patrick.
It’s the first day of the second semester; there are a bunch of new kids. There are so many I can barely walk in the hall. I knew from the second I walked into school today that it was going to be a long couple of months until summer. I try to look over everyone’s head to find James. I couldn’t see anything. Everyone is to tall compare to me.
As I’m searching the crowd, I spot him. He’s not paying attention to me. So I push my way through the crowd and jump on his back. He spins around so fast he falls over. I’m laughing so loud everyone in the hallway stops to look. James has turned as red as a tomato. I slowly turn around and turn just as red.
I take the hood of my jacket and cover my face. I quickly look at James. He’s quickly closes his locker and grabs my arm. He’s racing me away from the crowd. As he starts to slow down when we get to our class I get a head ache. It didn’t worry me much. I have been getting head ache a lot lately. I think it’s all the stress I have on my shoulders.
Rent is due soon and I don’t have enough money to pay it this month. With Zack going on his first big field trip I have to pay for him to go. As I’m worrying about that I feel someone tugging on my jacket. I look up and realize I’m going to be marked tardy for class. As I rush to my seat I can tell James knows that there is something wrong.
I can feel him staring at me from across the room. I try not to make eye contact, but it doesn’t work. I glance up at him and he already knows what is wrong. I’m dreading the time the bell will ring. I look down at my paper, and wait for everyone to leave the room. By the time I start to get up James is already at my side asking me how much I need. When I try to tell him that he doesn’t need to give me his money he gives me the look that tells me he’s going to talk to my landlord tonight.
I get up and I whisper to him telling him that I hate it when he does that. He laughs and wraps his arm around my shoulder almost yelling these words “But baby you love you.” I can feel my face is turning red. I shake his arm off and quickly rush to my second class. I think to myself and wish I had the guts to tell him how much I really did love him.
It’s now lunch time, I search the room for him but can’t find him. I haven’t eaten all day and I’m a little light headed.

Publication Date: 08-08-2012

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