Journey by Jay T. (best classic books txt) 📕

Mom and Maria were waiting until I got home. I sat and talked with them, and they hounded me with questions. Understanding that they missed me and haven’t seen me since August, I don’t mind their hovering. They wait until I finally go to bed when they finally start hugging each other and crying. I sigh and take a shower. I think of Darren, and New York. Nothing right now could be better with us, but then I get transferred back home.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but there are way too many problems in this household and there are way too many problems with the people at school. Throughout my whole lifetime, never once have I complained about going to school. I’ve always love the attention people gave me. I loved the guys flocking around me, the girls following me, the teachers who loved me in class…
Now, everything is different. There was a world that I didn’t know about then, but I know about now. I know that things can’t be the way they were back then. I know that the love of my life is in a completely different state, and the family I’ve always wanted gave me a career, an image, a lifetime of happiness. To think that this was the life I loved, I must have been completely sheltered. I was spoiled, I was conceded, I was selfish.
My life in Atlanta with Aunt Josephine was much like my life in this small town. There were tons of guys and girls whom were my great friends. They were all kind, and they were much like my friends in Virginia. There were cliques, of course, but they were the same people who I have known since I was six.
I started to come to Aunt Josephine’s house every summer since I was six. I know most of the people in the town, and Aunt Josephine introduced me to all the rich kids. They were the kids who introduced me to my party side. Every summer, I would come from the airport to Aunt Josephine’s house, and there would be a group of kids outside of her house, waiting for me. I had a really good friend, Liz Harleton, who was like me, only southern. She was the most popular girl at her school, and when we met as six year olds, we became inseparable in the summers. The summer before I started to date Chance, Liz invited me to a party and wanted me to sleep over at her house afterward. I agreed. Aunt Josephine was thrilled that I was out of the house, since she wanted to invite her friends over. I laughed about it, and went to the party.

“Mae! I’m over here!” Liz called. I looked around at the kids with the red cups, and I found her. Liz had gorgeous blonde hair that fell right to the middle of her back. He bright green eyes held cheerfulness that could infect anyone.
“Liz, this party is crazy!” I yelled since the music was so loud. I wore my yellow dress that flowed and was sexy and cute at the same time and kept my hair down. Liz, however, wore a revealing tank top and really short shorts. I looked her up and down, and smiled at the carefree nature, but frowned because of her carelessness.
“Hell yeah! You don’t think that I would have invited one of the most sheltered girls I know to a prayer circle party, would you?!” She laughed and introduced me to a few of her friends that I didn’t know yet. This was all so strange for me. I wondered how these kids could get the drugs and alcohol. Liz started to dance with a few friends and I stood in the kitchen looking for a soda. A boy came in, Steven Louis. He smiled and gave me a coke.
“I’m not into partying either.” He smiled at me, and I smiled back. “I’m Steven.”
“I’m Mae, nice to meet you.” I shake his hand and he invited me outside so that we could get away from the drunken teens. I smile and we sit outside of the house.
“How come I’ve never seen you around here?” He asks.
“I’m here every summer with my Aunt Josephine. This is the first that Liz invited me to anything. We just usually hang out at my aunt’s pool.” I say. We keep talking for a while. We talk about how he should have met me sooner and how much fun we could have had. It turns out that Steven was pretty popular. A lot of his friends come up to talk to him. He introduces me to a few of his friends. I smile and greet all of them, and they tell me how pretty I am. I laugh and start to feel comfortable enough to flirt. Once they leave, Steven and I accidently turn into each other. Our lips meet, and my eyes grow bigger in surprise. We pull away quickly, and he laughs really awkwardly. I smile and look away.
“That’s not how I wanted that to go.” He says jokingly. I laugh and glance at him. He had a nice build for a thirteen year old. His boyish were turning strong and firm, looking more mature than most of the kids our age. I could help but smile and pull his head into mine. He seemed pretty surprised, but he relaxed and started kissing me. My first kiss was taken by the sweetest boy I had met. I was happy.
That summer, Steven and I had a fling. He taught me how to kiss, how to play poker, how to be carefree. We decided to stay friends before I went back home for the school year. We spent most of the summer together, avoiding parties that Liz invited us to, and become each other’s first loves.

I think about Steven, and wonder how he was doing. Every summer, we grew further and further apart. At first, we hung out like best friends, the summer after I started dating Chance. That was freshman year. Then, we would hang out with a big group, not having Stevie-Mae time like we used. The distance between us grew larger and larger, then I would see him around town with some new girl, and I would wave, but I got a nod in return.
I am a terrible person. Ever since Chance came around, Liz had slowly stopped inviting me to parties, Aunt Josephine would get out of the house more, and Steven and I has stopped talking all together. It was my entire fault, wanting to talk to Chance more than spending time with my second family. I wanted to go back and fix my wrongs. I want to be Liz’s summer sister, Aunt Josephine’s adoptive daughter, and Steven’s best friend. Was everything I did that bad? I was terrible. I was horrible. When Chance and I started dating, I made no time for anyone. I made Chance the most important thing in my life, which he wasn’t. I understand that there were things that I can’t change; however, there are plenty of things I could do and change before everyone starts shutting me out.

I returned to Atlanta with a whole new body. I had grown into my bust, my hair was down to my waist, my skin was tanned; everything about me looked perfect. I knew this because I noticed the changes that happened to me and because girls started to hate me more and guys started to hit on me.
“Mae! You’re back! Guess what? Steven’s been asking about you! I’m not kidding, when did you guys—you know, never mind. I’m so happy, what has been going on with you?” Liz was super excited. I laughed and told her about Chance, and her mood went down. “Damn, that means that you and Steven won’t be getting back together. You guys were so cut together. What am I going to tell him? He will not be happy.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll tell him. I’m sure he won’t be happy, but I can’t help that.” I say. That evening, Liz invited me to a party, which I gladly accepted. I got ready in a mini dress that was white and had sequins at the chest area which hugged my body perfectly. It showed some cleavage but not too much to make me look like a hooker. The dress was definitely something that I would get attention from, which is something that I needed since I was away from the people who gave me the best attention, my friends and Chance. I wore heels that toned my legs, and I went to the party.
The party was in full swing and there were kids already getting drunk. I smiled and looked around for Liz. I found her making out with a boy whom I didn’t know. Heck, there were tons of people that I didn’t know. I laugh at a boy who tries to hit on me. I look at my tanned arm and see that there is water on it. I sigh and I walk to the kitchen. I wash my arm, but my hair kept sliding over my shoulder. I sigh, and try to flip it, but it’s too long so it stays where it was going to get wet. I groan in frustration.
“Whoa, are you okay? Let me give you a hand.” A deep voice calls. I turn and see Steven. He doesn’t recognize me, but I can see his boyish features hidden behind his new masculine build.
“Sure, that would be helpful.” I smile and tell him to just keep my hair back. He listens and once I’m done, I dry my arms and look at him. My waist length hair is soaked on the bottom, and I sigh and grab a paper towel to squeeze out the water. I glance at Steven and see that he has started to talk to a few of his friends. I grin and thank him. I walk past him and his friends and hear whistles and hoots from his friends.
I walk to the front of the house and see that there is a spot on the couch. Sitting in between a couple making out and a dorky kid with glasses I sigh and watch the people grind on each other. The dorky kid offers to go get me a drink and I smile and thank him. I needed something to calm me down, and fortunately, after my first party, I started to drink more with my friends in Sharpston. They, too, had started partying that summer, so I got used to drinking. The dork came back with a red cup, and Steven came in right after him. I accepted the cup from the kid, and gulped some down. Steven came