LA, aspiring singer, actress, and writer
So it's that time of year again, when we reflect on the previous year and set goals for ourselves for the upcoming one. Let's just say I had a lot to think about with this. First off my 2020 was actually pretty good all things considered, I know a lot of people had to face many hardships last year, and I had my own that I had to endure, but on a scale of 1 to 10, it was a solid 9, maybe even better than that. Now I don't say this to brag or to denote all the people that had suffered during the pandemic. I just say it to help tell this story and because it was my experience. In 2020 not only did I start talking to and dating the love of my life, but we got to spend a lot of precious time together. Time I don't know that I would've had if I had been working all these months during covid. And that being said comes goal #1: To simply be better. Let me explain, in all the time I have spent with this amazing man I have learned a lot about myself, just from being stuck inside for almost a full year, but we also got to talk, a lot, and it was really eyeopening. And one humongous thing I learned, even though I pride myself on being a good person, he's an even better one, and it just reminds me that no matter what, I can still work to be even better of a person than I am now. Thanks, babe!
I was so excited. It was my first time in five years going to see my family for Christmas and I was bringing my boyfriend for the first time to meet my family. Usually, I would be caught up in work and not able to go home for the holidays. But I finally had the time off and the man of my dreams to spend the holiday with, along with my family. It was already going to be the best Christmas ever. And it came at the best time, my grandfather had been really sick about a month ago and the rest of my family were very concerned about his health. So on top of just wanting to see my family for this major holiday, there was a chance it would be the last Christmas I would get to spend with my grandfather. I think it goes without saying, that with all that in mind, Christmas this year had to be perfect, no exceptions.
I didn't understand why he would want to take me there. At the time I thought it was a little weird; "But it will be fun!" is what he said. Yes I myself am always up for some Halloween fun...but spending the night in a graveyard, well I thought that was taking things a bit too far.
It happened one night when I was asleep in my bed. He gave me a fright from the depths in my head. At first, I wasn't quite sure who the man was;
"Oh, it's that time, look at what came in the mail for you!" "Nooooo. No no no-no-no. How did they find my address?" "Okay, you realize it's just your high school reunion right? Your acting like the mafia is out to get you and they sent you a note to say they're coming." Sarah chuckles to herself while looking at her girlfriend in awe.
The dog ate my homework, and I wish I could say this is the first time it's happened but it isn't and I'm sure it's far from the last. My dog's name is Duck. Why Duck you ask? Well maybe you should ask my little brother Timmy because the only reason I can think a five-year-old would name a dog Duck is either A. He really likes ducks or B. He thinks the dog IS a duck. Either way when he came up with the name neither of my parents had the heart to correct him so now was Duck the dog, our new family pet. My parents got him just a couple of months ago because they figured it would teach my little brother and I some responsibility, but also just because everyone in our family had been dying to get a dog. That is until the eating of my homework started happening. And I know what you're thinking, the same thing everyone else thinks when I tell them the dog ate my homework, that I'm making it up all because I don't want to do my homework. Well, I am sorry to disappoint you but that could not be farther from the truth in my case. You see I am now a freshman in high school and I have always gotten good grades. ALWAYS. And now that I'm officially in high school it's important now more than ever that I maintain those grades so I can get into a good college and never have to see the mean self-absorbed kids at my school ever again. That's not exactly going to work if I fail half my classes and get held back. So of course when this started happening the first week I was horrified. At first, I thought I was imagining things, maybe I lost it, maybe Timmy put it somewhere he shouldn't have, both unlikely since they've never happened before but also not impossible. When I asked my parents about it they said they hadn't seen my homework anywhere and when I told the teachers I lost it they gave me a stern nod but let me make up the work...the first time. Then when it kept happening my mom started asking me if anything was wrong, my dad expressed how he was disappointed in me and all my teachers threatened to give me detention. It was so messed up, I have never done anything like this before and no one believed me when I said it wasn't my fault. That's when I discovered the truth. One day I decided to search the whole house to see if I could find where all my homework had mysteriously disappeared to and there he was. Duck the dog sitting in the corner of the laundry room with paper sticking out of his mouth. The second he saw me he just sat there staring at me because he knew that I knew what was going on. It was the longest staring contest I have ever had, and with a dog at that. Talk about the weirdest moment of my life. "Mom!" I ran to go tell my mom and the dog is running right behind me. "Mom the dog's been eating my homework, that's why it keeps disappearing, he's been eating it. Bad dog, bad dog!"
One night I was by myself walking home when I looked up and thought I saw a familiar face. At first, I wasn't sure, it was a fairly dark winter night and my eyes had been focused on a screen so long that I had to squint to see anything else. I tried calling out to them, asked who they were, explained my vision wasn't the greatest with them so far away. But there was no response. Surprisingly this more annoyed me then made me feel uncomfortable, but even still I didn't move toward them. The more I fixated on the figure the more I realized I did, in fact, know exactly who it was. In shock, I find myself slowly walking in his direction not believing at all who I was seeing. I thought he was dead, but there he was, right in front of me on the street, smiling at me. My late boyfriend. He died in a bad car accident a few years ago. And today was the anniversary of his death.
Before it all happened we were still basically strangers Sometimes exchanging a brief hello, or maybe even a glance. I was taken at the time and he couldn't have been more entranced