Assumptions - The Beginning -Chapter Two

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Standing here tossing a football with Brady brought back lots of memories. It was here, seven years ago when we were just five years old, that I secretly proclaimed my love for him.

“Hey, that’s mine.” I reached for the red lollipop, but it was quickly pulled back so I couldn’t grab it.

“Finders keepers, losers weepers.” Brady blew off the excess sand the candy got falling to the ground, then happily stuck the sucker in his mouth. After licking it a few times, he held it back out to me “Want it now?”

I wanted that lollipop back, but not after it had been in Brady’s mouth. The cherry ones were my favorite, but I did have another. “I’ll eat this one.” I reached my tiny hand into the pocket of my worn-out jeans. I pulled out a chocolate-flavored sucker, popped it into my mouth, then turned and gave a big, toothless smile to my kindergarten friend.

Brady’s eyes bugged out of their sockets. Those chocolate ones were his absolute favorite, and I knew it. He took the red sucker out of his mouth, wiped it on his shirt, and held it out to me. “Trade with me. I love those.”

I shook my head. “Nope.” I wiped away the lollipop drool with the back of my hand.

Brady tried to grab the new one out of my mouth, but I was too quick this time and turned away.

“I don’t like you.” He kicked a pile of sand onto my shoe.

I grinned at his comment. Before Brady could react, I took out my lollipop and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “One day, Brady, you’re gonna marry me.”

Brady’s face turned red. He dropped the red sucker, ferociously rubbed the spot I’d kissed, then ran off screaming. “NOOOOOOO!”

I watched with amusement as he ran across the playground until he was out of sight. I picked up the fallen lollipop, tucked it back into my pocket, and then sat back down on the swing to continue with my ride.

“Why do you have to go away for the whole summer?” Brady's talking brought me back out of my memory. He passed me the football, but I didn’t have time to grab it and it smacked me in the arm. I gave him an evil glare, but he just shrugged and waved for me to throw it back.

“You don’t have to throw it so hard.” I tossed it back, but it only wobbled and then fell onto the ground three feet short of him. “Because I have to stay with my grandmother for a while.”

That was the story I thought up to tell everyone, no one needed to know the truth, especially Brady.

“For the whole summer, Tab, really. That sucks.” Brady fiddled with the ball, tossing it around and catching it.

“I don’t think Conner is going anywhere.”

Brady wobbled his head side-to-side. “He’ll be working with his dad during the mornings.” He sat down on the bottom of the slide. “We were supposed to do some backyard camping, Tab. This is like the last summer before shit gets real. You know middle school is going to be a pain in the ass.”

I bumped my hip into Brady’s shoulder. “I’ll be back in August, and then we can all do something.”

“Yeah, that’s cool.”

I felt so bad lying to him, but I found out something I didn’t want to share with anyone. Brady and I were close, and what I got told at the doctors, well, that would probably change our friendship. That was the one thing I never wanted to ruin. “I gotta get going, but I’ll…um…I’ll text or call you later, okay.”

Brady stood. “Yeah, sounds good.”

My gaze followed him as he glanced over to the street. Conner was walking up the road carrying a basketball. “Well, uh…” Brady looked lost for what to say. “I guess I’ll see you in August.” His eyes kept wandering over to Conner, who was now waiting on the basketball court.

“Okay.”

Brady started to walk away.

“Brady.”

He looked back, and my heart jumped out of my chest. He was so damn cute, and he never thought twice about it. I took two steps forward and gave him a quick hug.

Brady acted like he didn’t know what to do. Usually, we just hit each other in the arm when saying goodbye, but never an actual touchy, feely hug. I turned around and began to walk home. I wanted to look back but was afraid of what I would see. Maybe he and Conner were laughing at the stupid hug that I gave him.

Ugh, why did I have to go and do that?

Oh well, maybe in another two and a half months they’ll forget about it, and we can all go on with life.

Tabby Faber — Bayshore Middle School

It had been one month of being stuck here. Thirty days of hell, but what could I do? I had to get through this, whether I wanted to or not.

Now you’re probably asking yourself, what could be so wrong?

Well, I’m not at my grandmother’s house like I told Brady. I’m actually at a place for kids with cancer.

My mom and dad took me to a doctor during the winter. I kept getting sick, sleeping a lot, getting lots of bruises, and not being as healthy as a twelve-year-old should be. So, after lots and lots of tests, making sure I didn’t have every disease known to man, the specialists figured out I had leukemia.

Sucked, right.

I mean, really, here I was going into middle school, I was supposed to be thrilled about upcoming dances, first dates, and all the stuff that goes along with being a teen. But nope, I was the girl with cancer.

Reason one that I didn’t want anyone to know. I just wanted to be normal.

Reason two, I didn’t want to be treated special.

And three, I especially didn’t want Brady to look at me any differently like I was gonna break or I had some infectious disease or something.

Did I question myself why me?

Hell, yes, every day.

But being in here and seeing kids younger than me going through the same God-awful treatments, I learned I had to toughen up. I couldn’t be a whiny little girl. At the age of twelve, I had to act like an adult and realize I would be lucky if I made it to the ripe old age of twenty.

“You’re back.” Brady opened the front door with a smile.

Then I saw the excitement drop once he got a good look at me. My once long, shiny blond hair was now thin and short. My mom cut it to the bottom of my ears while I was in therapy so it didn’t look like I was balding. I guess I couldn’t complain since I didn’t lose all of it like some of the other kids had done when they went through chemo. I had bruises up and down my arms from various shots and blood draws. And I’d lost weight, so my almost-boobs that I once had were virtually non-existent.

“What happened?” Brady waved his hand up and down in front of me, looking confused.

Think, Tabby, think. What could I tell him that he would believe?

“My grandma and I were in a minor car accident.” Okay, that might explain the bruises, but what about everything else? “And I met some really cool high school girls when I was in Jacksonville, and they all had this totally awesome haircut. Isn’t it so cool?” I ran my fingers over my barely-there hair.

I wanted to cry.

I hated how I looked.

I hated how Brady looked at me now.

I. Wanted. To. Be. Normal.

“Wanna go shoot some hoops?” Brady appeared to have gotten over the initial shock of seeing me differently. I was so happy he didn’t ask any more questions.

But that could be bad, right?

Maybe he didn’t care?

Maybe he saw me only as his childhood friend?

Maybe I wasn’t pretty enough for him.

Oh. My. God. Why did I have to like one of my friends?

I wasn’t normal, was I?

I was a twelve-year-old freak of nature.

“Tab, you wanna go?” Brady had already grabbed his basketball while I’d gone through my mental breakdown.

“I…um… I have to get back home. I just wanted to stop over and say hi."

I really shouldn’t be out here at all. Good thing my mom laid down to nap, and dad took my little brother, Aiden, to the beach. The doctors told me before I left to get lots and lots of rest. Don’t be out around other people too long since something like my white blood cells weren’t high or something like that. Whatever that meant. We didn’t take biology or anatomy classes until high school, so most of the stuff the doctors told me sort of went over my head. I agreed to whatever they said just so I could get out of there.

But I felt tired and going to play basketball with the guys would most likely kill me. No, not literally, but I would be super wiped out.

“Yeah, okay.” Brady stepped out on the porch with me. “I gotta go meet Conner, Lizzie, and Kari.”

Wait. What? Who were the girls?

“Lizzie and Kari?” That was the first I’d ever heard of those names.

“Sisters. Twins. They moved in down the block last week. Eighth graders. Totally hot.” Brady gave me the quick rundown as we walked down the sidewalk.

Great, while I was away trying to save my life, my one and only love was sweet-talking older girls.

“Cool.” What more could I say?

“Yep. See ya, Tab.” Brady continued to dribble the ball as he walked down to the playground.

Could my life get any worse right now?

I climbed up the two steps to our trailer, listened closely at the door to make sure Mom wasn’t awake and then snuck in as quietly as possible. Even though I was majorly depressed, I still didn’t want to go to sleep. I wanted to go kick some eighth-grade girl’s ass but laying down never sounded so good.

Tabby Faber — Bayshore Middle School

“Tabitha, are you ready?” I heard my mom shouting from the hallway outside my bedroom.

I hated being called Tabitha. Why couldn’t she call me Tabby like everyone else?

"Coming!" I yelled back as I ran the comb through my hair once more. My hair had grown in some. It was still thin and short, but at least I had something to work with, unlike the rest of my body. Compared to other girls I’d seen…

ahem, Lizzie and Kari…

well, I looked like a second-grader. No boobs, no butt, no curves, just flat everywhere.

Oh yeah, Lizzie and Kari found out Brady and Conner were only going into sixth grade, and they dropped them faster than a hot plate.

Okay, I might’ve said something when we all went to orientation the other day. The girls were with Brady and Conner, and I just happened to spot them when I was walking with my mother to find the sixth-grade classes. I called out to the guys that the sixth-grade wing was over here, and that was when I saw both girls drop their hands. Brady and Conner were so pissed off at me the rest of the time.

But one good thing was Lizzie and Kari were no longer around.

“Tabitha, now.”

Oh. My. God. Doesn’t she know making an impression on the first day of middle school sets you up for the rest of your high school life? This was when you either got noticed or became rejected.

I tucked my shirt into my jeans once more, put on a big, brave smile, and then went out to meet Brady and Conner for the bus.

Well, that was if they weren’t still mad.

“Do we have the same homeroom?” I tried to keep pace with Brady and Conner as they power-walked ahead of me once we got off the bus.

Yep, they were still an itsy-bitsy angry at me for calling them out about only just starting middle school.

“Brady.” I was winded with the half-jog I had to do to keep up.

I saw Brady’s step slow when I called his name. “What, Tabitha?”

Ohh, he went for the full name. I guess he still wasn’t a happy camper.

“Are we all in the same classes?” I hoped so. It wasn’t like I had many friends to begin with, not having him and Conner around would suck.

Brady held up his class schedule so I could look. I scanned over what classes he had and was happy to see that we would be together for the rest of the year. “Cool, we have the same. What about Conner?”

My other supposed best friend was walking five steps ahead of us. I guess he wasn’t feeling too forgiving today.

“The same.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. The school didn’t break up our happy trio.

The three of us walked into our homeroom together, like we needed reinforcement to get through this awkward situation. I knew some of the other students, like those from elementary school. But some of the others must’ve come from the other school down the way. Of course, Reagan, Ash, Levi, Stark, Danielle, and Shelby were in our class.

Why wouldn’t they be? Life would be too perfect if they weren’t around.

Let me tell you about them. They love to make fun of everyone who isn’t them. Okay, not so much the guys as the girls. But once Reagan and her friends got going, the guys sort of laughed along.

Reagan was a… I hated to cuss… but she was a bitch.

She was perfect with long, full, almost black hair, big brown eyes, always tan because she was Hispanic, and she developed way ahead of the rest of us girls. The guys were always hanging around her, trying to catch a peek down her shirt or up her skirt.

Her two besties, Danielle and Shelby, weren’t any better in attitude. They were typical tanned beauties that looked like they just walked off a magazine. All three of the girls were in cheerleading for the guy’s youth football team. You know, it was like a perfect book or movie—the beautiful girls with the popular, cute guys.

We all sort of come from the same town, except me, Brady, and Conner lived in the trailer court, while Reagan and her crew lived up the block in the Groves. It was just a neighborhood that had small block homes instead of ones that could be towed away.

Anyhow, me, Brady, and Conner took our seats next to each other. I heard whispers back and forth between Reagan and her girls, and then they looked back at me with wicked smiles.

“New hairstyle this year, Tabby?” Reagan was the first to comment on my new look. The other two snickered at her comment.

I guess I was on the cutting block this year for harassment.

“Okay. Let me introduce myself.” Our teacher stepped up to the front of the room and took over everyone’s attention. She was a young lady, maybe newly out of college. By her stance and expression, she looked like a nervous wreck.

The sound of the door opening drew everyone’s focus to the other side of the room. A girl our age walked in, and from the moment I saw her, I knew she would be on Reagan’s radar for torture. This new girl was pretty, so it wasn’t like Reagan would have that to pick on her about, but her clothes were what set her apart. She was dressed like a miniature librarian with her long black skirt, long-sleeved, button-down white shirt, and loafers.

Really, who the hell wears loafers anymore?

“Hello.” Our teacher welcomed the newcomer. “I was going to have everyone come up and introduce themselves, but since you’re here in the front already, why don’t you go first, then take a seat.”

The girl shuffled her feet and stood by in the front of the room. Her eyes never lifted as she stared at the ground in total embarrassment.

“Maybe start by telling everyone your name.” The teacher patted the girl on the shoulder.

Finally, her chin lifted, and she looked out at the classroom. “Ayma Kuntz.”

Wha…wha…what?

Maybe I misheard her since she was talking so low.

Once I looked at the teacher’s shocked expression and the other kids started laughing and pointing, I knew I’d heard her right.

Ayma’s eyes watered, and she looked devastated by what was going on. She dropped her backpack and ran out the door.

Was I the only one not laughing?

I glanced around the room.

Brady looked confused.

Conner appeared flabbergasted.

And surprisingly, Reagan wasn’t laughing either. She looked like she felt sorry for the girl.

Whatever.

I had to help. I couldn’t sit there and be a total idiot like the rest of the class. I didn’t ask for permission as I raced out the door looking for Ayma.

"Hey!" I yelled out for the girl to stop running away. She paused at the end of the hallway. “Don’t worry about those dumbbutts. They make fun of everyone.”

I tried to get her to see that it was no big deal about them laughing. This Ayma girl still looked totally destroyed by how the other kids were making fun of her.

“Do you know why they were laughing?”

Ayma shook her head.

“What school did you transfer from?” I could tell by her expensive clothing that it wasn’t anywhere near our end of the neighborhood.

“Bayshore Prep.” Ayma’s tone was barely above a whisper.

Well, no wonder she looked like she didn’t fit in here. This girl was from one of the wealthiest parts of Bayshore. The houses over there cost like a bazillion dollars.

“It’s your name. That’s why they were laughing.”

Ayma looked confused.

Okay, maybe they didn’t use those kinds of words at those richie-rich schools. I would make it simple for her. But there was no need to tell her she would be on the chopping block for however long she decided to stay in public school.

“Your name. It sounds like,” I pointed to my private area.

Ayma still looked confused. “Ugh. Okay, when you say your full name, it sounds like..." I motioned for her to repeat her name out loud.

“Ayma Kuntz.”

“Bingo. That’s what they thought was so funny. Your name sounds like slang for a girl’s private part. They all act like idiots sometimes.” I held out my hand for her to shake. “I’m Tabby.”

Ayma appeared hesitant at first but eventually returned the gesture. “I’m Ayma.”

“Yep, I know.” I rested my hand on her shoulder. “C’mon, we better get back to class.” We began to walk back up the hallway. “I’ll be your friend, don’t pay attention to all those other buttholes.”

Ayma giggled and wiped her tears away with the back of her sleeve. She looked a little more relaxed knowing she had one person by her side.

And that was the beginning of our beautiful friendship.