Dear Amy at 17,
We made it, but this year is a bit taxing as well. To start off, our French class is going to Quebec but we are sick the week of fundraising. We come back to school and discuss doing our own fundraising, but we are told that instead of allowing us to do that they are replacing us with 11th graders. This means that most of our friends are going to be gone, and we are expected to sit in an empty classroom for this block for almost two weeks. Needless to say we dropped French after a few days. We also drop English 12 and opt to take it via distance because our teacher is a bit off her rocker.
Truth be told, we don’t experience much of her. We are sick for about a month and regardless of the homework we do to catch up she still attempts to fail us. Its worth noting that she has a tape line around her desk for boundary issues and an empty desk for her invisible friend. We’ll never know how much of that was played up because we bow out. It bodes well for us because we end up with 98% in English 12 thanks to an amazing teacher, Mr. Scheitel. He recognizes our discomfort of being at this other school, adapts and helps us persevere, and even stays in contact after we move so that we can get everything in for our high school diploma. If you can, thank him more often – he deserves it.
This is also the year that the principal decides to screw around our friend. That’s putting it lightly, but it ends up being such a big issue with the grads that for once we are all united. Odd feeling since we are all on different levels. Aside from confusing us all about whether or not we were graduating, what the heck the portfolio program was, if we even had to do it, and refusing to shake S’s hand for a picture, he also calls the cops on her for showing up to a commencement that she is a guest to. No reason for the police to get involved at all. Even if she wasn’t graduating, she was there as someone’s date and was quite peaceful until Mr. Stick-up-his-ass started getting huffy. Choice words were swapped that night.
This is one of the last times we will all be in one place and still getting along. We fight it for awhile, and a few of us are still friends, but not all glue holds. Different people choose different paths that are right for them and the past sometimes doesn’t tag along. Lives get busier, communication slows which can cause tensions, and eventually we are left with our appreciation for the memories.
We wear a wedding dress to grad and keep it hidden since we assume that we will marry L one day. Not going to happen – in fact we just aren’t good for each other at all, but you’ll experience the interesting end to that yourself. It doesn’t help that he ends up moving almost without us knowing, when we needed him the most no less, and all of that compounds into emotions… lots of them… which just makes it worse. Try not to dwell on it too much.
Another year, another move. Our Z is in his later years now and right before the move it ends up that he can’t walk anymore. We take him to the vet and try everything, but its just his time. The siblings are away and when they get back each of us takes one to talk to. Losing a fur-family member is always hard, but knowing that it is their time gets easier.
Then comes Q-town… it smells… like something weird. Our house is a decent size, but the WiFi sucks and it is is the middle of nowhere. Good news is that we have a car and eventually we have a job; which is nice because we don’t just have to shuttle the siblings to school now. Staples… is interesting for us – its the start of us slowly getting used to who we are and who we portray, finding our soul. It’s going to get even better.
-A
A. N. Stetzl 