Saint Carlin, Our Lady of Personal Distress

                My speech will be as blunt as my clumsy thick tongue will allow the thoughts crossing my mind to tumble out about the particular epochs of my life up to this point. What I will allude to now is a piggyback of what Natalie said in her haunting and ominous way just now.

                “I really miss who you used to be.”

                It was not as if she was saying she missed me because I was closed off socially from the circle, but she was saying something much more profound. It actually shocked me when I heard it because when you think of a sixteen-year-old girl like Natalie, you do not think profound.

                The trouble started today around first period when I broke etiquette of the delicate high school hierarchy by deciding to speak with someone I pitied. I could not help myself when I saw her because she was sitting with her head stooped hiding her face behind large framed sunglasses.

                We did not talk at first having to listen through the lesson that Ms. Sayre was discussing about Of Mice and Men, but natural curiosity was too much of a draw when I noticed the fresh bruise high lighting Rachel’s face. I reached forward and gently tapped her shoulder startling her to the point that she turned around quick and anxious.

                “What?” She controlled into a whisper yet still not able to keep the hard edge of panic from her voice, “I swear I wasn’t tapping my foot.”

                The warmth in the small muscles around my lips was a telling sign of a smile that I was trying to repress. “It is not about that.” I replied while leaning back in my seat trying to get the now full view of her face and noticed that it was across the bridge of her nose furbished with a small bandage. “It’s about your face. Did you get into a bar fight?”

                Rachel blew out a vexed puff of air rolling her lips back over her teeth. “Kate did it.” She said with a rueful laugh and noticing my lack of reaction asked something I thought obvious. “You don’t seem to be too surprised given the fact you were so interested to know in the first place… which means you already knew.”