Free I Rize by S.T. Anthony Page A

Hamburger
    Every student would interpret the lunch menu completely differently than the lunchroom staff.
    • Tasteless look-alike-tacos
    • Animal food
    • Bird crumbs
    • Hard rocks
    • Mystery meat
    Junior sat by Gracie and noticed how Mickey sat at the opposite end of the table. It was the same table he, Mickey, and Adny used to sit at. Her seat remained empty. Junior sat down next to him. Mickey didn’t say a word, promptly leaving to go sit at the other end of the cafeteria.
    Junior couldn’t finish digesting the remainder of the bird crumbs. He watched as Madison approached Gracie at the end of the table. She sat down directly beside Gracie and said, “Hey, Chubbs.”
    She stared vigorously at her plate of food as Madison reached into her purse and pulled out a small stuffed animal pig. “Your long lost brother missed you.” She left the table laughing at her usual antics.
    Gracie pushed the stuffed animal off the table, and placed her head in her folded hands to quiet her sobbing. Junior was about to get up to comfort her like he always did, but stopped himself when Miss Nora motioned to him that she would handle it. She pulled Gracie’s hand from the folded position to hug her. “I will ensure Madison gets in trouble with the principal.”
    She released her grip from Miss Nora to place her head back onto the table, talking through muffled tears. “Her dad lets her get away with anything. Nothing helps.”
    Miss Nora leaned in beside her. “Would you believe me if I told you I knew how it felt to be an outsider at one point in my life?”
    Miss Nora grew up in the small town of Farmville, NC. The population of Farmville was 4,700. There was only one high school built in the center of town. Most of the town was covered in farmland and trees.
    “Everyone practiced Christianity and went to the Pentecostal Church of God in my hometown. This was the final resting place of my boyfriend, an atheist, constantly tormented before finally committing suicide a month before graduation.”
    Miss Nora stopped speaking for a moment and closed her eyes briefly while rubbing the cross necklace. “I watched someone close to me die.” She brought her hands closer up to her face while her eyes still closed. “He literally died in my hands. Ever since then I promised myself I would never allow a student to suffer while I’m around.”
    Miss Nora opened her eyes and took a deep breath. “What are you passionate about?”
    Gracie lifted her head and grabbed a tissue to wipe the remainder of the tears. “I love dancing and singing. My dream is to go to Juilliard in New York.”
    “One day Madison will be begging on her knees for your autograph.” She watched Gracie’s smile light up her round face. “Madison harbors so much anger. I have been around students long enough to know she is hiding something.”
    “Miss Nora, what do you think she is hiding?”
    “Something cynical is brewing in her fragile heart because that is too much anger for a young person to handle until…”
    Miss Nora stopped in mid sentence. Her eyes lowered into a catatonic stare with the table. She began slightly rocking while rubbing her cross necklace again. Gracie lightly touched her shoulder and said, “Until what?”
    She gave no response as she clutched her breasts and took a few heavy breaths in and out. She stood and pulled out a bottle of prescribed pain medication from her purse. One pill slid down her throat effortlessly. After her eyes followed Junior passing by, she responded, “Until they lose themselves to this harsh world we call home. When they reach that point, help is useless.”
    Junior walked across the cafeteria to where Mickey was sitting. When Mickey moved one seat over, he placed the laptop in view and said, “I need you to watch something.”
    Love of the Century
    December 5 th , 2008
    I never told you this, but sometimes I envy you. It has been such a short amount of time, but you have found the one thing I yearn