The Words that Changed her Life

I wrote this story just this week. In our ELA Workshop class at school everyone was assigned the task of writing a "Betrayl Story"; A story on middle school betrayl between either friends, parents, siblingings, etc. I wrote this story. I normally don't write so depressing stories, but I had to, so here it is. (It was supposed to be a "Short Story". It's five pages. Is that short? lol)
It's called "The Words that Changed her Life"

“I know, it was hilarious!” Lilly Carmichael cried, as she tried to control her laughter.

“Yeah, it was, and the way Sabrina looked when the chocolate milk soaked through her pants! It was great!”, Lilly’s best friend, Kasey Welch, added.

The two friends were discussing that day’s lunch episode. The most popular girl in school, Sabrina Cleary, had been dosed with a carton full of milk because of an ignorant boy who didn’t notice the milk tipping as he was throwing his lunch tray away. The two 7^th grade girls didn’t like to laugh at people, but this was just too good for them to ignore. It was the highlight of the bus ride home. They had been giggling joyfully the whole time.

“I heard someone got a picture of her with her totally surprised face on their cell phone, and they’re going to put it in the paper!” Kasey gushed.

I don’t know, I don’t think that’s such a good idea…I mean, it’s okay to laugh over, but in the paper?!?” Lilly said uneasily.

I guess you’re right…Oh, here’s your stop! Bye Lilly, call me later!”

“I will, bye Kas’!”

Lilly gathered up her flute case and her backpack and stepped off the bus. It was raining, so she ran quickly up to the front step of her quaint yellow house. She stopped by the door to pet her orange tiger cat, Marley, who was sitting on a chair under the porch roof and watching the rain. “You make sure you go in soon, bud, it’s getting dark!” She told him, and, with one last stroke on his soft fur, she headed into the house. She stopped and dropped her bags on the ground and sighed, basking in the smell of warm muffins that her mother must have baked, and taking in the cheery red and green Christmas decorations. She loved her mom and dad. Her mom’s name was Stephanie, and she was a petite woman, with honey blond hair just like Lilly’s, and was very joyful and helpful all the time. She was president of the Parent Teacher Organization at school (PTO), and she loved to plan parties and dinners for their family friends. Lilly’s dad’s name was Mark, and he was a tall, blond haired man. He worked at the local winery, and came home around 5:30 or 6 o’clock every night.

Lilly walked straight ahead through the front hall, past their comfy lounge, as she liked to call it, on the right, and a guest bed and bath on the left. She entered the kitchen and grinned at her mom, who had splashes of batter and flour all over her face.

“Hey, Mom, you look great!” Lilly joked, laughing.

“What, what’s wrong? Is there something on my face?!” Her mother asked, oblivious.

“Yeah, just a bit of flour, batter, and blueberry juice. So, is it blueberry muffin day today?”

“Mmm, hmm, I thought you might like some! I know how you love blueberry!”

“Thanks, Mom, I’m gonna take a couple up to my room. I have to study for a math test tomorrow and do the math homework, and the social studies teacher, Mrs. Perry, assigned tons of work, too”, Lilly told her mom, as she grabbed two muffins and a water bottle from the fridge and headed back down the hallway to the stairs. The upstairs of their house wasn’t very big. There was Lilly’s room, her mom and dad’s room, and two bathrooms, one connecting to each of the two rooms, as well as what Lilly’s mom called the “workroom”. It was where they did all the ironing, planning, studying, etc. Lilly picked up her bags from where they lay at the bottom of the stairs and ran up them, eager to finish her homework so she could read the new book she had found at the school library that day. Lilly turned left at the top of the stairs and entered her well organized and decorated room. She threw her things onto her comfortable, full sized sleigh bed with the pink and lavender striped quilts that matched her walls. Glancing at the clock that hung over her mahogany wood desk on the opposite wall, she thought Wow, it’s almost 5:30 already! Boy, I’d better get started! Dinner’s always at 6:30 and I have a lot to do. She took out her social studies folder and her math binder and headed over to her desk. She flipped on her purple fringed desk lamp and sat down in her purple twirly chair. A lot of things in her room were shades of purple. It was her favorite color, which was why her mother had worked so hard the theme everything in that color. She flipped the switch on her iPod speaker and twirled the volume dial up. Broadway music floated out jovially. Her mother was a Broadway play fanatic, and it was catching. Lilly was getting used to listening to the lively, fun music. She took out her math homework and got started. She dove into the algebra work with enthusiasm, like an eagle pouncing on a mouse it just spotted on the forest floor. She worked diligently, thinking through each step of the problem carefully. Isolate the variable…I want ‘X’ by itself…now check…oops, it’s negative 5, not positive…Suddenly she heard something. Loud voices drifted into her room. Familiar, unhappy, angry voices. Even thought the voices were muffled, and hard to understand, Lilly knew who’s they were. Her parent’s, precious mom and dad, were bickering again! Lilly always tried to ignore the fighting. It had started about three months before. First it was only every other day, a small annoyance her parents had over each other because of something that normally wouldn’t matter, but one of them would fight over this little thing, anyway. Stuff like who left the cap off the toothpaste, or took the last piece of bread, when there was a whole new bag in the freezer. It had, over the weeks, progressed to a fight every day, long quarrels that would end with her parents not talking to each other for a couple of hours, just assuring Lilly it wasn’t her fault, that it was the other parent’s fault. Telling her “Oh, Lilly, it’s all Daddy’s fault”, or “Honey, Mommy’s just being a little rude, but I’ll stick with you”. Lilly tried to drone out the voices bye turning up the volume, but it didn’t work. She finished her math work and started her socials studies work, but she couldn’t concentrate on the Stamp Act, or George Washington, and who won the certain war. Wait, did they stop?...I don’t hear them anymore! Maybe it’s getting better! That was a fast fight. Not as long as all the other ones… When I think of yesterday’s quarrel, oh man! Mom forgot to put a kiwi in my lunch bag, and I happened to say it, and Dad blew up at her. But they aren’t fighting now. Maybe-

“Honey, would you come down for a minute?” Lilly’s mom’s voice rang in her ears.

“Coming!” Lilly ran down the stairs, hoping beyond hope that her parents wouldn’t be mad at each other, hoping like a little girl hopes she’ll get a pony for Christmas. She entered the comfy lounge, where both her parents were sitting. Her mom patted the fancy fabric on the seat across from her. Her mom sat in the love seat, with her father, and Lilly sat down in the maroon armchair indicated.

“Lilly…we have something to tell you…”, Lilly’s dad’s voice sounded anything BUT happy, “Your mother and I haven’t been getting along very well lately, I’m sure you’ve noticed. We had a chat today and we decided that…that…”, he uttered the words softly, “We’re getting a divorce”.

Suddenly Lilly’s world shattered. Divorce! The word rang through her head, ringing, over and over again, chanting, bullying her. Divorce, divorce, divorce, divorce. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Lilly felt her world attacking her all around, like she was in a battle zone. She was battling crying, fighting the urge to cry and scream and yell at her parents, WHY, WHY, WHY?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!! She thought of people in school whose parent’s were divorced, how miserable they seemed at times…

“Honey, I know this is very hard for you, but we only want what’s best for you. We will try very hard to make it as easy and possible. You and I will move to-,” Lilly cut her mom off:

“No, stop, I don’t want to hear the details! Please!”, and with that Lilly burst into tears, big, fat tears, that gushed down her cheeks like the Amazon River. She stood and fled from the room, running blindly up the stairs, as the hot tears clouded her vision. She stormed into the safety of her room, turned the lock on the door handle and let herself sink into her mattress, staining her blankets with tears. She lay like that for a long time, crying and trying to think the whole situation over. After awhile, she didn’t know how long, she pulled herself up and took her phone off it’s holder on her bed stand. She dialed Kasey’s very familiar number. She let a huge sob go as Kasey’s happy, calm voice drifted sweetly into Lilly’s ear.

“Hey, what’s up? Have you done your math homework yet? It’s SO hard! I don’t know number 12, can you help me Lilly?” Kasey stopped talking when she heard the quiet sobs echoing through her receiver. “Lilly? What’s wrong, oh no what happened?!?!” She paused, worried, waiting for Lilly to speak.

“Kasey, my parent’s are getting a-a-div-divorce! They just told me!!! Mom and Dad were fighting and now, oh now!!!!!!!” Lilly let the phone fall onto the mattress as she grabbed her fluffy, lavender pillow off the bed and breathed in the smell of it. She heard Kasey talking through the phone:

“Oh, Lilly, that’s terrible, I’m coming over, I’ll be there in a few minutes!” She sputtered, and hung up the phone.

Indeed, in a few minutes she heard the frantic knock on her door, and a voice that sounded like Kasey’s calling her. Lilly managed to pull herself up and unlock the door. Kasey caught her in a tight embrace, and Lilly thought to herself Thank goodness Kasey’s here! She and Kasey talked for a long time, crying together, and then Lilly’s best friend suggested a sleep over.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea, and I’ll bring my homework and help you with number 12”, Lilly croaked, through chapped lips and a red, tear streaked face. She smiled up at Lilly, glad to know that she had a friend to help her through this. No matter what happened now, she always had Kasey, and things would be okay. I’ll be fine. I’m going to be JUST fine…