Kayla Hernandez, “The Scared Cub”

THE SCARED CUB

Kayla Hernandez

My whole life, I felt like I was a cub who was in need of protection. I wouldn’t know how to defend myself or even throw a straight punch. I partly think that’s my father’s fault for not teaching me how to fight, but I also believe I’m just not capable of hurting another living thing. “Don’t allow anyone to bully you. Kayla, you better speak up for yourself,” my father said to me with so much anger as I walked out the door. Leaving me with a thought of finding someone who would willingly defend me. “YES,” I say to myself while gazing at this tall caramel-skinned boy with big juicy lips. This was going to be my big vicious bear who would growl at anyone that came near me. Ever since third grade, I had the biggest crush on Isaiah, and yeah, at the time, he was way shorter than me, but damn he had the biggest glow up. His perfect skin and beautiful hair made me forever blush when he came near me. His cute dimples and bright infectious smile made my heart skip a million beats under one second. There was a big problem though, my best friend also had a big crush on him, but she was just recently transferred to the school five months ago. We would always compete to see who he likes more but we never figured it out due to the fact that he gave us both the same attention. He was the most confusing subject in our lives. We both agreed to not letting any boy come between our friendship, but I guess she didn’t respect that decision. Samantha the biggest, meanest two faced a-hole in the world. A condescending hood rat that betrays her friends. She went behind my back and took Isaiah on a date to the ice cream truck. Ice cream truck? I know right, even I could have taken him on a better date. How about the movies and then Frozen Planet? Anyways, that hot and sunny afternoon I told her to come over to my place so we could do homework together. Mind you she has no clue I know she went on a date. As I waited for her to

come over I began thinking of ways I can approach her about the situation. I even thought about her sitting in my room and I would just sneak attack while she’s doing homework. Ooooh how I would love to see her cry so she can feel the way I’m feeling. I even thought of ripping up her essay she’s been writing for two days straight and then blaming it on my dog Teddy. But nah, I didn’t do it, my dog is the sweetest, and I wouldn’t wanna mess with how people view his little fluffy self. Well, my ideas were all bad, so instead I decided to hold it in and just wait to see if she would confess. Ding dong, the bell rings as I run in supersonic speed towards the door and open it slowly. There she was, my supposed best friend standing at the door with her black backpack in white shorts and a pink tank top. “Hey girl, I brought you some candy we can eat together,” she says to me with the fakest smile. “Girl you know I love candy,” I responded. We walk together to my room and begin talking about work. As she’s explaining the math to me, I stare at her with such disappointment. Is she ever going to own up? I think in my head. The whole time she was at my house, not one confession and that filled me with rage. I’m such a beautiful person, I could have let it slide but she wants to be a big fat ugly liar so no. I stood up in front of her with my hands on my hips and my eyes directly on her. “So are you going to tell me about the Isaiah situation or are you going to continue acting fake?” I ask her. “Acting fake? Who’s acting fake? And what situation is there? He asked me on a date so I said yes,” she responded with such ignorance. “Okay but we both agreed to not letting him come between us. We’re best friends Samantha and it hurts that you’re hiding this from me. I really liked him. Plus, I have known him for years, which is way longer than knowing him for five months,” I respond in a disappointed voice. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you, deal with it,” she told me.

I was stunned to speak. Did I just hear that correctly? Are my ears messing with me, or did she just tell me to deal with it? My blood began to boil as my fist became tighter and tighter till I felt my nails denting my skin. “Get the hell out of my house before I put you in your place,” I responded. “Fine,” she says as she walks out of my room and towards the front door. She turns around and says, “You know you’ve known him for years right? Don’t you think if he had the slightest interest in you he would have shown it already?” Damn, I’m not going to lie, that kind of hurt because she was right. “Samantha, just leave and don’t come up to me in school. We’re no longer friends,” I responded. She looks at me and rolls her eyes “K bye,” she says while walking away. As I closed the door my heart dropped, what did I just do? Was that a mistake? My head is pounding as my thoughts gather together and form a tornado. Was he worth it? I continued thinking as I tossed my books around my room, finally throwing myself on the bed. Urgh the situations I put myself in, I say to myself while putting my hand on my forehead. Wrapping myself like a burrito with my blanket, ten minutes later after overthinking, I’m finally asleep. The next day, Monday, June 10th, my father wakes me up with cold water all over me. I scream “AHHHHHHHH” as I try covering myself head to toe with my blanket. It didn’t work, I was completely soaked. “DADDY” I scream at him. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING,” I say with a loud voice and an attitude. “WAKE UP FOR SCHOOL,” he says to me with a playful voice. He then begins to destroy my closet looking for my uniform. “Look here, go in the shower and put this on, you’re going to be late” he says to me. “SHOWER?” I responded. “You literally just took me a shower,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Hurry up before your uniform gets wet as well,” he says to me while holding a tilted cup of cold water over my head. I ran to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Breathing out and sighing, “Urgh, why god why, why me?” I say while taking off my cold-soaked clothing. I mumble under my breath as I get into the shower. “I hate life,” I say, irritated. Twenty minutes past and I’m out of the shower, already ready for school. My father passes me the lunch he prepares every morning. I look inside the bag and gasp. “ PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH, EW,” I say disgusted and so close to throwing up because of the smell of peanut butter. “Daddy you know I hate this,” I said. “Well I have an appointment so it was something quick. It’s not that bad, stop over-exaggerating,” he says. I don’t think he remembers what happened the last time I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I threw up all over the place, the walls, the floor, and the toilet. It’s disgusting and the smell is so foul. I walk out the door and as I walk down the stairs I see a trash can. “Well honey boo boo, I’m definitely not eating you ever,” I say to my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, throwing it away. I continue walking towards school when I see Isaiah in the front entrance. “Damn what am I supposed to do now?” I say out loud to myself. I put my hood on and my head down trying to hide my face. “Kayla?” he says. Freak, he spotted me. “Yes,” I respond while lifting my head up slightly just enough to see his lips. “Uh, so I like you, and I want to know would you go out with me?” he nervously asks me. “Me?” I say while surprised by his question. “Yeah,” he says. “Sure, I’ll go out with you” I responded while stuttering. He smiles at me and my heart begins to feel warm. Oh, how long I

have waited for this moment. We walk into the school together holding hands as everyone stares at us. Walking into the playground I see Samantha grilling me as if she resented me. “I’m going to the bathroom okay,” Isaiah says to me. “Yeah, okay don’t be long,” I respond. As Isaiah walks away, Samantha gets closer and closer. I see her coming my way so I go up the playground stairs and decide to act like I don’t see her. “KAYLA,” she says with anger while pointing at me. “You’re a basic little thot, so desperate for attention,” she says to me while standing directly in front of me. “What is your problem, mad I stole what was never yours, huh?” I respond. She rushes towards me, pushing me down the steps. Confused and shocked, I land on my two arms while I hear one crack. With the little bit of strength I have left, I drag myself off the stairs and under the playground while crying because I can’t move my arm. My arm is numb, no movement, just pain as if it was chopped off. I cry in silence all alone, no words able to come out of my mouth. People start to notice and surround me. “Kayla Kayla what happened?” my friend Emmanuel asks. “Kayla you okay?” my friend Darieli asks. The other kids run to the teachers and tell them I was crying under the playground. Two teachers run towards me asking what happened but don’t receive a response. “Kayla, you have to tell me what happened if you want my help,” Ms. Hazel says. “I fell” I respond while sobbing in pain. “Come let’s take you to the nurse,” Ms. Hazel says as she hugs me, guiding me to the nurses office. “What happened to her?” the nurse says. “She said she fell,” Ms. Hazel responds. “Where?” the nurse says. “I’m not sure, she hasn’t told me,” Ms. Hazel says.

“Kayla what exactly happened?” the nurse asks me. “I tripped on my shoe lace and fell down the stairs and landed on my arm” I say while still sobbing. The nurse then calls the ambulance and then contacts my parents. I can hear my dad’s panicked voice over the phone as the nurse explains to him what happened. Twelve minutes later, after patiently waiting in pain, the ambulance arrives and takes me straight to the hospital. I am lost, my parents weren’t with me so I am very scared. The paramedics speak to me but I am in space, so they don’t get any response. We arrive at the hospital as they take me in on a gurney. The doctor grabs my arm and tries to pop it back in place but my arm wasn’t dislocated. I go through five minutes of extreme pain until the doctor decides to do an X-ray. On the table, I lay down sobbing while the machine can see every bone in my body. The doctor finally notices my arm is not dislocated but fractured. The pain I felt for NO REASON, FOR FIVE MINUTES STRAIGHT. That was horrible and I never want to experience that feeling again. My parents finally arrive and hug me, asking me what happened and how. I don’t know what to tell them. I don’t want Samantha getting in trouble, instead I want revenge on my own. I want to make her years miserable as we continue going to school together. I tell my parents that my lace was loose and I tripped down the stairs landing on my right arm. They looked so disappointed in my answer, I thought they wouldn’t have believed me but they do. As I get my sling put on, my dad takes a picture of me while laughing. I was just so confused. Does he like seeing me in pain? Anyways the doctor gave me a note saying I couldn’t attend in person school for a few months and instead would have to do online work due to the fact that I couldn’t write unless my right arm was back to normal. When I was fully recuperated I ended up going back to school and everyone was so glad to see me again after three months. Yeah, I was happy to be back but I really only wanted to see one person. Samantha, the worst

person on earth. She was nowhere to be found so I started asking around and one of the teachers told me she transferred to another school. I was stunned, wow she’s the biggest punk there is. Why intentionally try to kill me then leave so you won’t get caught. Anyways, I ended up becoming a loner and I actually loved my peace and quiet. Samantha made me realize a friend is just a title. It doesn’t mean they actually love and care for you. Friends come and go, it’s better to be alone because you are the only one who can have your back. You are your own friend.

Author Bio: Great kindness and respect doesn’t always come in return. Realizing you are the only person who has your own back is key. This will make life easier and cause less drama. I myself, Kayla Hernandez have noticed that being a loner isn’t all that bad. There’s quiet, peace, and happiness that no one can take away with gossip or drama. Defend yourself and always be brave, it will pay off in the long run. You are as strong as you want to be, just believe.

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