The skyline was gleaming with lights. The city was playing its symphony with the cars, the people, and the music of the street. The city air surrounds me, and I’m walking down the street when...

“Mr.Borough, please pay attention in my class”, said Ms. Jordan

“Sorry”, Matt mumbled.

Once again I was caught daydreaming about my home, New York. It’s been 3 months since we came here, and still I have no friends. I swear my closest friend is my tractor Holland. Why did my parents have to move all the way here? I hate this new school, these new people, this stupid uniform, and this whole new life. I just want to have one friend, just one to make this not to seem like hell on Earth.

“Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggg”, the bell rings signaling the end of another torturous day in school.

I get out of school as fast as I can, I just wanna get out of there as soon as I can. I start walking my usual 40 minute walk from school to home, I would never take the bus, I can’t face all of those people and faces staring at me. Something is off today though, I hear footsteps walking behind me. I walk faster. The footsteps become faster too.


I hear a voice behind me. It calls out, “Hey, let me catch up.”


I stop and turn around. Behind me I see this girl. But not just any girl, I think her name is Lily, she just moved here and she is in my math class. She catches up, and stands next to me.


She stands there clutching her textbooks in her arms and her purple book bag hangs over one shoulder. Its such a drastic contrast from the darkness of our black uniforms. “So are we going?”, she says.


I look at her dumfounded. “What do you mean “we””, I ask, slightly puzzled.

“The project for Ms. Avery’s class. You told me to meet you outside that we would go and do it at your house”, she answers. She stands there looking at me waiting for a response with her big brown eyes.


I try to remember back to what happened today. Lately I’ve been forgetting things, cause I can’t sleep. Well I sorta do sleep, but its not the good type of sleep, I don’t dream, I think I’ve forgotten how to. I feel like I’m going insane. Lately I’ve been drawing to help me release my need to dream.

“Hello, Earth to Matt”, she says, waving her hand in front of me.


“Oh sorry, I just zoned out, but yeah the project. Let’s go do it”, I say, slightly embarrassed that I spaced out. We start walking, she doesn’t ask me things about me, and I’m glad, instead she tells me about herself. I learn that she is from Stockholm, Sweden. She lives with only her mom, and that she really likes turtles. She says that she misses her home and all her old friends.


I finally say something, “I do too, I was born and raised in Manhattan”. Then I see that we have finally reached my house. “Welcome to our humble abode”, I say but then I mutter under my breath, “More like a hellish abode”. I go and open the front door. Inside I’m greeted by my older sister blasting music and my kid brother running around.

“Where is your room?”, Lily yells.

I point upstairs, and up the staircase we go. I open the door to my room. It is immaculate as always. I set my book bag down and motion her to do the same. She puts down her stuff and unzips her bag and starts to take out her stuff when she sees my art notebook.

“May I see it?’, she asks. she points to the book.

I stare at her, and then the the gray cover of my book. I mentally debate it for a few seconds and in the end let her see it. “Sure”, I say. With her small and delicate hands she takes it and starts carefully flipping through it. Every so often, she gets a surprised look on her face, but doesn’t say anything. when she reaches the end she finally says something.

“Well, you sure have an interesting mind, Matt”, She stands up and sits down next to me on my bed. “You know that you have a unique talent in your art”

“I just draw what I think”, I say.

“Well you’re really good at it, really you are,” she responds. That was the end of us talking about it for the rest of the time that she was over. For the rest of the time she and I worked in silence on our math project. But it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, it was a friendly silence, like the air between us was cleared. Finally she left, she said her mom wanted her to be home for dinner.

The whole next week was a haze for me. The dreamless nights have been affecting me even more now. The days were blurs of teachers, faces, and a lot more drawings. The only thing that I do remember clearly is Lily’s smile and her voice. No matter how bad my day was, she somehow managed to make it better. During that week, I drew like never before. I drew the New York skyline, The River Cafe next to the Brooklyn, my friends and me at Coney Island before I moved, and Christmas time in Manhattan, the best time of the year in my opinion.


Over the next couple of weeks me and Lily became good friends, but my grades suffered. We did good on the project though. The semester was coming to an end, but I was doing miserably in all my classes. My self proclaimed insanity was getting worse. One day the headmistress called me down to her office. I wasn’t worried though, since everything usually turned out fine. When I walked in, my blood ran cold. There in the two seats across from the headmistress sat my parents.


My father wore a grim expression on his face, his dark eyes looking stone cold and his hands fumbling in his lap. My mother sat to his left, such a contrast to my father, with her big blue eyes staring at me all shocked. Her light brown hair in a tight bun.

This must be bad, I thought to myself. But then I noticed on the center of the headmistress’ desk lay my art notebook. I was scared that this would happen. I didn’t want anyone to see what I draw, its too dark and too disturbing for anyone to see. The only person that sees it is Lily.


“Have a seat, Matthew,” headmistress says as she points to the chair to the right of my dad.


I sit down, and my head starts spinning all of a sudden. I try to focus on what they are talking about, but I feel so very confused. It sounds like I’m underwater, and I only hear random words at different times. But then it’s like someone took me out because I hear the headmistress’ voice ring throughout my ears, and I suddenly feel the three pairs of eyes staring at me.


“You have quite the imagination, Mr. Borough”, the headmistress says as she flips through my art notebook.


I stare at the dark blue carpet in the room to avoid her and everything else.


“Me and your parents have been talking, and I have told them that your grades have been slipping this semester”, she says in an authoritative tone.


I gaze up for a second just to see three pairs of stone cold eyes without a hint of compassion staring right back. I put my head back down and my hair cover my face as it sways side to side.


“What do you have to say for yourself young man?,” she asks, waiting for an answer.


“I’m sorry?,”


“Are you asking me or telling me?”


“I don’t know anymore,” I respond.


“Well your parents and I have decided that the best thing for you would be some therapy”


All of a sudden I realize what this is really about. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?,” I ask rhetorically. “I knew it, I just knew it. You think I’m insane. Well no one told any of you to go through my stuff. Well whatever, I’m out”, I say this all hysterically and then run out of her office and the building. You should’ve seen their faces when I told them off like that.

I took off running towards my house.Its the only place I could think of that my parents would never look in. Since I ran I got there in fifteen minutes. I walk in and slam the door. I lean my back against it and slide down enjoying the few moments of silence. I think back to last couple weeks with LIly and my drawings, but then i remember today and what happened. I all of a sudden get a thought that seemed to solve all of the problems.


Lets go away. Forever, I thought to myself.


All of sudden this idea was planted in my head. It started to grow and blossom and I knew exactly how to execute it. I ran into my father’s chambers and went to his lock box. My hands were shaking slightly as I opened it. There I saw it, my father’s gun. It was fully loaded, I already knew that. I carefully took it and went up to my room.

I walked in. I looked around, it was perfectly clean as always. I got a piece of paper and started to write.

Mom and Dad,




I had to do this. I’m not sorry though. This was the only solution. You two don’t care, unless the school calls. There is only one person that cares. It’s Lily. Please tell her that I’m really sorry and that I love her. Also give her my art notebook. I want her to have it. I’m only to sorry that I have to leave her, but I can’t stay here.
Thank you and goodbye,
Matt


I fold the paper in half and put it on my table. Then I take the gun and pull trigger and it all goes black.
Epilouge


Today is the day of my funeral. I feel so spiffy now. I haven’t looked this good in like forever. Its been a sad couple of days. Everyone keeps crying. I can’t stand it. Don’t they realize that they caused this? I got a new notebook now. I draw in this now. I keep drawing Lily smiling, its one of my only happy thoughts that I have. Lily was the one that found me. She knocked and noticed that the door was open, she came upstairs and opened my door. Then she saw me. She fell to her knees and started crying. She came closer and looked for my pulse. When she couldn’t find it. She came on my bed and lay next to me, then she kissed me on the cheek and continued crying. Thats when I dozed off for a little while.


Next thing I know I’m in Lily’s room, looking at her as she leaves for my funeral. I follow her. She holds my notebook in her arms, she keeps it close to her chest. When we arrive, I see everyone I know. I see that a few of my friends from New York flew in and they are sitting there speechless. I hear jumbles of words, but I can’t quite distinguish them. I see Lily crying and go sit next to her. I wrap my arm around her. I think she can feel my presence, since the next thing I know she goes to my coffin, kisses my cheek once again and slips something into my hand. Then they close my coffin and put me in the ground. I read the note. It says, I love you and I’ll stay strong for us both.