The next day I opened the door to enter school. "CJ!" Isabel rushed and hugged me. "Izzy! I missed you!" I whispered with gravel in my voice. "CJ don't cry, you can come over to my house this afternoon. We already called your dad." She said, "We'll have so much fun!" She continued. I lit up with joy. I saw one boy whisper into another's ear, and they both started laughing hysterically. It didn't really bother me until he pointed at me. I squeezed my bag strap and looked at the floor as I walked quickly to my seat. "Don't let them bother you. " Isabel whispered in my ear sitting next to me. "Do I… look ok?" I brushed my hair behind my ear. "You look great!" She replied. "Ok…" I whispered. "Why did you leave me alone yesterday?!" I pouted. She looked up at the ceiling. "Umm I was sick, and I woke up late." She said, confidently, but for some reason it sounded rehearsed. "We got a bed for 'Terry' yesterday!" She continued. "Terry?" I questioned. "We named the puppy Terry, for Terrance." She stated. "Ohhh ok." I nodded. We talked and talked until class began.

Mrs. Apate walked in and took the role on her phone. Then she placed it onto the table and began to teach the lesson. She spoke about justice and what is right and wrong. "So children it's wrong to take things that don't belong to you, and to hurt others. You shouldn't disobey your teachers, elders or parents either." She explained. Then the bell rang for break time and immediately afterwards the intercom turned on. "Classroom cleaning will take place at lunch, so we kindly ask that the students leave their classroom at lunchtime. Thank you." The principal stated.

At lunchtime Izzy and I went to the cafeteria. It was the first time I had been there, and the constant chatter made me anxious. "Do you want me to buy you a crepe CJ?" Isabel asked me, holding out her hand. "It's ok we can share." I took her hand with both of mine. "Okay." She giggled. It tasted absolutely delicious. The strawberries were so sweet and the whipped cream was great. "There's nothing better than enjoying a meal with your best friend." I said as I pressed my cheek against hers in the bathroom mirror. The bell rang. We washed our faces, stepped down and left for class.

"Where's my phone?" Mrs. Apate asked, searching around the table. "Did anyone see my phone?" She asked frantically. But nobody had seen it. Then the cleaner entered and took the garbage bin from the corner of the class. "Did you see my phone?" She asked her. "Yes, it was right there on the table." She replied. "Well it's not here now!" Mrs. Apate raised her voice. "You probably took it!" She continued. "Yeah!" Some students agreed. "Madam, I was the only one here, but the only reason I noticed your phone is because of a message from David saying he's looking forward to tonight." He said. "I-" she held her tongue. The class was silent, probably because none of the other students understood what was just said. "I'm going to take it up with the principal." She stated, if any of you took it you'll be in big trouble. Student's cell phones weren't allowed in our school, especially before 7th grade.

After school one of the security guards searched each of our backpacks before we left. Isabel was scared that she would get in trouble somehow. She was shaking as we walked out to her mother’s car. "Don't mention it to her, ok?" She whispered to me and I nodded. As we arrived at her house and we drove into the driveway, I noticed her father's truck with a green tarp thrown in the back. "Does your daddy like fishing CJ?" Her mother asked. "Yeah he does, sometimes." I said. "Wow, so does Mr. Hobbs. That's nice." She said, as we closed the car doors.

We both rushed upstairs just like before. "Terry!" We both screeched as he ran toward us. We brushed his white curly fur. We played with him and his squeaky toys to both our hearts' content. Mrs. Michelle brought freshly baked cupcakes and tea so that we could have another tea party. We all had a pillow fight on Izzy's bed before sunset and the entire day was wonderful.

Every day for the next week we played together at her house, just like this. I was excited to invite her over to my house. As I went to bed I had a dream of my parents' wedding. All my family and friends were there. It all looked wonderful but when they kissed the all the white turned black and began to ash away in the wind. Then mother left and looked back at me.

"Happy Birthday CJ!" Daddy said as he popped confetti over me. I was surprised, because I seemed to have forgotten. My breakfast was great, daddy hired a chef that would make all the meals for the day. I was incredulous. "I love you daddy!" I said hugging him tight enough to break ribs. In the living room I saw a memory tree and under it was a ton of presents. I began crying, because I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe the last time I celebrated my birthday was in the hospital with mommy. On the memory tree there were pictures of me throughout the years. They hung gently off of the branches. The brown and orange leaves glowed in the sunrise light.

I went to school and told Izzy all about it. She laughed, "I already knew, I'm coming over tonight." I looked at her in awe.

When I got home, Izzy held my hand as we opened the door. Everyone jumped out and said "Surprise! Happy Birthday CJ!" I was overflowing with joy and excitement. "Thank you!" I said with gravel in my voice. I began crying. The crowd of friends, family and teachers expressed their sympathy. "Awww!" They all sang.

After running around and eating tons of snacks, Izzy wanted to take a bath. Her parents allowed her to sleep over, so she wanted to bathe because she was getting tired. "CJ? Can we bathe together?" She asked shyly. My heart raced when she did. I didn't want her to think I didn't like her. I was afraid that she would be upset if I said no… "Sure." I smiled. I sneaked into my room and got the shampoo, comb and grease. I realized as I picked up the comb my hands were trembling, but I pushed on. Izzy brought her new butterfly backpack into the bathroom. "Wow, it's big in here!" She said, and her voice echoed. "Shhhh!" I giggled. "It's not sound proof." I whispered.

…

She began taking off her clothes, and my heart began racing. "Don't laugh at me, ok? I have a few scars…" She whispered. "Ok…" I replied. As she removed her shirt I saw countless bruises and cuts from her belly button to her upper chest. As she pulled down her skirt her upper thighs were freshly bruised. She wasn't lying, she was covered in permanent scars. She turned around, "Could you tie my hair for me?" She asked. The white light bounced off of the white walls and finally hit her back. There it was the worst, there seemed to be repetitive scarring on her back, like whips. They were so severe that her back seemed to be missing parts of flesh. I wrapped up her hair into a bun at the back. She quietly got into the tub and looked at me. "Don't be scared. You trust me right?" She asked. "Yeah I do." I hastily replied as I began taking off my clothes. I stopped at my underwear… She laughed, "There's nothing to be afraid of."