Fifteen

I ran to the bakery. It was my favorite one in town. I get a bunch of sugar cookies. Some are shaped like unicorns, flowers, and fairies. I am so excited to show them to Jen. She is going to love them.

I pull into Corey's house and I see a girl leaving. I was surprised to see somebody there. I wait in the car until she pulls out of the driveway and leaves. I am not going to just ask Corey who that is. I don't want to be nosy or rude.

Grabbing the box of cookies, I step out of my car and walk towards the front door. Corey opens it before I can knock. I walk inside and Jen looks upset.

"Jen, look at me, you can't do that. Again, I got you out of trouble, but next time I won't be able to and I can't afford you to get expelled," Corey says.

"Okay," Jen looks down.

Corey takes a deep breath.

"She was making fun of me, saying I don't have a mama," Jens cries.

My heart hurts. I feel so sad.

"That's still no excuse to hit someone," Corey says.

He takes my hand and leads me to the kitchen.

"That was Jen's teacher. She got in trouble today for fighting," he tells me.

"Sounds like somebody isn't very nice to her."

"This other little girl has been bullying her for a long time. I tried explaining that, but I guess that still doesn't justify the behavior," he tells me.

" That's horrible."

"That is a school for you," he tells me.

I nod. I have never been bullied or made fun of in school. I have occasionally seen other kids not being nice to each other, so I know where he's coming from.

Jen walks into the kitchen. " What's in the box?"

"Cookies, but it's up to your da Corey if you can have one." I almost said, dad.

Corey laughs. "Maybe after dinner."

I hear my phone ring. It's mom. Where do I tell her I am? Shopping.

"Yeah," I answer the phone.

"Where are you?" She asks.

"I wanted to go shopping for some more ballet clothes, mine are getting kind of worn."

"That sounds more like yourself," she tells me.

I would normally argue this accusation, but I want to get off the phone quickly.

"Yeah."

Finally, I hung up the phone. This conversion couldn't have ended quicker.

"Mommy?" Corey asks wearing a smirk.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever".

He laughs.

Jen walks towards the living room and flips on the television. Hearing the unicorn movie. I laugh.

"Jen, do you have any homework?" Corey yells.

"No", Jen calls.

"Bring me your backpack," he remarks.

I smile, watching Jen stump her little feet into the kitchen, tossing her backpack onto the floor. She rushes back into the living room.

Corey opens the backpack and pulls out a yellow piece of paper. He looks upset. He shakes his head.

"Jen, how could you misspell all those words we studied every night?"

"I don't know," she shrugs her shoulders.

"Are you even trying?" He asks.

"Well, yeah duh," she says, rolling her little eyes.

I had to look away. I almost laughed at her sarcasm. Corey chuckles, shaking his head.

"Jen, school is important," he tells her.

"I know," she says.

Corey rummages through the kitchen cupboards. He pulls out angel hair noodles and pasta sauce.

"Does Spaghetti sound good?" He asks.

"Sure." I smile.

Corey fills a pot of water and puts the noodles inside.