it.
BTW: A life with you is my fantasy world A
KyleKDTlovesyou
5:52 PM (0 minutes ago)
To me
Aspen ,
I hope Em doesn’t wreck you r opinion of Gillette. It’s a nice place with nice people. She’s the occasional rut. Not the norm. That she happens to be our age and all is just an unlucky draw. I still think you should skip school until I’m back, and I’m asking you again to do it, but I’m seeing you’ve got a stubborn streak. The idea of that is hot. It’ll bear a bit of exploration.
My mom says we’re heading out to dinner so I’ll sign off until later tonight. The more I’m away from you, the more I crave you girl. You’d think all the pain talk I’m doing would douse that a bit, but just the opposite. My feelings for you shine above it all. I’m itching to hold you again, and kiss you, and put our bodies together in ways that feel too good to control.
K
Aspen Brand AspenBlovesyouback
To KyleKDTlovesyou
!!! Is it Monday yet?
17
Journal Entry Three | Aspen Brand | AP English
M y mom loved Devil’s Tower, mostly because she loved the movie Close Encounters. We never went there when she was alive, but when I moved here I Googled the tower, just to see where to find it in case I get the chance to visit soon. Did you know that from a satellite you don’t really see the tower? You see its shadow. The shadow is dark and so exact it’s like the tower has an alter ego, or maybe an evil twin.
On Wednesday of this week, right before lunch, I ran into Em Harrelson in the hall. She got in my face and started quizzing me about Kyle. Just like the other time I ran into her, she wasn’t able to talk without shoving. Unlike that time, when she dubbed me ‘Retro’ and informed me Kyle is her eye-candy, this was different. She still called me ‘Retro’. And yeah, I was up against a wall, like before. But this time I spoke up for myself. I told her to leave me alone. It surprised her, at first. Then her apparent long-standing habit of being obnoxious kicked in. She made a fist, like she was going to punch me. She told me she hated me. She mouthed ‘you’re dead’.
I told my dad about what happened, but I didn’t repeat what Em had said. I kept her hatred to myself. For one thing, it kind of freaked me out, and things that freak me need to stew in my head for a while before I find the words to talk about them. But as I thought it over I figured she was just blowing steam and trying to scare me, so I let it drop. I don’t want Dad or Kyle (I told him about my run-in, too) fretting over nothing. And anyway, a teacher intervened so here I am, alive and well and capable of fending Em off another day.
I think b eing bullied is like living in a shadow, one as thick and impenetrable as the tower’s silhouette. That’s as close as I can come to describing it. I’m the same person as I was in Oregon, and I’m not. But it’s not just the less-than-friendly feedback I get from a certain group of peers that makes me feel different. That would be giving Em credit where it isn’t due. I started feeling different the moment my mom died.
I can’t change a thing about the fact Mom’s never coming back. It took a while to accept that. I didn’t want to believe I was powerless, that there was nothing I could do.
But I’m not powerless with Em. I can change what’s happening with her, and that makes me want to fight to make the change real. I don’t exactly know how to do it. I’m not a bully. I’d never win, fighting fire with fire. But Em hurt Kyle. She tortured him. Now she’s threatening me. She doesn’t know how aware I am of what I’ve lost. And I swear. I am never going to lose so much again.
When the final bell of the day rings I spring from my seat like I’ve been launched. One short weekend and Kyle will be here, home and well and happy to see me. All
BTW: A life with you is my fantasy world A
KyleKDTlovesyou
5:52 PM (0 minutes ago)
To me
Aspen ,
I hope Em doesn’t wreck you r opinion of Gillette. It’s a nice place with nice people. She’s the occasional rut. Not the norm. That she happens to be our age and all is just an unlucky draw. I still think you should skip school until I’m back, and I’m asking you again to do it, but I’m seeing you’ve got a stubborn streak. The idea of that is hot. It’ll bear a bit of exploration.
My mom says we’re heading out to dinner so I’ll sign off until later tonight. The more I’m away from you, the more I crave you girl. You’d think all the pain talk I’m doing would douse that a bit, but just the opposite. My feelings for you shine above it all. I’m itching to hold you again, and kiss you, and put our bodies together in ways that feel too good to control.
K
Aspen Brand AspenBlovesyouback
To KyleKDTlovesyou
!!! Is it Monday yet?
17
Journal Entry Three | Aspen Brand | AP English
M y mom loved Devil’s Tower, mostly because she loved the movie Close Encounters. We never went there when she was alive, but when I moved here I Googled the tower, just to see where to find it in case I get the chance to visit soon. Did you know that from a satellite you don’t really see the tower? You see its shadow. The shadow is dark and so exact it’s like the tower has an alter ego, or maybe an evil twin.
On Wednesday of this week, right before lunch, I ran into Em Harrelson in the hall. She got in my face and started quizzing me about Kyle. Just like the other time I ran into her, she wasn’t able to talk without shoving. Unlike that time, when she dubbed me ‘Retro’ and informed me Kyle is her eye-candy, this was different. She still called me ‘Retro’. And yeah, I was up against a wall, like before. But this time I spoke up for myself. I told her to leave me alone. It surprised her, at first. Then her apparent long-standing habit of being obnoxious kicked in. She made a fist, like she was going to punch me. She told me she hated me. She mouthed ‘you’re dead’.
I told my dad about what happened, but I didn’t repeat what Em had said. I kept her hatred to myself. For one thing, it kind of freaked me out, and things that freak me need to stew in my head for a while before I find the words to talk about them. But as I thought it over I figured she was just blowing steam and trying to scare me, so I let it drop. I don’t want Dad or Kyle (I told him about my run-in, too) fretting over nothing. And anyway, a teacher intervened so here I am, alive and well and capable of fending Em off another day.
I think b eing bullied is like living in a shadow, one as thick and impenetrable as the tower’s silhouette. That’s as close as I can come to describing it. I’m the same person as I was in Oregon, and I’m not. But it’s not just the less-than-friendly feedback I get from a certain group of peers that makes me feel different. That would be giving Em credit where it isn’t due. I started feeling different the moment my mom died.
I can’t change a thing about the fact Mom’s never coming back. It took a while to accept that. I didn’t want to believe I was powerless, that there was nothing I could do.
But I’m not powerless with Em. I can change what’s happening with her, and that makes me want to fight to make the change real. I don’t exactly know how to do it. I’m not a bully. I’d never win, fighting fire with fire. But Em hurt Kyle. She tortured him. Now she’s threatening me. She doesn’t know how aware I am of what I’ve lost. And I swear. I am never going to lose so much again.
When the final bell of the day rings I spring from my seat like I’ve been launched. One short weekend and Kyle will be here, home and well and happy to see me. All
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