The Angry Brain

One upon a time, there was a girl. She was a quiet girl, but always loved to draw and write and read in her spare time. And if there was anything in the world she cared more about than that, it was her friends and family. She loved her family to death, but she always knew that they would stay with her, no matter what. They'd never choose to leave her.

But her friends, her friends she could lose. She cared about them too much to let them go, so she did everything she could for them. If they called her at midnight, she would talk to them and ask what was going on. If they needed a shoulder to cry on, she'd be there. If they needed a lunch, she'd give them hers. She put all of her effort into keeping her friends close, so that one day, they'd return the favor, and be there for her. 

One night, she stayed up late. Actually, she stayed up a lot, but this was different. Her music was turned up louder than usual and she was sitting at her desk, scribbling away, using a hobby to distract herself.

Her mom knew something was up, so she went into the girl's room and asked her what was wrong. "Nothing," the girl replied, too quickly, too harshly. Her mom glanced at the ground and saw a crumpled piece of paper that hadn't quite made it into the trash bin. She picked it up to put it in the bin, and realized that it was a birthday card. Straightening it out, she read the name on the card, hand made by the girl, never sent to the intended friend.

"Hey," said the girl's mom, "I thought she was your friend."

"She's not," said the girl. "Friends don't skip a grade without telling you. Friends don't come back after half the year's gone by, and then ignore you. Friends don't do that. So I walked away."

"Hm," said the mom, worried for her daughter. "What about your other friend, the one that moved? Do you still talk to her?"

"She's not my friend, either," replied the girl. "It's been seven years since she moved away. She doesn't write. She won't reply to my emails, or friend requests on anything. She used to call, and email me all the time, and sometimes she sent a real letter by mail, but about three years ago she went silent. Friends don't stop talking to you without explanation. So I'm sorry, Mom, but they aren't my friends anymore. I've got new ones. They're better. They like me, they talk to me. We hang out all the time. Just because two friends are gone doesn't mean I can't make more, Mom."

"Well, then," replied the mom. "How are you feeling now?"

"Why are you asking me that?" The girl was annoyed at this, because her mom was always asking how she was feeling, but she answered anyway. "I'm feeling mad. I don't know why. Cleaning helps. But my room's already clean, so I draw."

"And the music?"

"My whole brain's yelling at me, trying to get me to be angry," said the girl. "I don't want to listen, so instead I listen to music. Okay with that, are you?"

"Oh, sure. As long as you don't wake the neighbors up, honey."

The mom walked out of the room to get ready for bed, herself. Her daughter was so independent, she knew she'd be okay. After all, the worst was still to come. She thought back, to the man she used to love....

The mother stayed up color-coding her clothes drawers that night. And organizing all the books on the shelf in alphabetical order. The girl came out of her room after a bit to brush teeth, and saw her mom.

"What are you doing?" she asked as the mom fussed over the bookshelf.

The mom shrugged. "Cleaning helps," she replied.





Okay, I don't really know why I wrote this. But I did. I had about ten minutes of spare time, and tada, here it is. It's sort of based on real events. Kind of. I'm not really going to elaborate. Sorry.

If you read this and think I'm trying to insult you, I'm not. Look, I'm the one who feels insulted here. And if you're reading this and happen to think you're one of the friends mentioned here, you might be. And in that case, I'd be happy to strike up a conversation. I'm not trying to kill friendships here. I'm trying to maintain them.

So I know this isn't as happy as some of the other stuff I've written, but hey, life isn't tea and cakes all the time. People make mistakes. Usually me. If you liked this, PLEASE TELL ME SO IN THE COMMENTS OR BY EMAIL. My email address is polarfarina@gmail.com. If you DIDN'T like it, please let me know as well. I'd like to hear feedback, even if it's negative. I love hearing from people, whatever the heck you have to say.

With that, I must depart for the night.

        Hope to hear from you soon,
                   PolarFarina
                AKA Cassie M.