Reclaiming the Sand(45)

“I want them to come to my house, Ellie. Just like you do,” I said and she looked mad again. Dania started laughing. I laughed too because she was my friend.

“Oh really? Like Ellie? She comes to your house?” she asked me.

I started to nod but Ellie shoved me from behind and I stumbled forward.

“Shut up, Freaky! You don’t know what the f*ck you’re talking about!” she yelled and it hurt my ears. Ellie hurt me and I wanted to cry. Why was she being so mean?

“Stop being so nasty, Ells. You’re upsetting Flynn,” Dania said and she gave Ellie a mean look. Why was Ellie hurting me?

“You’re a bitch,” I said to Ellie then Stu and Dania started laughing again. I never said bad words. I didn’t like them. But I knew what a bitch was and Ellie was being one.

Ellie’s mouth was twisting in a strange way and I pointed at it.

“You’re doing that thing with your mouth again. Why are you doing that?”

Dania and Stu were still laughing.

“Am I being funny?” I asked them.

Stu hit my back and I moved away from him. He held his hands up. “You’re the funniest dude I’ve ever met, Freaky.” He covered his mouth with his hand. “I mean, Flynn,”

Stu wasn’t being so scary right now. Maybe he wouldn’t hurt me anymore. That made me feel really happy.

When we passed the barn I told them we had five minutes until we got to the bridge and then I could take my socks off. My toes were even colder. I hated the wet snow in my shoes.

Dania and Stu were talking to me. It felt good. Ellie wasn’t talking to me and that didn’t feel good. Why wasn’t she talking to me? She always talked to me while we walked to my house.

She usually smiled a lot and she was pretty when she laughed. Then she’d hold my hand for a while and that made my body feel weird in a good way.

She wasn’t smiling now.

“There’s the bridge,” I said, pointing to it. I was happy to see the bridge. I wanted to take my socks off. Dania said she’d help me. She was my friend.

I bent over and started to untie my laces when someone shoved me. I fell over. It hurt. I was on the ground and it was cold. I hadn’t taken my socks off yet.

I tried to stand up but Stu pushed me over again and this time I slid down the hill. Dania was laughing but it wasn’t a nice sound like Ellie’s. “Get him in the water!” she yelled and then Stu pushed me into the stream.

I yelled. The water was in my shoes. My pants were wet. It was really cold!

I tried to stand up but my foot caught on a rock and I fell down again. I started to cry. Dania and Stu were laughing.

“Let’s get out of here!” Dania said and then they were gone.

I was wet. I hated being wet.

I sat there.

I was sad.

They weren’t my friends.

They were mean.

They hurt me.

I was really cold. My fingers and toes were starting to ache.

My pants and shoes were wet.

I needed to take them off.

I sat there.

“Come on Flynn, let’s get you home.” Ellie had come back and she was pulling on my arm.

My teeth were chattering and I couldn’t talk. I hurt badly. I was wet. I wanted to get out of my clothes.

Ellie put her arm around me and it didn’t bother me when she did it. I liked when she touched me.

But she had hurt me before. She had been mean. Now she was being nice.

She was my friend again.

“Stu pushed me into the water,” I said, my teeth banging together.

“Yeah, he did. He’s a dick,” Ellie said and I tried to nod. But I couldn’t.

I was wet.

I was cold.

Ellie got me home. My mom was upset when she saw me. She yelled at Ellie to leave. But I wanted Ellie to stay. She helped me.

“No!” I yelled at my mom. Ellie was taking off my shoes and socks and wrapping them in a towel. She was touching me..

“I want Ellie to stay!” I screamed. Ellie needed to stay! I wanted her there!

My mom said okay but made Ellie leave while she got me changed.

And then Ellie sat with me on the couch and we watched the A-Team. That was Ellie’s favorite show. I liked watching it with her. My toes and fingers were still cold. Mom said I could have gotten frostbite.

“I’m so sorry, Flynn,” Ellie said.

“You’re my friend, Ellie. You helped me,” I told her, not understanding why she was sorry. She had been mean but she had helped me. That was nice.

“I shouldn’t have let Stu do that to you,” she said.

“He’s mean. I don’t like him. I don’t like Dania either. They aren’t my friends,” I told her.

Ellie moved closer to me and took my hand. She always put her fingers between mine and it felt good. I liked it when she did that.

“No they aren’t. I don’t think they’re really mine either. You’re my only real friend, Flynn,” she said and then she put her head on my shoulder. And I liked that too.

I was her only friend. That made me smile.

I was happy.





-Ellie-



I was on campus finishing my homework. I was scheduled to have a meeting with Professor Au, my academic advisor to talk about possible class options for next semester. I had yet to make up my mind about what I was going to do.