Transcription
Hi, I'm Kathy from Florida. My mom comes from a family of geniuses. Both her parents are scientists, just like her. So when I was born, she expected me to be some kind of genius too. Only, I wasn't.
"Kathy, how do you make seven even?" "Easy, take the S out." "Like this?" "Oh no, let's give this another shot."
"Mom, I'm bored. Can I go outside and play for a bit?" "Such a pretty day." No matter how hard Mom tried, I could never give a hoot about books. So Mom got me private tutors.
"Margo, Margo, are you with me? Tell me what I just said." "You said Margo, Marco, are you with me?" "No, I mean what was I teaching?" "How am I supposed to know that? You're the teacher." The tutor got angry and swore to never come back, and Mom was just left disappointed, as always.
She didn't talk to me for days until one afternoon, her old friend from school, Lydia, paid us a visit with her daughter Sophie, who was awfully quiet. They'd recently moved to town and shifted to our neighborhood. I was so excited to see another kid in the area since our neighborhood was full of old, boring people.
"Do you want to see my room? Oh, wait, that's a mess. We should go outside and play."
"Sophie won't be going anywhere. Why don't you guys sit down and I'll get some sodas." Sophie passed me a dry smile and did exactly that. I went and sat next to her. "Are you okay? What are you doing?"
"So you talk, huh? Please don't talk to me. My mom doesn't like it when I talk too much, or at all." I tried talking to Sophie, but she continued to stare at the floor, and I gave up.
After they left, Mom told me that Sophie was supposed to go to my school and I had to look after her. "Why? She's so weird." "And her mom kept staring at me like I'd farted in her face." "Sophie's new here and she needs your help. That's the least you can do for me after that stunt you pulled with the tutor."
"Oh, fine." Just like Mom asked me to, I waited for Sophie so we could walk to school together. She didn't say a word the whole day until the teacher asked us the answer to a tough math question in class. "It's 7,250." "Wow, dude, that was fast. Are you a genius or something?" "Well, kind of. I study a lot, and maybe you can be my tutor. God knows I need one, and no one sticks around with me for long." Sophie smiled, and we spent the entire day together. We were miles apart, but somehow clicked, and she invited me over that evening for a study session.
But just as I got there, Linda walked up to us, smirking. "I have my eyes on you girls. Do not close this door." "Um, sure, Mrs. Linda." "Sophie's mom, you know what happens when you close the room? Monsters creep up from behind the shadows and eat you up. Have fun studying." Linda left, and I just couldn't stop thinking about how weird she sounded. Also, the entire time I was there, she kept walking by the door, sneaking glances. I wanted to ask Sophie if her mom disliked me or something, but I didn't want to offend her, so I kept quiet.
Mom got called for an emergency meeting out of town and asked Linda to help. "Oh, of course, she can stay here. No problem. Work comes first." Tell me that didn't sound sarcastic. Anyway, I was happy to spend some time with Sophie, but as soon as Mom left, Linda grinned and walked in, locking the door from inside.
I continued banging for ages till she opened up. "What?" "I just went to get you my sweater. It's freezing." "You just shut the door in my face and walked away." "I did not. You're an ungrateful, wild kid. Cathy, didn't your mom teach you how to speak with elders? Oh, wait, she's too busy working."
Before I could respond, Sophie came and practically dragged me away. "Your mom's crazy. Who talks like that?" "I'm really sorry. Ever since Dad left us, she's been a little weird around people. Just ignore her. Anyway, are you hungry?" "I'm starving." Sophie got me sandwiches, and we watched some TV until we dozed off.
But later that night, we woke up to loud noises, and it seems like they were coming from the kitchen. We went downstairs to check and saw Linda trying to find something. "What are you doing?" "Oh no, did I wake you guys up? I was so hungry and I thought I'd make lasagna. Go back to bed." "Who eats lasagna at 3:00 a.m.?" "I do." Sophie and I left, but we couldn't get any sleep, and we were super exhausted.
The next day, I didn't know what her deal was, but Linda just kept getting weirder. Over the years, but Sophie and I continued to remain the best of friends. While I was still figuring out what I wanted to do in life, she had already set her mind on becoming a writer.
"Look at this poem I wrote: 'I could never explain how much you meant to me, for sharing my joys and pain.'" "This is beautiful." "You think?" "It's not complete yet. I think poetry is my calling." "Kathy, I don't want to waste my life studying." "I think it's amazing. I just wish I knew what I wanted to do too." "I'm sure you'll figure it out." Well, I tried to, but finding a passion was more difficult than I thought. I tried out for the drama club, but I had trouble memorizing the lines. Art was boring, and cheerleading was too much effort. I'd almost given up hope till one day, a football hit me right in the head.
"Ouch! Watch out, jerks. Pass the ball." "Shy, you holding up the game?" "Oh, really? Come and get it." Just as one of the guys walked forward, I dodged him and ran straight to touchdown. Everyone stared at me wide-eyed as the coach suggested I try out for the running team. I wasn't sure I'd do well, but I ended up overtaking everyone on the team, including the boys.
By high school, I was good enough to compete in tournaments. After our team had won one of the biggest track events, we wanted to celebrate by going out for a concert, and I invited Sophie too. "I don't know. I mean, I've never really stayed up that late, and Mom would never allow it." "So we'll sneak out. Come on, it's high school, and you could use a break. What's the worst that could happen?" "I can murder you and hide your body. Or you could be a zombie in disguise. Wouldn't that be something?"
Sophie and I left with the team and were having a blast at the concert till I left to go get some drinks. And when I came back, Sophie wasn't around. I started searching for her frantically and tried calling her, but I couldn't get through. I informed security, and within minutes, we had a whole search team looking everywhere for her. We finally found her near one of the stalls, and she had fainted. We immediately took her to the hospital. I informed Mom and Linda on the way and was sweating bricks when they showed up.
"Do you have any idea what you've done? You're such a bad influence on her. She has a scholarship exam in 2 days. If they don't let her sit for that, all her hard work will go down the drain." "I can't believe this. This is your daughter in the hospital, and all you care about is some dumb exam. Seriously, what's wrong with you?" "You should be sorry for sneaking out my daughter, and instead, you're giving me an attitude. This is exactly why I told Sophie to stay away from you." "If there's anyone she needs to stay away from, it's you. She probably fainted from all the stress you give her." "Enough, Linda. I apologize for Kathy. And you, young lady, let's talk at home."
But Mom, just then, the doctors walked in and informed us that Sophie had a slight concussion and a minor fracture and would be absolutely fine. I wanted to check on her too, but Mom dragged me back home.
A week later, when Sophie came home, I rushed to talk to her. "I'm so glad you're okay. How are you feeling?" "I've been better. I'm sorry for leaving you alone like that, Sophie." "It's okay. I don't want to think about it. I need to rest now. Let's talk later." With that, Sophie just went to bed and pulled up a blanket.
Because of her injury, she couldn't take the scholarship test for college, and even though she didn't blame me for what happened, I wanted to make up for it. I thought about it a lot, and then one day, while I was walking by the school notice board, I saw a flyer for a writing competition. The winner would get a chance to apply for a prestigious writing course and win a cash prize. I quickly tore it off and went straight to Sophie's place.
But Linda opened the door and refused to let me in. I had to get creative, so I climbed up a tree that led to Sophie's window, and what I saw blew my mind.
"You have to stop hanging out with that Kathy. I hate her, and I hate her more every day." "Stop it, Mom. You don't even know her." "I know she'll let you down, just like her mom did." "What do you mean?" "Nothing. They're all the same. You need to be better and smarter. Get a better job, college, and more money than Kathy. That will be my revenge." Saying that, Linda turned around and left. She was worse than I thought, and what was she saying about my mom? I had so many questions in my head when suddenly, the branch I was on snapped. Luckily, I caught the window sill just in time.
"What the heck are you doing, Kathy?" "Um, hanging out. Pull me up, will you?" "Close call here. Take this." "What am I supposed to do with this?" "You have to apply. It's been your dream since forever." "Sophie, no. I don't have to do anything besides, Mom." "You can't let your mom define your life for you. You have to be strong and give your dreams a shot." "Why do you even care?" "Because you're my best friend, and I want you to be happy, even if that means going against your mom, who is terrifying, by the way." "Oh, tell me about it." We shared a laugh, and Sophie promised to think about it. I was glad to have my best friend back, but I still couldn't stop thinking about what Linda said.
So the next morning, I asked Mom, and she told me that in high school, Sophie's mom was a bit weird. She always had her head in books and hardly smiled, so we thought maybe she needed to loosen up a bit, and we played a funny prank on her. "What did you do?" "We might have taken a picture of her digging in her nose and pasted it all over the school." "How was that funny, Mom?" "That's horrible. I know that now. We did remove all the pictures, but I think it affected her, and kids kept laughing at her for years. I apologized more than once, but I guess she's never really forgiven me."
I wanted to talk to Sophie about it too, so the next day, I waited outside inside her house to walk to school together, but she didn't show up. And when I came back from school, Mom told me Linda and Sophie had moved immediately. I called Sophie, but as luck would have it, Linda answered. "Stay away from Sophie. She's done with you messing up her life." But I—Linda disconnected, and when I tried calling again, the number wasn't reachable. I searched for Sophie for weeks but finally gave up when I got no leads. It was as if she'd vanished into thin air.
Soon, the school announced the annual track events, and I got busy. The best student would get a sports scholarship to a college of their choice, and even though I wanted to be the best, Sophie always remained in the back of my mind. I missed her, but I set all my feelings aside and gave it 100%. I didn't land in the top spot, but I did get into a good college, and Mom was super proud of me. I continued participating in athletics in college, and with time, I even developed a taste for poetry. Maybe Sophie rubbed off on me a little.
A year later, I was attending a poetry show with some friends when suddenly I heard a familiar voice on stage. "I could never explain how much you meant to me, for sharing my joys and pain. For being my friend, patient and forgiving, never judging, scolding, or forsaking. It gives me peace that at the end of the day, you were only a phone call away." The audience erupted in applause, and I could feel warm tears down my face. When the show ended, I immediately went backstage to meet her.
"But it was too crowded." "Kathy, is that you?" "Oh my God, I'm so happy to see you!" "And that poem, I completed it. It's actually dedicated to you." "God, I missed you so much." "Oh, me too. And I'm so glad you're following your dreams and finally convinced your mom." "Well, not exactly." Sophie told me after they left town, her mom got diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had to get admitted to a mental facility. Since they had no other family, Sophie had to drop out of college and pick up a job to pay the bills. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Why didn't you call me? You know I would have helped." "I tried calling you. I guess you changed your number, and then I got busy with Mom's treatment, and there was never a good time." "If it means anything, I'm here now, and I'm sorry. Sorry for what Mom and her friends did to your mom all those years ago." "It was a long time back. I knew Mom wasn't like other moms, but she tried her best to be there for me in her own twisted way. But after she got diagnosed, I realized how short life is to hold on to grudges and ignore what makes you happy. So now that Mom's better, I finally decided to pursue my dream." "I'm so proud of you, Sophie."
"So, what do you say we start again? This time, let's leave the moms aside." "I'd love that."