WE DRIVE PAST St. Est avenue to SouthHood street. The traffic's terrible just like in Tennessee people cursing and honking at each other. I remember one time in traffic when Cassy was a teen, she rolled the window down and screamed. "Suck on this!" And then flip the driver off in the car ahead. We lived on the other side of Tennessee. I think this might be the first time in my life that I left Tennessee. It was the only place I knew. It was the only life I knew, now just a few roads away into a whole new life, my whole new life. I do miss Mrs. Gardner I'd always help babysit her cats before she passed away last summer. In my neighborhood, in Tennessee, it was only little kids and old people. I was the only teenager.
"This is it, Indiana, another road to another life," he smiles broadly at the cars ahead. The one thing about Uncle Kimmy is that he's patient and calm during everything even when Cassy came home crying as she told us about her...incident. I shake that memory out and form a new one. A fake one. I hope it can be a real one. My phone vibrates against my thigh.
Trey: hey
ME: hey?
Trey: I miss u
ME: clearly you didn't because you never talked to me before
Trey: I tried to but I was too scared
ME: don't play with me
Trey: I'm not I'm not
ME: ...
Trey: Ryan and Britney broke up
ME: really??!!
Trey: yeah @ lunch I saw it and she slapped him haha
ME: that's not funny trey
Trey: but all Imma say is you were the cute girl in class and now you're gone
ME: I'm not gone I'm just not there find some other girls move on
I put my phone back in my pocket and scoff. That I don't miss.