"Diana!"
"I am here, Mom, don't stress your lungs," Diana said, getting down from the stairs and grabbing a toast from the table. Her mom folded the newspaper in her hands and hit it on her head. "MOM!" she yelled.
Her mom grabbed her ear. "Is this how you speak to your mother? I am sure I trained you better," her mom spoke firmly into her ear.
"Mama, it hurts, I am sorry, let's do it again," Diana apologized as she tried to free herself from her mom's firm grip. Her mom finally let go.
Diana touched her now bloody red ear. She breathed in and grabbed her school bag she had dropped on the chair in pain. She took another toast.
Her mom stood with the folded paper still prepared to hit her if she at any time misbehaved.
Diana stared at her mom for a while, then she grinned and ran out of the door, saying, "Love you, Mom, see you after school!" She closed the door behind her before her mom could react.
Looking at her naughty daughter, she just smiled, knowing fully well that she was going to miss her when she leaves for New York in a few weeks, but she had already promised she wasn't going to cry.
Diana ran to school with a toast in her mouth. She bumped into a woman and fell backwards onto her butt; her toast broke and fell to the ground.
"Ouch, are you blind?" the lady said, touching her head, but Diana didn't respond. She just stared at the piece of toast that was on the ground.
"I am speaking to you, are you deaf?" the lady asked angrily but still didn't get a response or a reaction from her. She rested on her knees and tried to grab Diana's ears, but a hand stopped her, holding her wrist.
She looked up to see another high school student with the same uniform. He apologized on Diana's behalf to the woman. She wanted to say something, but she realized she was late for work and just left.
Diana stood up from the floor and dusted her clothes. "Thanks, I dodged a bullet there." She grabbed her bag and started walking.
"I didn't do that out of the goodness of my heart, you know. I didn't understand our last assignment; hand me your book," Star said, stretching forth her hand to collect the book.
Diana sighed and reached into her bag, brought out her book, and handed it to her. "Could you have the kindness of God in your heart for once, Star?"
"I do have it, but it is not for people like you," Star replied as she kept the book in her bag. "When are you going to New York?"
"Next week, after our graduation," Diana replied. She was stopped as Star stood in front of her.
"You know you don't have to do this. I am here, and so is your mom, and we love you deeply, Diana. Don't go," Star begged her, holding her hand.
Diana smiled at her. "I know I don't have to, but I want to. He will pay, and you will be coming to New York next year." "Only because I need to look out for you."
"Good, I'll see you there. And we will be late for school," Diana said as she walked past her to the school. Star sighed and followed behind.
The bell rang and classes started. During break, Diana was heading to the cafeteria when a hand dragged her into the janitor's closet.
Diana stared at the guy; it was Peter, her boyfriend. He kissed her roughly, as if Diana was food and he hadn't eaten all day. He picked her up and placed her on a bench.
His hand traveled down from her face to her chest, feeling the softness of her breasts. Diana moaned through the kiss. His hand went down and landed on her waist.
Diana pushed him aside gently and got off the bench. She adjusted her clothes, and Peter was still staring in confusion. "What is wrong?" he asked as she tried to leave.
"We are over, Peter. I am leaving the state soon, so what better time is there to end it than now?" Diana said, checking the time on her watch. "Shoot!" Diana ran out of the door, leaving Peter confused and hurt.
Diana ran through the hallway to the cafeteria where the list of graduating students was being posted. "Where were you, girl?" Star said when Diana entered. She held her hand, not waiting for a reply, and they walked up to the list.
They both searched for their names from the back to avoid getting their hopes up. They searched from the back to the front, and their names were not found.
The last list was the top ten. They checked; Star was number five. She finally let out a sigh of relief. Diana was happy for her, but now she was scared her name wouldn't be found.
She looked at the list from five to four, then three, then two. Her name was found in number two. Her heart finally calmed down, and they both jumped around, excited for their results.
Diana knew she had to get good results if she had a chance to be employed. Diana took a picture of it and sent it to her mom.
Diana and Star left the crowd and walked back to their class, still excited about the results. "I can't believe that I could get so high," Diana said. "I told you we could do it; all we need is a little hard work," Star said.
"There is nothing little about the work we did," Diana said, and they both laughed as they went back to their classes.
After class, Diana was confronted once more by Peter, who still needed clarification on what happened and why she had broken up with him.
Diana sighed and wanted to walk off, but Peter stopped her and demanded an explanation.
"I don't love you anymore, and I am leaving the state. There is no reason to still remain together," Diana said without a care in the world.
"But I love you," he said, trying to change her mind.
"I know I am lovable, but I am sorry; this is for the best."