First Day of Seventh Grade

August 1995.

Music blasted on the black CD player nestled in the corner of the bathroom sink. Trechial hummed along, scrubbing her teeth, her stomach swirled with a mixture of nervousness and excitement as she readied herself for the first day of seventh grade. New school, new faces, the possibility of dating, harder schoolwork, and seeing Devin after three months of not seeing him.

Whenever she asked about his whereabouts, Yoon Mi Rae only offered her the word "camp" as if there weren't many different types of camps in the United States of America.

Hopefully, Devin was through being mad at her. In truth, she thought about Tae way more than she should have over the summer, and she didn't know why. It could have been guilt over abandoning him for Maylee. She sighed, spitting the white foam into the sink and turning on the water. She scooped up a fingerful of Noxzema and massaged the cool cream on her skin, wondering, has he changed any?

Did a small piece of him miss her at all?

A familiar tightness enclosed her ribcage, so she washed her face and dried it before using her towel to clean out the sink and tossing it into the hamper. She brought a hand up to her chest, clutching the green fabric of her shirt and pondering why just the thought of seeing Devin's curly, black hair and narrow, two-toned eyes made her heart pick up speed. Her feelings regarding him were becoming deeper, and it frightened her because he was off-limits as a potential love interest in her future. Devin Liao was her best friend, the Skippy to her marshmallow fluff sandwich, and nothing more.

Yes, it was a cliché concept, but weren't clichés often there to protect a person's sense of comfortability with reality? Besides, it wasn't like Devin liked her because they fought more than they were happy with one another.

Trechial gave herself a mental shake, eradicating all thoughts of Devin from her mind. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, tracing a small braid of the many that were plaited tightly onto her head, and pulled them into a ponytail. Her mom finally allowed her to get braids like Brandy, and Trechial had to admit--they looked cute.

Trechial tied a green ribbon around her ponytail then leaned over the counter to inspect her face side to side in the wide mirror. Most of her acne cleared up, and some baby fat was shed, giving her a more defined look. Countless walks around her neighborhood in the blazing Virginia sun helped with that dilemma. But there was not much progression in the areas she'd hoped for. Now, she sucked in her gut and poked out her chest.

She got her first period last month, which incited her first birds and bees talk with her mom. Trechial shivered just thinking about that conversation. She turned off the CD player and began putting back the toiletries.

The doorbell sounded outside of her thoughts, snapping her out of her daze. Maylee must have been excited to get to school this morning because the sun was barely out and she was already at Trechial's house.

She smirked, recounting their summer together. All the girl talked about were boys the whole summer. Boys, boys, and more boys. Maylee was hard-wired to think about, obsess over, and have meltdowns over boys. The only boys Trechial tended to obsess over were the ones that resided on The Backstreet. Or the one that was off at camp.

Trechial fell into her first crush over the summer, and while she didn't obsess over Leandro, she did find herself thinking about him in moments she should have been thinking of other things. Leandro's gentle personality, blue eyes, and tawny skin coupled with a wide smile–– it gave her butterflies. After spending time with him weekly at Amigos Community Center and sometimes alone at the park, she realized she started to look forward to seeing him whenever her mom would give her permission to leave the house. Of course, permission was disguised under the illusion that everybody in the clique was hanging out together. If her mom found out it was just her and Leandro alone, she might have ended her daughter's short life. The only boy Trechial could be alone with was Devin. From late-night movies to occasional sleepovers to day trips at the zoo and aquarium— her mother trusted them together.

All fantasies of Leandro liking her in return were soon crushed to pebbles when Sallyanne Vasquez told Maylee she and Leandro were dating.

"Trechial, you have a visitor," Diana shouted from the door.

Maylee made an appearance almost every day to her humble abode, and suddenly she was reduced to being called a visitor.

"I'm coming," Trechial swiped on some strawberry gloss, then molded her lips together with a "smuck." She hated that the folks at Rapid Ridge Middle School decided to implement the wearing of uniforms because everyone was now stuck wearing hunter-green collared shirts with a yellow logo and khakis. The girls could wear a skirt, capris, or pants. At best they could accessories the ugly uniform with different colored belts, hair accessories, earrings, and colorful socks. Go Grizzly Bears! Today, she opted to wear a pleated knee-length skirt with white ruffle socks with green ribbon trim, gold quarter-size hoops, and her favorite Donatello TMNT watch.

She hit the light switch on her way out and strode down the hall, the smell of bacon engulfing her senses as she passed the kitchen.

"In the night in my dreams," she sang, bobbing her head from side to side and strutting down the hall, approaching the foyer.

"I'm in love with you..." The rest of the song spilled into a soft whisper as she came to a halt next to her mother.

Familiarity stood at her door but not.