Inklings 2020

RUNNING LATE Preston Edmunds I looked at the girls sitting together at lunch. Their hands gripped on their pink lunch boxes. Mine were gripping a black and blue Spiderman one. The girls scooched to the edge of the bench, eager to hear the gossip of the day, but I didn’t know any girly stuff. This made me feel left out. Sitting at the boy’s table since I was three, I filled up on chocolate milk and chicken nuggets as my friends fought about the soccer teams for recess the next period. When Mr. C pulled me from the table and looked down at my sweatpants, it was the beginning of a transformation. All the other girls wore skorts, but I’d been wearing school sweatpants — the ones that were only worn in the winter — every day for the past four years. Their rough cotton insides rubbed against my skin, perhaps because they were hand-me-downs. However, I never felt more comfortable than in my burgundy pants. Mr. C towered over me as he told me it was time to start wearing a skort. For him, conforming to society was expected, and I was running late. I wore a skort the next day, and my legs felt as naked as my heart. Everybody stared at my legs because they had never seen them. I found the boys easier to talk to considering I spent all my time with them either on the soccer team, football team, basketball team, or on playdates after school. I felt accepted around themmore than I did with the girls. They stood up for me when the other teams we played against mocked a girl. The boys didn’t look at me like I was an alien. I didn’t have an issue with girls. I love my mom, who has never done anything to traumatize me about being a girl or being with girls. I just didn’t want the girls my age to be my friends. By fifth grade, I became friends with Carmen, Karina, and Sofi, and we talked about what happened on the TV show Glee in math class. They weren’t so scary, and, by then, all my sports teams had girls on them. I was finally on time for societal norms. Unfortunately, I lost touch with my guy friends after middle school. People tell me I look prettier now because I wear shorter shorts and cute shirts. I always thought I looked pretty though. I liked my old clothes, and while I grew out of them all on my own, I am not embarrassed that I once loved them. I still feel more comfortable meeting boys as opposed to girls, but I don’t sit with them at lunch anymore. In high school, all my friends are girls. I just grew up a little. I guess what I consider to be on time, they look at as late. We were all just on different schedules.