"You can't forgive her! I won't let you!"
"Lorena," I say quietly," you can't make my decisions for me."
"But can't you see what a big mistake forgiving her would be. It would be like okaying what she did to you."
"Of course I wouldn't be okaying what she did to me."
"You'd be sending that exact message out," she states. "That someone can cyberbully you and then be forgiven just like that as if nothing happened."
I sigh heavily. Suzy's eyes are towards the ground as if too ashamed to look up. "That's not the message I'd be giving out."
"Yes, it is."
"The message is, as my Aunt Letty likes to say, that forgiveness is good for the soul."
"That's really lame," Lorena spouts.
"Taking the high road is never lame," I inform her.
"The high road?" she murmurs. "Forgiving is the high road?"
"Yes. Besides, I need to forgive her for me."
Lorena eyes me with curiosity. "What do you mean?"
"Lorena, don't you feel weighed down with all this anger towards her?"
She considers what I just said. "Maybe a little," she grudgingly answers.
"Don't you feel all twisted inside as if you can't breathe?"
"Well..."
"Don't you feel you need to be set free from the acid in your stomach and the furious thoughts crashing in your head? It doesn't feel good. I know as much as that."
Lorena nods solemnly. "I kinda see what you mean." I'm thrilled she's giving in even a little.
"I forgive you, Suzy," I state.
Lorena sighs. "Okay, okay, I kinda forgive you too," she states, with a slightly uneven voice. "I'll take the high road."
Suzy looks up from the ground. Her eyes sparkle and a tiny relieved smile forms on her lips. "Thank you! Thank you!"
"You're welcome," states Lorena.
"Does this mean I can be your friend again?" she asks, her voice brimming with hope.
"No, you can't be our friend," Lorena states, sniffing.
Chapter 40
Suzy's eyes drop to the ground again.
"Lorena—" I start to say.
"Suzy, all I'm saying is that you can't be our friend the same way you were before. Some things have to change."
Suzy's face lifts up again. "What do you want changed?" she murmurs.
"Your attitude. No more bossiness! While Zuria always stood her ground with you, I didn't. I'll have you know that I'm not the same girl as before. I stand up for myself now. I'm not going to be your blind follower. If you want to be friends with Zuria and myself, the three of us will decide on things equally."
I'm very proud of Lorena.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," states Suzy.
I grin. "Friends again then," I state.
"Yes, but I want for Suzy to have something clear."
"What is it?" Suzy asks, worried.
"You'll have to work yourself up to being our BFF's again, okay?"
"Yes, definitely," she states, relief in her voice. "I know that I have to earn your trust again."
"Yeah," Lorena agrees.
"I'll do whatever it takes," Suzy asserts.
The three of us hug one another. It feels really good to have reached this point and to let go of the hurt
"Thank you so much for forgiving me," she cries, tears rolling down her face.
"Let's put all that junk past us," I state.
"Yeah, let's," Lorena chimes in.
I nod vigorously. "Let's just think about our great future as friends again."
"And the great things we're going to do together," Lorena states.
"Can I join your Teens for a Better World?" Suzy asks me with excitement in her voice.
I'm surprised at her question. "You heard about it?"
"Zuria, everyone's heard about it. It's the talk at my school—the club and your Aunt Letty."
I chuckle. "Of course you can join."
Suzy is the first one to arrive at our second club meeting. Benjamin's garage seems to be very full. Seems my new club is gaining momentum from the last time. After several students had approached me about my favorite aunt, the second speaker seemed a no brainer. Benjamin agreed when I told him that my Aunt Letty should keep on being the featured speaker because we have so much to learn from her.
She had asked for this next meeting to be a potluck with everyone bringing a unique dish from our different cultures. My dad, as promised, bought us folding tables. As the pots of different foods pile up, we sit to hear my aunt speak first. Benjamin, as always sits next to me. He holds my hand. Lorena sits next to Peebo. He also holds her hand. Suzy smiles at us.
My Crazy Aunt Letty's second awesome speech:
Being in high school feels like being on a different planet. Your hormones are in confusion. You're not in full charge of yourselves. You live in this tiny capsule where everything you do seems to be magnified. You're constantly asking yourselves in one way or another, "Who am I? What am I doing here?"
This is probably going to be one of the toughest times in your life. I know that some people try to convince you that it's the best time, but they've forgotten what it was actually like to be a teen-ager. They've forgotten about the popularity contests, the punctured self-esteem, and the crazy types of games. Because most adults live in their own caged universe full of responsibilities and stress, they forget what it's like to live in yours.
Even though high school feels like a different planet, I can assure you that it's not. You're high school experience is not only part of this earth, but it's an amazing representation of it. It's just a lot more concentrated than what you'll see as you take a few more steps into adulthood. But it's basically the same thing.
Popularity contests? Go to almost any job and see who's trying to call attention to themselves. Power plays? Again, go to those same jobs and watch. Human beings are basically insecure creatures who try to best one another to emphasize their presence on this planet. It's not so very different from the stuff you see happening at your schools every day.
I'm here to tell you that you can get out of the rat trap that we human beings put one another into for our shaky senses of self. You can get out of damaging mindsets. You can really be your own persons.
For all of you who don't feel good-looking enough, smart enough, and good enough, you don't have to give your power away. You don't have to let someone else tell you what to look like—you don't have to participate in the illusion of beauty where movie stars and fashionistas tell you who's good enough. You don't have to admire the wrong role models—those who are famous for being famous or those who's sole purpose in life is to be famous. They rarely do anything but feed their fame instead of improving the world—in fact they may make it a little worse by going from one chaotic drama to another.
You don't have to pick the wrong romantic partner—the one who verbally abuses or even physically abuses you, the one who cheats on you, or the one who knocks down your self-esteem to make themselves feel better.
You can take ownership of your lives. You can sign a contract with yourselves that no one will be allowed to chip at your self esteem, that you tell others what you look like and not the other way around, and that you will keep growing and learning no matter what. You can live inside out instead of outside in.
You can take you power back in order to share it and use it to help your world because once you take the responsibility for power, you can spread it. Power is only good if it joins with the energy of the power of others. No matter what any misguided person tells you, true power can only work this way. It only works in conjunction with the abilities and love of others because no one human being can be totally dependent from others. We affect one another no matter what.
Lift your power to help light the world. It's your choice.
Your life is yours.
It doesn't belong to fashion magazines, your favorite actors,
movies, or even to friends.
Your life is yours.
It's special because no one lives it, no one else breathes through it, and no one else struggles from every pore with it.
Your life is yours.
Don't let anyone try to own it, manipulate it, or even destroy your inner you.
Your life is yours.
To be shared with those who bring gifts, growth, and connections of their own.
Make good choices for yourselves. The world is depending on it.
Chapter 41
Wow! After the end of my favorite aunt's speech, I'm speechless. And so is everyone else in the garage including Ms. Brizz who had come to the meeting. I was surprised, but she said she couldn't pass up the chance to listen to my Crazy Aunt Letty again.
The applause starts gradually, and it becomes even more thunderous than the one at the first speech. Again, people get enthusiastically on their feet. My aunt looks embarrassed as people keep yelling, "Crazy Aunt Letty rocks!"
When we finally sit down to eat from the feast each had brought food to, we put my aunt at the head of the table. All of us want to feel the proximity of her presence by being able to look over to her. She makes it very clear to us that she'll accept our respect but not any type of adulation.
She always knows what to say!
Before any of us takes our first bite, she tells us she'll say grace. My favorite aunt says grace differently from anyone I've ever met.
She bows her head and so did we. Her voice is loud and strong. "Thank you, unifying factor of the universe for what we're about to eat. Thank you for bringing us together as every single person here has a special purpose. The other people I'd like to send out vibrations of thanks to are the ones who are not at this table, but who had a lot to do with this meal. To those hard workers who never get enough credit because they're not moneyed and in careers that are considered prestigious. Those that many people look down on because they somehow believe that the food gets to supermarkets by magic instead of much, much hard work. Thank you to those hard workers. We realize how many hands and sacrifice it takes for this food to be here today. Parents who buy the food, drivers to deliver it, farmers to grow it, and those who labor rigorously to pick it. I know it does great honor to you, unifier of us all, to give credit to all your children. It also humbles us into realizing how much we need each other and how much we should love one another and feel gratitude for everyone. Thank you."
As we start to eat, there is an awesome vibe in the garage. We're chattering, passing food to one another, and just enjoying ourselves immensely. No one is trying to take over the conversation or brag to us about anything. Everyone just feels good.
The late great and triple awesome Cesar Chavez once said, "If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's house and eat with him...the people who give you their food give you their heart." I've loved that quote ever since Aunt Letty had told it to me. It has so much wisdom about human beings.
I know that the world's problems can't be solved just like that—I'm not that naïve. It won't be easy to get hatred, greed, racism, and loopy ideas under control but one pure grain of sand on the beach is a start, isn't it?
Suzy mouths thank you to me. I mouth your welcome in return.
Benjamin takes my hand and grins. I grin back at him. Every person in his garage is at peace with one another. That's the way it should be.
More, More, More
Mia’s novels—some with sequels! Get to know her work. Take advantage of the price-less downloads for now!
Tween:
The Warriors Club
Young Adults:
Planet High School
Lucky Lucette
Lovestruck/ Sequel: The Key of Hearts
Paradise Abductions/ Sequel: Paradise Escape
Supernova
Adult:
Flowers For The Living
My Mama’s Tamales
Pride and Preference
Broken Watermelons
Forever Hearts/ Sequel: Forever Destiny
Paranormal Revenge
A Beautiful Haunting
Spiritual:
GodQuest
A Christmas Passage/ Same series: Angel Gifts
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