Left Behind, I Learned to Live
222 Views · Ongoing · Fuzzy Melissa
I was always the last one picked.
In gym class, nobody wanted me on their team until there was no one else left.
At White Elephant exchanges, I always ended up with the worst gift.
Even when classmates invited me out to eat, I somehow wound up covering the bill.
Then I went to college and met Brooke, who always saved me a seat, and Ethan, my boyfriend, who stepped in whenever things got awkward.
For three years, we did everything together.
We rushed to eight a.m. lectures, split DoorDash delivery fees, and walked back from the library at two in the morning after late-night study sessions.
When my parents divorced and neither seemed to want me, Brooke and Ethan stayed.
They even set their phones to alert them whenever I texted.
For the first time, I believed I'd found people who would never leave me behind.
Then came the night of our final exams.
We were at a party on the second floor of a downtown hotel when every phone in the room blared with a tornado warning.
People screamed and rushed toward the stairs, desperate to reach the hotel's designated storm shelter downstairs.
Ethan grabbed Brooke and headed for the exit.
I was right behind them when he shoved a banquet table out of his way.
The table scraped across the floor and slid directly into my path.
My foot caught on one of its legs, and I went down hard.
Before I could get back up, a massive crystal chandelier came crashing down.
Part of its heavy frame struck my back, and broken glass scattered across the floor.
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to get up. With everyone rushing past me, I had no time to think about the pain.
I just needed to get somewhere safe.
By the time I reached the hotel's storm shelter, Ethan and Brooke were nowhere in sight.
I'd been left behind again.
I pulled out my phone and texted my aunt Dana.
[I'll do it. I'll sign up for the trial.]
In gym class, nobody wanted me on their team until there was no one else left.
At White Elephant exchanges, I always ended up with the worst gift.
Even when classmates invited me out to eat, I somehow wound up covering the bill.
Then I went to college and met Brooke, who always saved me a seat, and Ethan, my boyfriend, who stepped in whenever things got awkward.
For three years, we did everything together.
We rushed to eight a.m. lectures, split DoorDash delivery fees, and walked back from the library at two in the morning after late-night study sessions.
When my parents divorced and neither seemed to want me, Brooke and Ethan stayed.
They even set their phones to alert them whenever I texted.
For the first time, I believed I'd found people who would never leave me behind.
Then came the night of our final exams.
We were at a party on the second floor of a downtown hotel when every phone in the room blared with a tornado warning.
People screamed and rushed toward the stairs, desperate to reach the hotel's designated storm shelter downstairs.
Ethan grabbed Brooke and headed for the exit.
I was right behind them when he shoved a banquet table out of his way.
The table scraped across the floor and slid directly into my path.
My foot caught on one of its legs, and I went down hard.
Before I could get back up, a massive crystal chandelier came crashing down.
Part of its heavy frame struck my back, and broken glass scattered across the floor.
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to get up. With everyone rushing past me, I had no time to think about the pain.
I just needed to get somewhere safe.
By the time I reached the hotel's storm shelter, Ethan and Brooke were nowhere in sight.
I'd been left behind again.
I pulled out my phone and texted my aunt Dana.
[I'll do it. I'll sign up for the trial.]


















































