SUMMER is usually the best time of the year for students all over. The sun runs high and hot, pools open, and most importantly: school’s out! For most Granger Lancers, summer is the time to travel or play in the sun. Unfortunately, my summer was off to a bad start — not even a week in.
On June 2, I woke up to a text from my stepdad letting me know that neither my sister nor I would be attending cheer practice that night. He added that he and my mom would talk to us that same night. It’s one thing to be told that a parent wants to talk to you, but a meeting with both parents is another level of concern. The fear and worry in my body turned into attempting to dye my entire head pink.
Late that night, my sister and I were placed on the couch, facing my crying mother and empty-looking father. After an awkward silence broken by sniffles, my father announced the big news. ‘Divorce’ hung cold in the air as my sister started crying. I stared into space, suddenly understanding why cheer practice was out of the question. We can’t afford it.
As summer continued, kitchen appliances turned pink, and I stayed busy. For the rest of June and most of July, I kept myself out of the house by hiking with my boyfriend, going to concerts, and staying active. Kesha and Treaty Oak Revival turned into a lost voice and a scratchy throat, and I searched for another thrill like that. Without cheer, adrenaline rushes don’t come easy.
One night on my way to watch a cornhole tournament with my friends, my car stopped in the middle of an unprotected left turn. I panicked and called my friend Gus Gus, who was thankfully on his motorcycle. He was able to cut through the lane I had stopped in, and he pushed my car to a parking lot. My oil levels were dangerously low, and multiple lights had turned on. He explained to me that he’d follow me home after the tournament to make sure I made it safely.
On the way home, with Gus Gus behind me, my car broke down again. I sat in the corpse of my Kia as he sped off to go get more oil. As I cried and called my dad, Gus Gus sat with me until my other friend Shay came to wait for a tow truck with us. A bad moment was turned into something easier to manage as they made me laugh.
Towards the end of July, my boyfriend went on a cruise and gave me access to his Snapchat and TikTok in order to hold his streaks. He was never too active on Instagram, so I was able to understand why he didn’t need me to be logged in on there. For two weeks I kept those streaks going, not knowing when I’d be able to talk to him again. So I waited, and cherished those small moments when he had enough service to text me.
Once he got home, I moved quickly to arrange for him to come to my house. I excitedly ran to his car, but he didn’t seem to have missed me too terribly much. I figured he was just tired because of the time zones until about three days later when he came to my house to talk.
We drove in silence until he started to explain that he did something wrong. He stumbled over his words time and time again as a pit developed in my stomach. It felt like he shot a bullet into my stomach as he finally explained that he was unfaithful on that cruise.
I didn’t cry until he dropped me off back home. His friends called me as my two closest friends hugged me. He knew that it was wrong and apparently had a plan to keep me in his life, which I didn’t want to be a part of.
About an hour after I had become a single woman, Shay’s dad came to check my car’s codes and see whether it could be fixed or not. After about two minutes of checking, I found out that my car was done for, never to be driven again. Another thing had been thrown on my plate, making things hard to manage.
The next day, I went off to an eight-hour shift. I knew that once I got home, my dad would be gone, along with his belongings. For the next week, kitchen appliances, walls, and decorations turned pink. Walls echoed, and flowers for my mother from old friends appeared. My world slowed down for that week until school started, a long summer looming before me.
