Two weeks into school and we already have an assignment worth a quarter of our first marking period grade…great. “Write a speech telling us about yourself and how you see the world, don’t hold anything back! It must be at least three minutes long, due Wednesday!” Mrs. Jiles - short, peppy, older woman who has that annoying “always excited” pitch in her voice. The speech just had to be about ourselves didn’t it.

She’s giving us the entire period to start our speeches while she hums away to herself at her desk. My peers are writing away, but here I sit brainstorming ways to avoid talking about myself. It’s not like they really want to hear about how I have football practice every day after school, or that I have a dog named Maxi. “Hi I’m Avery and I hate talking about myself, Mayville High’s very own running back all star here in the flesh.”
I don’t think anyone in this entire school knows who I am. Yeah they know I’m the fastest kid in the school, but they have no idea that I read poetry constantly. Or that I named my guitar Daisy and I write songs and play her every chance I get. Nope. They just see me as the jock. Football/Track all star blending in the popular crowd when not on the field. They see the person I wear day in and day out.
I don’t know how it got this far, me putting this face for everyone. But it’s getting to the point where I can’t breathe, I’m trapped. I wish this senior year would be over already, so I can get out of here. New Hampshire is a beautiful place but this town is driving me crazy. And I miss her I miss the girl I fell for back in Maine, the one person who truly knows me. Nobody here knows that of course. They think my family went to our vacation house like we do every summer enjoying the heat away from home.
“Avery can you please stop tapping your pen on the desk. I can’t focus.” Julie Anderson – cheerleader. “Oh yeah, sorry Julie” She went on talking about a party Saturday night and was wondering if I was going. She is in the group of friends I hang out with I should say yes, and I should be going; but I have no desire to be surrounded by people; or girls for that matter. I apologized and told her it was my brother’s birthday and that I couldn’t make it. I can’t think of a reason why she would want me there anyways. I looked down at my blank sheet of paper. For a moment I contemplated not doing the speech entirely, but then I realized my couches would kill me if they found out my grades were slipping. I guess I’ll have to face the inevitable sooner or later. That speech had to get done somehow.