Kelsey Rivera hates being a new student. She hates school. And most importantly, she hates people.
Growing up, she had a terrible life. Her mother would force her to go to different schools until she got herself kicked out for being bad. She didn't...
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a/n (10/30/2022): thank you all so much for 30k views! i never thought that this story would get that much love, so it warms my heart to see you all reading this. this story has a special place in my heart because i love kelsey and how strong she is going through her journey. as a special thank you for your continued support for this story, i decided i'd write a bonus scene once it hit 30k. as you can tell, it's definitely on the longer side, and i hope you all enjoy it! thank you all again for reading this! i wouldn't be here without any of you :)
Crossing my arms over my chest, I stared at my own little exhibit at the museum. A weird feeling settled in my heart at the sight of my name underneath the name of the exhibit that sat on a table all by itself. A binder was set on a small pedestal for everyone to read about the history of skateboards while two of my own personal skateboards that I designed were kept in glass cases on either side of the binder. For my whole life, I never thought I could amount to anything, but this sight in front of me proved me wrong. I couldn't help but feel a little tremor of pride sparking deep within myself at the sight. A part of me said that I shouldn't be proud of who I am, echoing what people have told me before, but for once, I was able to override those thoughts.
One thing that crossed my mind, though, was that I wish my parents were here to see this. Even though my friends weren't able to make it today because they all were getting ready to leave for summer break, the fact that my parents didn't bother to show up before the Summer Festival even though I invited them really cut me deep. But it was what it was. They made their choices, and I made mine without their help. This was something I was immensely proud of, and I didn't need them to cheer me on because I finally had my own cheerleaders in my life who cared more about me than my own parents ever could.
Honestly, I wasn't sure why I even sent out invites to my parents. It wasn't like they wanted to be in my life to begin with. I mean, my father left me a while ago, and that should have told me that he didn't want to be in my life. He hadn't contacted me in the years since he had been gone, so I didn't know what I was thinking when I sent him the invite, which I found his address online. Mom, on the other hand, didn't leave me physically. She was never emotionally available, though. She would never be proud of me, no matter how hard I worked. I just wanted to show her this one time that I could be something greater even though she would never see it.
The sound of heels clicking against the tiled floor drew me out of my head. Looking around, I saw Caroline making her way toward me. Her hands were full of papers and folders, which meant that she was working in the back of the museum. The other volunteers were working on a huge project that was going to be out in a few months about all the newspapers from different parts of the world talking about the town. It was really interesting.
"Thank you so much for doing this, Kelsey," Caroline said with a warm smile on her face as she neared me. I returned it. "Your exhibit on the history of skateboards will help draw in more crowds for this place. I'm so proud of you for getting it done just in time for the Summer Festival we host every year."
