'' I'm trying my hardest to provide for us!"           "You need to go and get a real job, teaching swimming is not profitable enough!"

       The daily squabble of Tamara's parents went in one ear and out the other. She wondered why her mama didn't support her papa's dream job of teaching swimming. She supported it.

      Tamara collapsed onto her musty bed and stared at her boring, basic apartment room wishing it could be something more.

    Sighing, she whipped out her drawing pad and went away to a magical land of water. She drew pixies and daisies, sea horses and silly dolphins wearing top hats. The one place that she could call home, her imagination.

    Bzzt! Bzzt! The alarm clock rang waking Tamara up for the first day of sixth grade. "Why, oh why does school have to exist." Tamara groaned trudging out of her bed. As quite noticeable she wasn't quite a morning person.

    For each year of school Tamara had attended St. Benedict school she had always been alone. At recess drawing in her sketch book. At lunch drawing in her sketch book. At break time drawing in her sketch book. But on that first day of school Tamara wanted a change. After a long nice shower braided her hair into two braids and tied majestic flower ribbons to them. She then wore a traditional dress and smeared some year old lip gloss on. It was perfect.

    Her cinnamon breath stung her nose as she wolfed down a sticky cinnamon bun. "Tamara te dije que no comas dulces antes de la escuela!" Tamara's mom said whacking her with a wooden spoon. "You have to be calm and stay focused mija

." Tamara rolled her eyes thinking that if she were to look cool she would have to act the part. " Don't make me say it twice!" Tamara finally gave in and apologized, annoyed. "Sorry, mama." 

    Tamara was ready to go to school at a quarter before eight and she trailed down the apartment stairs breathing in the damp smell of the old walls. "Like an ice cream on a hot summer day," she thought dreamingly. As she wandered out of her apartment building she could see her old bike leaning against a tall pole. Tamara held the handles and started to submerge her feet into the pedals with her backpack in a basket attached to the bike. Now it was really time for school.

    Arriving at school Tamara could see a lot of familiar faces. Some of them she hated, some of them she liked, and some of them she couldn't explain her feelings. 

    Tamara then asked a teacher which class she was in. "Hmm, I wonder who's in Ms. Felicity's class with me." She thought curiously. Tamara walked, and walked, and walked up plenty of stairs until she finally discovered Ms. Felicity's class. Walking in Tamara immediately dashed to the lockers.

    The first name that she saw was Austin. Her stomach tightened and it began to ache. Tamara couldn't explain how she felt about Austin. Tamara turned to the next lockers and found that Lila the spoiled brat was in her class. She groaned, this was obviously not going to be a good class for her. Not bothering to check the other classmates Tamara took her seat and waited for her classmates and teacher to come.

    The rest of the class started to flow in watching Tamara seated at her desk sketching until she turned around. They all immediately set their eyes off her but she was to quick for them. "Why are you guys watching me?" She said with her head tilted. Lila rolled her eyes. "Why are you guys watching me?" She mimicked while smirking. "I bet you were here like one hour early like, were your parents so sick of  you that they like dumped you in this like school dump?" Lila's groupies started to snigger.

    Tamara's cheeks flushed embarrassed but then she remembered, she was done being that sad helpless girl, it was time to put Lila in her place. "Do you have a speech disorder or is your vocabulary just so low that you always say one word repetitively?" "Maybe you should go to speech therapy,  unless your daddy can't pay for it, Lila. I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't or wouldn't because of how many times you've blasted his money aimlessly." Now it was Tamara's turn to smirk. The whole class gasped and suddenly went quiet. The look on Lila's face was priceless.

   The rest of the day went by quickly, playing get to know you games, organizing our new binders, reading books, well for Tamara instead of reading she was secretly sketching. Tamara didn't enjoy reading books instead she just always sketched.

    School soon ended and Tamara unhooked her bike from the bike rack and started to ride home thinking of new things to draw and looking around her community to find an inspiration for an upcoming art piece.

    As she was looking around while biking Tamara saw happy people sipping Starbucks, moody people begging for money, and so much more. She had a great idea for an art piece that she would finish at the end of the school year.

    Tamara arrived at Lively Hive Apartment and skipped in and the whole time she was going up the elevator she was bursting to go up to her room and start sketching out her masterpiece. When Tamara got into her apartment she was greeted by the smell of veggie pisto.

    "Mmm that smells perfect mama." She smiled nicely. "How was your first day mi amor?" Mama asked curiously. Flashbacks of the argument that had happened today flooded Tamara's mind. "It was great mom. Really great. Anyways I really have to go study in my room we're having a beginning of year assessment." Those were the last words that Tamara uttered before she rushed into her room backpack in hand.

    Tamara slammed her door shut and dumped everything out of her backpack. A loose keychain, hand cream, volleyball note, but no sketch book. Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered sketching at recess then leaving for the bathroom. Someone had stolen her sketch book.

    Her lungs squeezed, and her heart burned thumping with every second she thought about the incident and she knew exactly who the culprit was.

    Tamara's mind raged with hatred as she thought about Lila and her friends skipping through the pages of all the sketches she had worked so hard on. Their greasy fingers would be smothered all over it and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

    Slam! Tamara heard the door to their apartment shut and she knew her dad was back from work. She trudged on to her dad trying to wipe the tears that were stinging her black cherry eyes away so that her parents would think

 everything was fine. "My estrella how was the first day, eh?" Papa said with a grin on his face. "It was fine papa." Tamara said trying to light up her face with a smile. "What's wrong my love?" Papa said his expression changing. "Nothing is wrong. I told you my day was fine." Tamara murmured losing her patience. "I know when something is bothering you Tammy, talk to me." Tamara had enough. "I told you I'm fine, get out of my business!" Tamara lashed out unleashing all the anger that was pent up inside her.

    Tears streamed down Tamara's cheeks as she ran to her room and fell into her pillow screaming about how much she hated her life until she heard even louder screams. "I'm trying to help her!" "You're obviously making it worse for her!" "Well I'm obviously not wanted in this family!" "Leave then!" "I was planning to leave this dump anyways!"

    Silence. Tears. Anger. Tamara's heart shook like their apartment  as soon as the door slammed shut. Tamara could hear her mama walking to her room so she crept out of her room. He was gone. Her papa, her friend, her inspiration to be whatever she wanted to be.

She had destroyed her family, and her life.

    Tamara usually skipped school from the day her papa left. Biking around town and observing nature. It calmed her mind. However teachers started to get worried about her always asking once in a while where she was. Tamara was sick of making excuses every week and decided she was going back to school.

    The next day, a Wednesday to be exact Tamara walked into her class.