Back Porch Review 2020

The Road
By Rachel Barnable, grade 10
This road used to be just a road. Made of gravel and pavement mix, a road
for cars to drive down on and a road for kids to grow up on. Trees loom
over the houses along the road. When it rained, their leaves shielded the
children from getting wet.
As a child, my friends and I always ran up and down the road. We
rode our bikes on that road. When school started our parents took
pictures of us at the bus stop at the end of the road. Summer nights as a
child were the best. At night the smell of bug spray filled the air, while
silhouettes of bats flew from tree to tree across the starry skies. Those
nights we played games and had fun in the road. One night I tried to catch
crickets to feed to our neighbor's lizard.
Every night, even on school nights, we’d run across the road to each
other's houses and hangout. Catching fireflies and setting them free,
playing red light, green light or mr midnight, and sometimes just hanging
around a fire pit at one of the houses.
As we got older we stopped talking to each other. At about eight,
we stopped hanging out. The road became a barrier rather than a bridge.
We all got new friends and barely talked to each other. The last time I
actually spoke to one of them was in eighth grade; it was only one word.
Now that we’re in high school they all still talk to each other a little,
mostly when we’re walking up towards our houses from the bus stop. But
they don’t talk to me.
I could go on thinking about how things could’ve been when we all still
hung out with each other; I miss those times. I feel like I’m the one who
caused it since I was a mean spoiled brat back then. But now, since I’ve
changed my ways, I’d love to know how it would’ve worked out if we still
hung out together. But for now I just walk along this road in silence.
Now walking up this road it feels… lonely… but I’m still going. I’ve
always had my life planned out ;from eighth grade, I had plans to go to
college while no one else had a plan. But now, with only two years left of
high school, everyone knows what they’re going to do and how they’ll
end up. While me, with the reality of how expensive college is….. I have
no clue now what I’m going to do. Like what happened? How did I not
catch the train? They’re all moving forward and I’m trying to catch up and
jump on… but… I don’t think I can make it.
(Continued on next page)