The True Nature Series

Lydia Parker - Ten Months ago"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU did that! I hate you right now!"My daughter's words echoed in my head as I turned the car toward downtown. I wanted to talk about it, but I knew I would be wasting my breath until she calmed down. So, I ignored Tru, who fumed in the backseat, preferring to sit as far away from me as possible. I imagined what she was thinking: I have the most overprotective mother on the planet! You embarrassed me in front of all my friends! I'm the only person in my entire school who isn't at that party. I took a deep breath and unclenched my hands from the steering wheel. Getting angry was not going to help, and neither was feeling guilty. Sure, I knew the parents of the girl who threw the party. Sure, they seemed like a nice family. But, if I had learned anything during my forty years as a schoolteacher, it was that families were more than they appeared on the outside, and that really weird stuff happened in the "nice" families as often as i

AT FIRST, WHEN I was really young, I didn't know I was doing anything weird. My parents were proud when their toddler dressed in the dark and ended up with a head-to-toe matching outfit. They bragged to their friends and said I was a genius child. But eventually, when I never bothered to turn on the lights for anything, they began to get weird looks on their faces. I finally noticed that other kids couldn't do those things. And I realized that "seeing in the dark" was making Mom and Dad upset. By the time I entered grade school, I figured it was easier to pretend otherwise. I started flicking on the light switch at night, commenting on the darkness, and keeping a flashlight near my bed. Eventually, Mom and Dad stopped looking at me like I was an alien. The thing is, I knew I was different even when no one else did. And the more I worked to be like everyone else, the bigger pain-in-the-butt teenager I became, a tidal wave that could only be stopped by something equally cataclysmic, wh

BY THE TIME I got downstairs, Dad had my lunch packed and a box of cereal on the table. You'd think I could make my own lunch by now. "Hey, Sunshine!" Dad said, looking up from his newspaper and peering over the rims of his glasses.I was certainly not feeling sunny. First-day-of-school butterflies were swarming in my stomach. I was excited and terrified at the same time. No. Blustery or scattered thunderstorms seemed more appropriate."How'd you sleep?""Great," I lied, raising my voice an octave. Dad lowered his newspaper, revealing an ugly scratch along his face. The butterflies in my stomach stopped flying and got sick. What kind of freak attacks her dad? Frowning, I joined him at the table. "Oh man, Dad. I'm sorry about your face." I poured some cereal into the empty bowl set out for me, not feeling hungry but knowing he'd feel better if I ate something."What, this ol' thing?" He ran his finger down the ugly scratch. "The guys at work are gonna love it! I'll tell them I w

BY THE TIME RUTHIE and I rolled into the school parking lot, we were back to discussing the most important things in a teenage girl's life - clothes and boys. Just like old times."You have to show me where you got those jeans! The pockets rock!" Ruthie gushed. "Okay, how's the makeup?" She pursed her lips and gave me her most seductive look. I rolled my eyes."Are you kidding? You look perfect, as usual," I assured her. "You remind me of Jennifer on 'Court of Palms.'" "Court of Palms" was Ruthie's favorite teen soap, and she considered Jennifer the hottest girl on the show. I only watched it when we were hanging out. Ruthie commentated each episode with paparazzi-like detail. A spontaneous giggle bubbled up inside me at the memory, but it was pierced with a happy cry at the fond memories and sudden gratitude that I had my best friend back.She stared at me, wide-eyed, moisture welling up in them. "Oh, Tru!" She started fanning herself. "You've been watching our show!"I gave her

RUTHIE AND I DIDN'T have any classes together for the rest of the day. We had already compared our schedules over the weekend. I knew most of the kids in my classes, but they didn't seem to recognize me. The guys looked me over with interest, the girls with curiosity, at least until my name was called for attendance. Then people really looked at me. They stared and whispered. Awkward. My attempt at "normal" didn't seem to be working out this year. With each ensuing class, I shrank deeper and deeper into my seat, hoping to get the day over as fast as possible. I practically ran from my Physics class. I headed out the door and planned to keep walking until I walked through my front door, but something turned me toward the quad, where everyone hung out for lunch. It made me pause enough to rethink my situation.Dad would probably make me see the shrink if I skipped school today. With a resigned sigh, I changed my mind and decided to stake out the usual place that Ruthie and I liked, near