Ball of Anger by Isabel Zamora

 

Ball of Anger

By Isabel Zamora

Under the rays of the unmerciful desert sun, Adeline sat by the lonely sandbox contemplating last night’s horrifying episode. You’re ugly, you’re stupid, you’re worthless. These thoughts ran through Adeline’s mind as she picked up the sleeves of her sweater to view the bruises that she obscured. The only solace Adeline could ever receive was in her solitude. No one understood Adeline, for she was an outcast. Adeline was regarded as a creep, a loner, but not a single person gave a second thought as to why she became this way. All she wished for was a kind word or a person to say “I’m here for you,” but the world was oblivious as to how much she cried on the inside.

On the other side of the sandbox, Adeline noticed a small white ball. The ball glistened in the sunlight, reflecting the light on Adeline’s face. She got up to pick up the ball and when the white sphere was in her possession, she suddenly felt it harder to breathe. Blood rushed to her legs and face. Her heart began to beat viciously against her chest. Adeline knew she could no longer stay at her location. She felt as though if she waited a second longer, she would go crazy. As though by enchantment, her legs began to run and Adeline had no say in the movement of her limbs. The wind blew past her face and her long brown hair swayed. She ran as though she were escaping a tangible danger.

            Adeline’s legs drew to a halt once she reached the Boys and Girls Club. Twenty yards from the building, Adeline spotted a girl she knew from her P.E. class, Isabel, with her friend Sandra under a shaded structure drinking raspados. Adeline immediately knew what she wanted to do in order to release the tension she felt in her being. She walked calmly over to the two girls with a silly grin on her face. Isabel looked up from her raspado and made eye contact with Adeline. The instinctive tension of Isabel’s body was apparent to Adeline.

“What the hell are you doing here,” Isabel said through her teeth as she set her raspado down.

Adeline did not respond to her. She took Isabel’s question as a rhetorical statement not meant to be answered. Isabel was a small petite girl who wore retainers. For Isabel to attempt to be menacing towards her was laughable. In Adeline’s eyes, Isabel was far from intimidating. She looked down at her right hand to confirm that she still had the ball from the sandbox, then looked back up to Isabel’s glaring face. “What an easy target,” Adeline thought, “she is just right there, right in front of me, I can easily hit her with this ball.” The thought brought a smile to her face. With one swift motion of her arm, Adeline threw the ball at Isabel’s face.

Whack! The ball rolled back to Adeline’s feet. Adeline noticed Isabel’s eyes began to water as she rubbed the reddening spot on her cheek. A high pitched sound escaped Adeline’s mouth. Gradually the sound became a regular and hysterical laughter. Adeline could not contain herself; she grasped her stomach to hold on to the painful happiness that unfolded itself in her abdomen wall.

            Adeline was so elated she did not notice a furious Isabel lunging after her. Before she knew it, Isabel grabbed Adeline’s shoulders with a vicious force and threw her to the ground. Adeline attempted to free herself but Isabel countered her resistance. Isabel pinned Adeline with her knees on her back and yanked Adeline by the hair multiple times with a force of pent up anger.

“I’ve had enough of you always annoying me, you better stop!” Isabel yelled.

“Oh my God, you’re crazy!” said Adeline between laughs.

            Though Adeline was in intense pain, she continued to laugh hysterically. Her laughter reached a point where it was no longer controllable.

“Come on Isabel,” Sandra hurriedly said as she tried to get Isabel to stop. “Let’s go, that’s enough.”

            Isabel finally released her grasped of Adeline and left her bedraggled and with an acute pain on her head, face, and back.

            Once Isabel and Sandra were out of sight, Adeline allowed tears to roll down her face. She found herself abused once again. Adeline felt a hole in her heart, for she realized that once all is said and done, misery seeps in. Isabel was like the others, they would never understand the pain--the true pain in her soul.