The Passed Note Issue 10 June 2019 | Page 39

But lately it had nagged me that, like everything else, I don’t have a place here. Often I’ve thought about having a room of my own. I knew I couldn’t get my mom to clear the whole house. Child services did that years ago. It just grew back even worse. One room to sleep in might not be too much to ask. But knowing my wish is someone else’s worst nightmare made me feel like a monster. How can you shove your best friend’s nose in their own shit?

"Do we have to do this today?" she asked without looking up from the coupons in the mail.

"The discussion? Yes. The crap evacuation can wait until you're ready. As long as you're ready by Saturday," I replied.

"Gee, thanks," she said, finally looking up.

"Can you just give me this one thing? You don't have to throw anything away. You can just redistribute things to the other rooms and leave one room clear."

"You don’t understand! I have to go through everything."

“Then let’s do it. However you want. Nothing’s going, just getting organized,” I rambled in the hopes that the more I talked, the more I’d convince us both.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” she muttered.

“I don’t mean to do this to you. It just feels like something that must be done for both of us. We'll get