State of Rebellion

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Today is my birthday.

The last time I celebrated a birthday I was sitting at a table in a McDonald’s, staring at a wet glob of ice cream in a plastic cup. I was living in Culver City, California. My dad was at work. My mother and I weren’t speaking. And friends? No. I didn’t have any friends.

So my birthday was spent in a corner of Culver City, eating cheap vanilla soft serve while the world passed me by and I wondered:

When will my life begin?

I regret asking that question. My life did start not too long after that birthday, but in a way I never wanted or dreamed about. Good things have happened. Bad things have happened. No matter how you slice it, the world is a different place than it was last year. Everything has changed. Nothing is the same.

I am no longer the same.

My name is Cassidy Hart.

Today is my birthday.

One Month Earlier

Pine needles are painful. Just saying.

At the moment, hundreds of them are poking into my legs, digging against my skin. Sweat plasters my hair to my forehead. Blood is crusted under my fingernails. It stains my dark green shirt. The tight, gauzy bandage wrapped around my waist is cutting off my circulation.

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