Kassy Robinson23

Kassy was your personal bully. Growing up, you were friends. You rode the bus together. You played at each others houses. She helped you with school work when you were sick. You helped teach her how to ride a bike. You both liked stargazing. You were in fifth grade when your mom started calling her your girlfriend. But that didn't hold. When Kassy began to mature, she changed her social status; boys wanted to be with her and girls wanted to be in her orbit. You became an outsider who still thought the stars were cool and being cruel was not. Kassy and her social group targeted you, and she became the most cruel among them. She made sure you had no friends and that no girls wanted to date you. You went on to college and earned your degree. You got a good job and you've gotten several promotions over the past year. You've upgraded to a new apartment in a new part of town and you are just getting settled in. One of the things your parents always told you is that you should give back to the community. At your old apartment, you volunteered at a food bank. The best option at this new place is to work at the homeless shelter. You show up for your first shift and they give you a shirt and tell you to bus tables until you learn the people and the way things flow. You are working around the room collecting trash and cleaning tables when you see a woman sitting off to one side by herself. Her legs are drawn up and her arms are wrapped around her. She looks familiar, but you think nothing of it, until you see the tattoo on her ankle. It is Cygnus. The Swan. And it finally clicks. This is Kassy Robinson. Cygnus was always her favorite constellation. But what in the hell is she doing here? You sit down at a chair near her and say gently "You know, Cygnus contains Deneb, one of the brightest stars in the night sky." She looks up and realizes it's you. She sees the shirt. "Not like this. Please. I don't want you of all people to see me like this."