My Family Divided: One Girl’s Journey of Home, Loss and Hope

That bright spring day started off like any other. I know because I’ve replayed it in my head hundreds and hundreds of times, trying to make sense of it. Trying to piece together what happened.
“Diane, come eat your breakfast,” came my mother’s voice from the kitchen. I was shoving books in my bag, hustling to get out the door. “I gotta go!” I yelled back, because let’s face it—I had ‘tude.
“You’ve got another second,” she said, following me down the hall. “You need to eat something.”
“No, I don’t have another second,” I groaned. “Why do you always do this to
me?” If there was one thing I disliked, it was being late. Especially when I was heading to a school I loved: the Boston Arts Academy (BAA). Before Mami could say another word or even hug me good-bye-slam!-I was out the door and off to class.
It was nice out, around seventy degrees. After a frosty winter, the weather was improving and so, it seemed, was my family’s luck. The day before, against all odds, my dad had a winning Powerball ticket. A few thousand bucks-and for us, it was the jackpot. On top of that, the love was flowing again in our house. Our family bonds felt close. A sign, perhaps, that better times were coming.
I peeped at my watch, mid sprint across campus. Three minutes until the bell. BAA, a performing arts high school in the heart of Boston, had truly become my home away from home. I could feel a prickle of energy as I approached. Even be- fore 8:00 a.m., the place was buzzing. You know when cameras roll backstage on shows like America’s Got Talent and The Voice? Well, that was the vibe (minus the cameras) of BAA. There’d be all these kids dancing around and stretching in the hallways. Next door, another group would be belting out songs or hanging their art up on the walls. The energy was epic, particularly right before spring fest-the one night our parents got to see us perform. It was the most special night of the year. And my song-a duet called “The Last Night of the World” from Miss Saigon-was part of the finale. My performance had to be better than good-it had to be Beyoncé-style flawless.
Right on time but a bit out of breath, I rounded the corner into humanities class. First, we had subjects like math and science, and then came the classes I lived for-theater, art, music.