“TAG!!! You’re it!!” I yelled through my laughter as I ducked out of Mrs. Williams’s rose bush, ambushing Jessi. She rolled her eyes as she spoke; “Fine, but stop cheating asshole! Or I’m going to tell your mom.” Jessi was my best friend. Really, she was my only friend. She lived right across the road from me in a house that was just as run-down as my own, with a mom that was just as consumed with her demons as my mom. Even as a 9-year-old child, Jessi didn’t follow the herd when they made fun of my greasy hair or dirty clothes, in fact, she once punched a kid…