Sylwia Januszko
Prof. Matt Bird
ENG102
An Oral Biography of Tria “Chocolate” Da.
Dear Student,
In a memory of a recent death of Grover Cleveland High School’s student, Tria Da, I would like
you to write few words about your relationship with her and mail it back to the S.A. office. Tria
was an outstanding student, and a fascinating person, hence I believe anyone who knew her has
something to say. The short presentation about how she has touched all of our lives and a reading
of the collection of your letters will take place during the graduation.
Sincerely,
Student Body President,
Pauli Horrand
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Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): I find it insanely pathetic to see people act like they’re best friends with
someone who recently died. I mean, they hang out with you, drink with you, take the same classes
in high school… They pretend to like you. But the minute you get in trouble, or simply need them
to be around, they suddenly disappear. Once they find out that you’re dead, and everybody is
talking about you, they reminisce the good times you had together, the parties you went to, the
jokes you made about your teachers…. They totally forget about the times when they got a call
from you, and ignored it just because they had something better to do - something that didn’t
involve listening to your complaints and problems. Or, even better example - a time when you
came to them crying and asking for help and all they said was “Yea, that sucks. Did you see what
Ana was wearing at Dave‘s party?” Totally ignoring the situation. Anyways. So after a while you
die. People who call themselves your friends are standing in front of the school, and they’re talking
about you. Some – crying, some – comforting others. With tears in their eyes, they all say “I loved
her. She was my best friend. I can’t believe she’s dead.” At that moment I want to slap the shit out
of all these fake bitches, because I remember like it was yesterday that I was the only person
sticking with Chocolate all the way to the end. All this bullshit talking about how they tried to help,
and called her up all the time to see if she’s okay, and about coming over her house just to chill that shit never happened! And now they all cry and pretend to care, when in reality, they do it,
because everybody else is doing it.
Dona Copper (mother): Tria never had problems with meeting new people. She was always
surrounded by a large group of friends. When she was little, she never wanted to do homework, or
eat dinner after school. As soon as she came home, she dropped her book bag on the floor and went
outside to play with other kids in the playground. We had a lot of arguments because of that. She
could never concentrate on her study, because she just wanted to play with friend. For me she was
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just a child, who hated school, and wanted to do something fun. I never saw it as a way of
belonging. I didn’t know she just wanted to belong.
Bart Da (father): I left the girls when Tria was only one year old. Face it, I cared for both of them,
but I was too young to have a family. I didn’t plan on having a kid at the age of 19. At that time I
didn’t have a job, I still lived with my parents. I couldn’t just change my life, because Dona got
pregnant. I tried to explain it to Tria, but even though she said she understands, she did not want to
have anything to do with me.
Eugene Copper (grandmother): To tell you the truth I blame both of them for what happen to my
little Tria. This mad man Bart left my daughter few months after she gave birth, just because he
wanted to go on his band’s tour.
Dona Copper (mother): The band tour that was supposed to last 3 months, turned out to be 9
months long. After that I didn’t hear from Bart until 5 years ago.
Bart Da (father): So we performed for the first time ever. Not many people showed up, but after we
played our single, the crowd fell in love with us! So we scheduled our second gig. This time, we
had huge audience. People mashing, and having a good time. Third time we performed, it was at
the New Year’s Eve party at this hotel in Queens. Hundreds of people showed up. Some of them
were even singing along to our songs. In front of the stage - a sexy chick. She was looking straight
into my eyes while I played the guitar. At the end of the night, right after the bouncer threw us out
from the bar where we had our after party, Dona spent the night in my apartment. 3 weeks later I
get a call from her: “I’m pregnant,” the voice on the other end said… I tried to settle, I really did,
but that was the time when my band was finally reaching its peak. We were booked solid for the
next year, and at the end of the year, we had a tour planned out. I knew I wasn’t ready for a steady
[3]
job yet. I wasn’t even done with high school. And so I decided to go with my band. It just happened
that people in New Jersey loved us, so we played more shows, and then we met our current
producer who scheduled more gigs, and that is basically why I never came back to New York. I
tried to call, but the lines were always dead.
Eugene Copper (grandmother): And Dona, she was never a good parent. She was only 16, and too
young to be a mother. She tried to give Tria anything the child wanted, she wouldn’t punish her. A
child needs discipline. Dona didn’t know any better, and that’s why I tried my best to help her out.
Unfortunately, Dona didn’t want to listen. She said I got too involved, and that I was taking her
baby away from her – that I was raising Tria as if she was my daughter. The next thing I know,
Dona is packing her suitcases and moves out to Queens, miles away from Staten Island.
Dona Copper (mother): Tria and I, we moved to Middle Village in Queens, where my older sister,
Eliza lived with her husband Will.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): Chocolate would tell me stories about her early childhood. She said that
when she was 4 her mom decided to move to Queens. She also got a job as a housekeeper or a
nanny for this family in Long Island. Dona would spend all day raising someone else‘s kids,
instead of taking care of her own daughter. After work, Dona went to school for Childhood
Education and so Chocolate never got to see her at all.
Eliza Copper (aunt): For almost 6 years I was taking care of Tria. I didn’t mind it, because I had a
baby girl on my own and I had to stay home anyway. But I felt like Tria and Dona didn’t spend
much time together.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): Not only Dona was away for work, and school, but she also met this guy
[4]
in one of her classes and started dating him. After few years Jacob moved in with them. Chocolate
was 10 at the time, and of course she wasn’t allowed to get involved with her mom’s relationship,
but god if she could…that guy would be gone right after the minute he walked into Tria’s life.
Dona Copper (mother): I fell in love for the first time in my life. Jacob was perfect: tall, handsome,
intelligent. I knew that one day I would marry him. Asking him to move in was the best decision I
ever made.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): First day of Junior High - that’s when I met Chocolate. I was sitting in
the classroom, the first one there like a nerd. I sat at desk far away from the blackboard, far away
from the teacher, and hoped that other kids would sit far away from me. I hated school, and
everything about it. Every kid that walked into the classroom I already knew from previous years.
They all looked so happy, and cheerful - making me sick. And then Chocolate walked in. She was
tall for her age, slim but not too skinny. She had long black hair, and huge brown eyes. She was
wearing blue jeans, and white button down shirt. Obviously new to the school, she was a little
confused, or maybe just scared. Right away I knew there’s something different about her,
something cool. After quick stare at her, you know from head to toes, I decided to call her over.
“Hey, you’re new here, right?” From that moment we were inseparable.
Dona Copper (mother): On her first day of sixth grade, Tria brought her friend over. Sally seemed
very nice, and well mannered. I didn’t find out until later that there was much more character
hiding behind that politeness.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): After few months, Chocolate and I got really bored of school. Well, she
did. I never liked school. Even though we still went to our classes, we would always ask for a
bathroom pass and leave for at least 20 minutes. We never changed for our gym class. During
[5]
lunch period, we would sneak out of school, leave a book in the exit door so it wouldn’t shut close,
and go to the park and hang out. After 40 minutes we would come back to the same door, take the
book, and go to our next class. Sometimes we came back to the doors being locked, because some
idiot or a security guard would find a book and throw it outside. Sometimes, we would simply get
caught, because after the security guard found the book, he decided to wait by the door for its
owner to try to sneak back into the school. Good times! So one day, in 8th grade Chocolate and I
were sitting in social science class, right? This weird kid was sitting behind Chocolate and like a
little baby he was throwing paper balls at her. She was getting really annoyed with every second.
Everybody in the class was listening to the teacher giving a lecture about some history shit, and
suddenly Chocolate got up, turned around and punched the kid in his face. Boosh! The entire class
just stared at her. Of course, I started laughing. And I’m not kidding when I say this – I fell down
the chair! “What’s going on over there?” the teacher asked, and immediately Chocolate picked me
up from the floor, took my bag, and pulled me toward the exit door. I couldn’t stop laughing the
whole way to park. That was the first time we didn’t come back to school after the launch break.
That was the day when we gave up school for the next good months.
Buster “Boogie” Bormann (friend): So I’m sitting on the bench at the park with few friends of
mine, and what I see – two young chicks, one of them walking really fast, her face red, and one of
her hand curled up into a fist. Her other hand was wrapped around the other chick who was
laughing her brains out and nearly falling to the ground. I thought to myself, “What are these girls
on?” I called them over, just for the fact that the laughing one was kind of cute – skinny blond,
wearing military boots - just my type. They came over, and instead of introducing themselves, the
blond told us what happened in the classroom. Somehow, we all started to tell stories about the
crazy shit we got into when we were in Junior High.
[6]
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): As Chocolate was dragging me toward the park bench I spotted four hot
skater boys. I don’t socialize with strangers, shit, I don’t socialize at all, but these guys I really
wanted to meet. We were destined to meet.
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): At first I questioned Boogie's sanity when I saw him waiving at these
chicks. We were cutting classes, again, getting high, as always, and just chilling. Just us, four
dudes. We didn’t need any children disturbing our peace. But right now, I’m glad he did. SJ and
Chocolate turned out to be the coolest girls I have ever met. After that day at a park, we met up
every morring and skiped school together. Boogie and I taught these girls how to smoke weets, and
drink strong booze. We even took them to some high school parties on the weekends. And then,
Chocolate’s mom intervened.
Dona Copper (mother): Ever since Tria met Sally, she started to act differently. She started to wear
black clothes, dark make-up, and listen to rock. I thought she was going through puberty, and just
tried to find her identity. But after a while I kept getting letters and phone calls from Tria’s school
on numerous occasions. The complaints about my daughter’s behavior in class, the days she
missed school, incomplete homework, failing grades… After I confronted Tria about it she said
it’s because her father, Bart tried to call her on numerous occasions, and she doesn’t know how to
respond to it. She also promised she’s going to change. I believed her, and approved when Sally
started coming over every day to study.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): Of course unexpected phone calls from Bart threw Chocolate off a little,
but they were just an excuse for slacking off at school given to Dona, so she wouldn’t find out the
entire truth about her daughter. Anyways, I loved “studying” at Chocolate’s house. That ritual
started in eighth grade after we met Eric and Boogie. I used to come over Chocolate’s house with
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my book bag filled with empty carton boxes, pretending that they were books. After locking the
door, we made our way onto the fire escape outside of Chocolate’s window, going one floor up,
getting on the roof, where Eric and Boogie were already waiting for us, smoking weets.
Chocolate’s mom never tried coming into the room, afraid she would interrupt us. After we got
high or "finished our homework," Dona was always waiting for us in the kitchen with a diner, and
a desert - our reward for hitting the books. Our munchies.
Dona Copper (mother): Few weeks before Tria’s Junior High Graduation I got a call from her
school. This time, the principle threatened to suspend Tria for a month if she continues to miss
school, and fail classes. To my surprise, I learned that she hadn’t shown up to school for couple of
weeks! I asked if she was at school right that moment, and the principal told me “no.” I didn’t have
to think twice – I left work early, and drove to Tria’s school. On my way I called her, and warned
that I will pick her up from school, so she better waits for me.
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): Dude, that day was bad! We smoked two dubs, and downed a six
pack. When Chocolate listened to a voice message from her mom she freaked out! She tried
splashing the water in her face, sprayed herself with the whole bottle of perfume, stuffed 10 pieces
of gum in her mouth… She was scared. We walked her half way to the school‘s entrance, and left
her by herself so her mom wouldn’t suspect anything if she saw Chocolate with us. Unfortunately,
that didn’t do any good. Dona was circling around the park in her Honda, and she spotted us while
we were by the entrance. She got out of the car, started screaming, and running toward us. She
pulled Chocolate away, and dragged her to the car. That was the last time I saw Chocolate... Nah
just kidding. But I didn’t see her for a good week.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): Dona locked Chocolate out for days. And this time, she wouldn’t even
[8]
let me come over and study. She took Chocolate’s cell phone away, allowed her to use computer
only under her supervision, so that Chocolate couldn’t use any instant messengers. Dona wanted to
cut as much bad influence from Chocolate’s life as possible. But she could never get rid of me.
Dona Copper (mother): All I tried to do was help Tria graduate and get in to high school she
wanted to. I forbade her from seeing or even talking to these smoker kids, because they were the
reason why Tria stopped studying and getting good grades. However, after some time I made a
deal with her - perfect attendee and good grades for being allowed out of the house. I believe it was
fair enough after what she had done.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): So for the rest of the year we pretended to be good. We even stopped
wearing hardcore black make up, and we substituted Dr. Martens for some flats. Thanks to tutoring
and some extra credit work, we graduated. Summer after Junior High was a little complicated, but
we still managed to have good time.
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): Chocolate’s mom didn’t even know what her daughter was doing that
summer. She was such a good girl during the day, that Dona wouldn’t even suspect Chocolate of
half the shit that girl has done. She started by figuring out her mom’s schedule: what time she goes
to sleep, what time she wakes up, what time she comes back home from work, and shit like that.
This way, Chocolate knew exactly when it’s okay for her to leave the house at night, and what time
she should be back in her room in the morning. Every now and then Dona would wake up earlier
than she was scheduled to, but Chocolate was prepared for anything. In her bag, she always carried
fresh rolls or tomatoes or some kind of fruit. If Dona was awake when Chocolate was making her
way up to her room after whole night of partying, the answer to “Where have you been?” was
simple: “I went to the store to get breakfast. Over easy or scrambled, mom?” That girl was
[9]
incredible, smart, and crazy. Insanely beautiful, too. That’s why I felt for her.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): Yea, we all knew Eric was secretly in love with Chocolate. She knew it
too, but never said a thing about it. Boogie on the other hand said a lot. He was totally against it,
cause face it, he lost his best friend to a girl. A 3 years younger girl. A girl who was best friends
with a chick who broke his hearth. Moi! Anyways, he stopped hanging out with us. After a while,
it was only me, Chocolate, and Eric. And then it was time to start High School…
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): On my first day of High School I met Chocolate. She was
sitting by herself in the back of the classroom, texting on her cell phone. Cell phones and any other
electronic devices were prohibited at Grover Cleveland High School, but yet Chocolate had her
cell phone and an iPod on her desk! Anyway, I heard a lot of stories about Chocolate and SJ. I can
honestly say that these two, were the kind of people my parents were warning me about when I was
younger. And since I was tired of following my parents’ rules, I decided to go after the danger and
I sat next to her - a girl who changed my life.
Stephan March (high school friend): Juliet was my best friend ever since we were born. Our
parents went to graduate school together, and so when our mothers got pregnant, we were destined
to marry each other one day. This is why, even though I was totally against it, I stood around when
Juliet and Chocolate were getting closer.
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): Meeting Chocolate was the best thing that could ever happen
to me. From being a nerd with no social life, I went to being one of the coolest girls at school.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): Even though we got accepted to a lot of good schools, Chocolate and I
decided to go to Grover Cleveland High School, based on few simple facts: it was close,
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convenient, and Eric went there. See, I thought everything will stay the same way it was during
Junior High. We would go to school, hang out, cut whenever we wanted to, and party a lot with
Eric. But ever since Chocolate met Juliet and Stephan, our lives changed. Now that I think about it,
it seems like we just jumped into an adulthood in a matterr of days.
Buster “Boogie” Bormann (friend): Yeah, SJ and Chocolate were never the same after they started
hanging out with these losers Juliet and Stephan. Whenever I called them up for a spark up, they
didn’t answer their phones, because they had classes to go to. On the weekends, when I offered to
crush at my place and drink, they said they had other plans. One day, they invited me to hang out
with them on Halloween. I thought we would get drunk, smoke. But when I came over SJ’s house,
they were dressed up in some gay ass costumes and getting ready to go to the club in the city. Like,
what the fuck? What happened to these two awesome rebel chicks? They honestly looked like girls
they were always making fun of - plastic Barbies. I really didn’t give a shit about them, but I still
can’t believe Eric went after pussy instead of sticking with me and his boys.
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): I will never forget that Halloween party. My friend Monica,
Chocolate and I met at SJ’s house to get ready. We decided on dressing up as lady pimps, you
know: short skirts, vest with a tie, high heels, and a fedora hat of course. We looked incredible. We
went to this club in downtown. We didn't have ids, but a short conversation between SJ and a
bouncer, and you can get away with anything. We got wristbands, table, and free tequila shots all
night. That night I got drunk for the first time in my life.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): I didn’t like the fact that we replaced Eric and Boogie with these new
people. They were our friends, and we went through a lot of shit with them. But at that time we
were 15. We couldn’t be cutting school anymore, because education is important if you want to
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have money and not working your ass of physically. Besides, how long can you lie to your parents
about sneaking out of the house, and smoking, and drinking, and stealing money from their wallets
when they’re not looking. Chocolate and I had to put our rebel lives behind us, and so I adapted to
new crowd of people surrounding us.
Monica Conrad (high school friend): Halloween party was only the beginning of our journey with
Chocolate and SJ. Every Friday night we met at SJ’s house, dressed up and went to Rogner’s Café
- a little bar that was actually registered as a coffee shop. When you walked inside, and I mean
inside, you would notice a bar, a pool table, and a backyard filled with people older than us,
dancing, drinking, and having fun. On Saturdays, we would usually end up at a club, any club. This
was our routine: get drunk on Fridays, and go dance our feet away on Saturdays.
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): Boogie couldn’t deal with Chocolate’s and SJ’s new life style. But I
bore it. I stuck around, because I would not let Chocolate go. I just liked her too much. On
Valentine’s Day, I woke up early in the morning, got all my shit together, and went over
Chocolate’s house. I prepared 2' by 6' white sheet, which I hanged up above Chocolate’s entrance
door. Then, I sliped a little note under the door, and disappeared.
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): The most romantic thing that a guy could do for a girl - that's
how I describe the thing Eric did for Chocolate. It was a Valentine’s Day morning in our Freshmen
Year. Chocolate woke up and went out to walk her dog. What she found out in front of her house
was a huge banner that said “BE MY VALENTINE” in pink letters surrounded by little pink
hearts. She also found a little not lying down under the door which said, “I’ll be waiting for you in
the usual spot. Hurry up; it’s kind of cold out here.” Right away, Chocolate went up on the roof
where Eric was waiting for her with a bouquet of red roses and a little red box in his hands. She
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also spotted a blanket and champagne bottle on the floor. Two champagne glasses were lying on
the blanket. And in the little box that Eric was holding in his hand, was a white gold necklace, with
a heart covered in tiny sparkling diamonds.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): Only two people know this: Chocolate hated what Eric did for her. If you
really know this girl, then you should be aware of the fact that this chick, rebellious in every way
does not dig romantic shit like that. A white gold necklace with a heart? Really? She hates
expensive jewelry. Or the banner. “BE MY VALETINE” with hearts all around it? That guy made
a total fool out of himself. But you know what happened? Eric did all that shit intentionally. He
knew exactly how retarded he looked on that roof top, and how silly that banner was. He knew that
once Chocolate sees, how much he’s willing to do for her, and how far he’s willing to push it, she
will realize how much she likes him back. This crazy bullshit turned out to be a beginning of a
perfect relationship.
Dona Copper (mother): Justin was a perfect boy for my Tria. Maybe except for all the tattoos that
he had. But still, he changed her so much. She stopped missing school, brought home good grades,
and received awards for her art classes. She was also spending more time with me – we talked for
hours about her relationship with Justin and her friends. I finally felt like having my daughter back.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): Yeah we changed a lot, Chocolate and I. From dark make up and dark
clothing we went to the popular girly girls. We also changed out life routine: Monday Madness –
waking up hangover after a weekend, To Do Tuesday – when we would meet up with Juliet,
Monica and few other girls and making plans for the weekend, Wacked Up Wednesday – having a
sleepover with girls, every week at different house, Thirsty Thursday – a girls night out at our
favorite café in Bedford, Freaky Friday – when we never knew what bar, or a house party, or a club
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we were going to end up at, Sick Saturday – when we got sick drunk at the clubs, and Safe Sunday
– a day to hang out with our families and friends at a nice restaurant or mall. Even though it sounds
like a monotonic schedule, we had the time of our lives.
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): My favorite was Wacked Up Wednesday. Just think about it –
a night spent with your best friends, doing each other’s nails and hair. We all gossiped about
people we didn’t like, boys who tried to get with us, teachers who got on out nerves. Whichever
girl’s house we went to, there was always Merlot and Presidential Cheese. And face it, we’re girls
– after two bottles we were pretty tipsy, and so our conversations were always getting ridiculously
interesting.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): One Wednesday at the beginning of our Junior year we decided to
substitute wine for weed. We figured that Chocolate and I haven’t smoked in almost 2 years, so
why not make that night a little more interesting. After all, the other girls never smoked pot in their
lives. So we sit at Chocolate’s house, her parents in Florida, and the whole house to ourselves. We
got shit load of munchies, ordered a pizza, and changed into our PJ’s. As we sat in the circle in the
living room, we lit up a J and began our night.
Rebecca Bay (neighbor): Dona asked me to watch over the house that night, since she and Jacob
went to Florida. When I was in front of the house I saw lights on in every room, so I knew Tria was
home, and it was unnecessary for me to go inside. However, I noticed that, even though it was only
60 degrees outside, the windows in living room and kitchen were wide open. When I came closer I
smelled some sour scent. Right away I knew what was going on inside of that house. Trust me, I
know how marihuana smells – I have a 20 year old son. But I knew that walking in on the girls
smoking is a bad idea. I decided to confront Tria about it when she was home alone.
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Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): So couple of hours later, with no food left, our high started to wear out.
Chocolate proposed that we should put some funny movie on to keep it up. When she turned the
TV on, and flipped through all channels, she put a Comedy Central on. They were showing a new
episode of South Park – “Make Love, not Wormcraft,” which was based on this new game World
of Wormcraft. If there is anything that I regret in my life, it would be that particular night.
Dona Copper (mother): After our homecoming from Florida, Tria asked me if she could get her
own credit card. I was surprised, because she was always using my card, so why would she need
one of her own?
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): The next day, after school, Tria went straight home. I learned it later on,
that on that day she went online and subscribed to World of Wormcraft. When I asked her why, she
explained that while watching South Park on that unfortunate Wednesday, she felt in love with the
game. Besides, first ten days of playing were free, thus why not? See, the problem is that after
those ten days she bought the first expansion pack. After fifteen days, she begged me and Eric to
subscribe as well.
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): My first reaction was “What the fuck is she thinking?” Of course I
didn’t say that to her face, but I did think it. I simply asked, why she thinks I would enjoy playing
a game about magical creatures who complete some stupid quests, and battle in raids, instances, or
battlegrounds so that they can level themselves and gain achievements? She explained that if she
gets someone to subscribe, she will get some bonuses or something. She almost got me into doing
that, bus once she mention that it cost about $100 for subscription fees, the expansion pack and
some other shit, and then you have to pay one third of that ever month, I said no. I didn’t work, and
I was more that sure that my parents would never give me money like that every month just so I
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could play some game.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): I subscribed the next day. At that time I was helping my mom out at her
small restaurant in Bedford so I had my own money, and nothing to spend them on. Juliet
subscribed few days after, which was pretty predictable. She would do anything to stick around us.
Monica and Stephan subscribed as well, just because Juliet told them to. The first week of playing
was pretty fun. Every day before going to sleep, we all went online and played for an hour of two.
Second week, we started coming to school late, or unprepared, because we stayed up late playing.
The third week, Monica, Stephan, and Juliet deleted their accounts.
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): I enjoyed playing War of Warcraft, but I enjoyed my social life
much more. I couldn’t sacrifice my weekend’s nights for a game. Besides, Stephan and I started to
get along very well, and by that I mean we started dating, so I chose spending my free time with
him rather than WoW.
Monica Conrad (high school friend): Well, I simply didn’t like the game. Killing animals, escaping
from characters that are ten levels higher than you, and questing just so you can make some money
and buy yourself some new gear? It wasn’t for me.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): After a month, bank statements came to all of our houses. Juliet’s and
Monica’s parents spazed out, because those idiots used their parent’s credit cards without their
permission. Anyways, Chocolate didn’t care much whether them two would continue to play or
not. She already made new friends in her realm. This guy who walked her through ever thing ever
since the first day she started playing named Luchhbox introduced her to many other players. Once
she got really good at the game, she got invited to join their guilt. I didn’t spend as much time
playing as Chocolate, and I kind of missed out on a lot of school shit, therefore I unsubscribed. At
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that point, Chocolate stopped hanging out. She would still come to school, but she never did her
homework anymore, and she kept on cancelling the plans that we made. She even cancelled on
Eric.
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): From seeing Chocolate every day, I went to seeing her every other
week. She never had time for me anymore. Since I graduated from Cleveland, I couldn’t even see
her at school. Now that I think about it, I’m not even sure if she went to school at all. And when I
called her, she was always too tired to hang out, or sleeping, or helping out Dona. At least that’s
what she told me.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): After few months Chocolate stopped coming to school. Then she
stopped coming to parties. She stopped keeping in touch. She stopped leaving her house. People
used to ask me: what time is Chocolate coming? Where is she? Is she even Chocolate? And then,
they didn’t even mention her name. Her friends, followers, copycats, even the teachers. They just
stopped caring.
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): On my birthday, I decided not to make plans with Chocolate, but
simply show up at the house and surprise her with tickets for her favorite band - Mashmen. I didn’t
see her for a month, so I was very excited. When got to her house, what I saw was insane.
Chocolate opened the door for me. She was wearing her PJs, even though it was 5:00 pm. She
wasn’t wearing any makeup, which centered my attention to multiple pimples that grew on her
used-to-be-blemish-free face. Her hair – oily, tied up in a bun. When I walked into her room, I
couldn’t believe in what I saw: dirty clothes all over the floor, empty pizza boxes, candy wrappers,
bottles of water, and cans of coke. Windows shot down condensing a stench of dirtiness. Her bed
was unmade, and her laptop was sitting on top of her pillow. When I looked at its screen, I saw
[17]
Chocolate’s WoW character casting a spell or something. I simply threw the concert tickets on her
bed, next to the laptop and left without saying anything.
Dona Copper (mother): Tria told me that she was sick, and that is the only reason why I stopped
taking her of her room. She had flu for more than 3 weeks, but she was too weak to see a doctor,
and I didn’t want to pressure her into doing something she didn’t have a strength for doing. I was
so naive.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): One big bullshit! Chocolate told her mom that she’s sick, just so Dona
would call the principle and excuse her absences while she played WoW day and night. Of course
Dona was too busy going to fancy dinners and spending weekends in Pennsylvania with Jacob to
actually notice what was going on in her own house. Chocolate skipped at least a month of school,
and spend hundreds of bucks on War of Wormcraft add-ons before Dona realized that Chocolate is
not really sick.
Dona Copper (mother): When Tria got better I sent her back to school. I also cleaned up her room,
which looked like a disaster. I was always wondering what is happening to my dinnerware, and it
turned out that every time I brought a meal to Tria’s bed, she placed a plate under her bed. She did
that with glasses too. After moving the bed, so I could clean the floor in Tria’s bedroom, I found
half of my missing dinnerware with the leftover food on them. No wonder we had mice.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): When Chocolate called me in the morning one day, I was very surprised.
Ever since she started playing, she didn’t call me anymore, and especially not in the mornings. She
told me that her mom figured out that she’s not sick anymore, and that she will pick me up from my
house, and we’ll go to school together. On the way to school I was very happy. I felt like I have my
best friend back. However, my mood changed drastically once we got closer to the school.
[18]
Students passing us by gave me ‘Hey What’s Up?’ looks, some chicks kissed me on my cheek, but
not one person pay any attention to Chocolate, or to the fact that she’s actually at school again.
Walking into the school was even worse. We swiped our id cards, and walked towards cafeteria to
get some breakfast before our first class like we usually do. As always, we headed straight to the
front of the line for food, skipping all freshmen and sophomores, but this time, a short Asian chick
poked her little skinny finger into Chocolate’s arm, and told her to wait on line like the rest of
people. Chocolate’s face just dropped. I turned around, gave that little brat a stare, and she quickly
apologized. We grabbed our food, and headed to our table, where 10 people were sitting down,
including Juliet, Stephan, and Monica, and then 20 strangers standing around just so they can be
seen with the popular crowd. Everybody was talking and laughing. I am more than sure that
Chocolate was expecting to get ‘Welcome Back’ hugs and kisses, but all she got was ignorance.
Juliet gave her a quick ‘Hi’ and then threw herself straight at me to share the latest gossip about
some slut I don’t even know. By the end of that day we Chocolate and I realized one thing:
Chocolate became an outsider and I became Chocolate.
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): Chocolate came to school one day, and I was so excited to see
her! We couldn’t stop talking the whole day. We had so much to catch up on.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): The next day Chocolate didn’t call me in the morning. She didn’t come
to school either. Not that day, not the next day, not the next month. When I finally call her and
asked what’s going on, she said she developed a new strategy. Every day she will wake up 5
minutes before her mom leaves for work, she go to the bathroom, and pretend to get ready for
school. Once Dona leaves, Chocolate can change into her sweats and go play WoW. In the
afternoon, she can go to sleep for few hours, and wake up few minutes before her mom and Jacob
[19]
come back from work. Then she will eat diner with them, and then lie about having a lot of
studying to do in her room. Once excused from the table, she will go play again, all evening, all
night, until she falls asleep. Surprisingly, Chocolate got away with this bullshit for months, until
the end of our Junior year, when Dona got a letter from school saying that Chocolate failed all her
classes, and will need to repeat 11th grade.
Dona Copper (mother): I can never forgive myself for being so blind. Jacob kept telling me, that
there is something wrong with Tria. He kept worrying about her not going out as often as she used
to, and not having friends over the house anymore. I thought it was because she was studying in her
room all the time, that she finally understood that education is far more important that partying
with friends. He even pointed out the fackt that the money Tria asked for every month is too much
for what she said was a tutoring program. How could I be so stupid?
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): After Dona found out the whole truth about War of Wormcraft, and
school, she went to the bank and asked for some kind of protection plan. Chocolate no longer had
access to her mom’s money. Jacob started to hide his wallet and cigarettes, so Chocolate could no
longer steal his money or bogies. They also decided to get more involved in her life, so they packed
her bags, and took her to Florida for two months. They invited me with them to restrore
Chocolate's social circle. First week in West Palm Beach were a disaster.
Dona Copper (mother): Every day started off with a fight. All you could hear in our house was
Tria's coursing, yelling, and crying. After a week, she calmed down a little. She didn’t scream
anymore, but she didn’t talk to us either. She spent most of the time by the pool smoking cigarettes,
and talking to Sally. After a month, she started talking to us. Occasionally, she even made a joke.
But she also cried a lot. Every night, Jacob and I heard her cry.
[20]
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): After some time Chocolate realized that WoW is not the most important
thing in the world, and that Jacob and her mom really care about her and they want to help. Once
she understood what she’s had been doing for over a year, she crushed. She noticed that people,
who used to call themselves her friends, don’t call her anymore. Also, she didn’t go to a single
party in months. And on top of it all, she hadn’t seen or talk to Eric for over 6 months. I talked to
Dona and asked her to let us go back to New York earlier. She agreed, because she knew Chocolate
had to fix the damage that she created.
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): One day during the summer break, I was working on my bike at my
dad’s shop when I got a call from Chocolate. I thought that I got some kind of percussion from
staying too long in the sun, and my mind is playing tricks on me. I decided to answer the call
anyway, and it turned out that it was really her calling me. Finally after 6 months she remembered
that I exist.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): She started from fixing her relationship with Eric. She called him right
after we got off the plane. He still loved her, so of course they met up, talked and made up. It was
totally different with Julia and Monica. These two always followed Chocolate around like little
puppies. But since Chocolate stop hanging out, stop going to the parties, she became simply
unpopular and worthless to those bitches. See, all along they pretended to be her friends just so
they would get invited to the best parties, and hang out with the hottest boys. Sticking with
Chocolate meant staying at home and playing video game, and therefore no more popularity.
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): It’s not like Monica and I didn’t want to hang out with
Chocolate anymore. We truly did. But she never picked up her phone anymore. I hoped that during
a senior year, once Chocolate came back to school, everything would go back to normal. You
[21]
know, parties, girls’ night outs, sleepovers…
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): The first day of our senior year, Chocolate and I walked into the
cafeteria before class, and sat next to Julia, Monica and few other people. The girls threw
themselves at me, saying how much they missed me during the summer break, and asking what is
the plan for the weekend. Chocolate sat down quietly behind me, noticed by no one. It was all kind
of shady for me. I knew this is not right, and something’s bad coming.
Dona Copper (mother): Tria had to repeat her junior year, mostly because I didn’t pay enough
attention to her school work, or to her social life. I had no idea she was in so much trouble. Once
she went back to school, I decided to get involved in her life and help her out whenever she needed
it. I thought I was succeeding…
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): First term of senior year went by so quickly. I didn’t have to worry about
good grades, since I already got accepted to the college I wanted to go to, thanks to the early
registration. I didn’t have to worry about money either, since I was working part time, and the
money I made was enough for clothes, make-up, and booze. High school became a place where I
sociolized, which was weird, since I never liked interactions with people. I was always a loner, and
that year, I lost myself. I lost my priorities, I lost my opinions, and I lost my soul. I became the “it”
girl. The girl, who used to be called Chocolate.
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): Senior year was so much different then previous years. We
stopped going to the bars every Friday, we didn’t go clubbing on Saturday. We stopped hanging
out as much. But boy, everything was so much better! We used to go to Portland, just so we could
have a delicious lobster for diner. We went to Philadelphia to order some Philly Cheese Stakes.
Seattle, for coffee. SJ had the best ideas ever!
[22]
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): Sometimes I feel like it was my fault, the things that happen to
Chocolate. But then when I think about it, I really tried to make everything better. I knew that she
missed hanging out with everybody, and that she wanted things to go back to the way it used to be.
This is why every weekend I made plans with bunch of people just to get out, to escape from our
neighborhoods, and to enjoy our last year of High School together. Unfortunately, every time I
invited Chocolate with us, she had an excuse not to go. She used to say that she has plans with Eric,
or her mom. Or that she has to study.
Dona Copper (mother): I knew that Tria was doing so much better at school, because every time
she took an exam or a quiz, she would show me her grades. This is why I never had a problem with
her going away for the weekend. And so, every Friday I gave her some money, and she simply
disappeared for few days, having fun with Sally, Justin, and Juliet.
Justin “Eric” Lorenz (friend): Even though she did call me, and even though we talked, and even
though I forgave her, we didn’t see much of each other anymore. During the week, Chocolate said
she was studying. During the weekend, she said she is going away with everyone. I knew she
wanted to make things right with her friends, and catch up with school shit, so I never questioned
it.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): And then one day, I decided not to go with everyone, and stay with
Chocolate. I told her that I would come over her house, so that she doesn’t make plans with her
mom or Eric. That’s when I found out what is really going on. See, she lied to everyone. She lied to
Eric, because she didn’t want him to leave her. She lied to her mom, so she can get some money.
But what hurted the most, she lied to me! She was never studying, she was never going out
shopping with her mom, and she was never hanging out with Eric! All of it was just huge ass
[23]
bullshit! She used the money to reactivate her WoW account, and during her school hours, and the
weekends, she was going over this kid, Adrian’s house and played that stupid game again. She
didn’t notice it then, but World of Wormcraft took over Chocolate’s reality, and created a new one
parallel universe in which she was Ellexia, one of the most powerful women in the whole realm.
Adrian “Lunchhbox” Shein (wow player): When Ellexia started playing I helped her out a lot. I
showed her how to complete the quests, and how to battle in raids. I basically taught her everything
I knew about World of Wormcraft. After she got a hang of it she asked me if she could join my
guild. I explained to her that being a member of Bloody Flies requires a lot of comitment checking the mail everyday in order to find out when is our next raid, completing at least 100
quests a week, and attending out weekly meetings, at which we discuss our strengths, weaknesses,
and exchange opinions about the way other members of our guild play. Ellexia was down for it,
and so she joined on December. She was a great member, and a great player. She always had the
latest gear, the most achievements completed, and knew a great amount of spells. She came up
with an idea of having our own guild parties on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. Of course
because of the different time zones it was kind of difficult to celebrate midnight at the same time,
but we all managed to have fun anyways. A day after New Year’s Eve, Ellexia started a private
chat with me, asking to meet in person. She seemed like a cool girl on WoW so I thought to myself
“Why not?” When I first saw her, I was completely shocked. Ellexia was a tall, beautiful girl, with
black, long hair and the biggest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. I was picturing her as a short, average
looking geek, wearing her eyeglasses, and braces - which is pretty much a female version of me.
Anyways, we talked for a long time, and then she asked me if she could come over my house one
day with her laptop, and play WoW with me. I had no problem with that, and so the next day she
showed up very early in the morning. And then the next day. And the next day. On the weekends,
[24]
she used to stay a night or two. On the weekdays though, she had to leave my place, and go back
home for the night.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): That day, I realized that there’s only so much I could do for Chocolate. I
tried getting her back on track with the school, I tried to rebuild her social life, and being there for
her whenever she needed. That day, I bitched the shit out of her. I told her how much Eric and I
care for her, and how baddly we don’t want to see her play WoW anymore. I explained that she’s
destroying everything she was working on her whole life, and her future. That day, Tria Chocolate
Da, stopped playing World of Wormcraft.
Adrian “Lunchhbox” Shein (wow player): One day we’re doing our routine run with Ellexia and
some other people, when suddenly Ellexia just logs out. I called her to see what’s going on. Did her
computer died? Or maybe she lost the internet connection. Well, she didn’t pick up her phone. The
next day, she missed the meeting. A day after that, she wasn’t there for a raid. There was nothing I
could do. I had to kick her out of the guild. Whatever happened to her?
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): Even though SJ called me and said that Chocolate is done with the
WoW shit, I didn’t feel right about getting back with her. I mean, she forgot that I'm alive for good
6 months. I was still around, whenever she needed me, but I didn’t see us as a couple anymore.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): The senior year was almost over. Chocolate knew she was failing
another year, so she didn’t even bother going to school anymore, and I understood that. Chocolate
seized that as an opportunity for her to be friends with people from school again, and make up with
her mom and Jacob. I was really happy for her, for the fact that she wanted to change, and that she
wanted to get back on her feet. But the happiness didn’t last too long. At the beginning of March,
my mom’s restaurant got really busy, so I had to work double shifts most of the time. Chocolate’s
[25]
birthday was coming up, but I couldn’t concentrate on throwing a party for her, while going to
school, and working 50 hours a week. This is why when Juliette asked me what if I’m coming to a
party on March 16th, without even thinking it through I said “I’m working, but you‘re great for
throwing a party for her,” and quickly ran off. It was surprizing, and at the same time amazing that
Juliette was willing to throw a birthday party for Chocolate. On my way to work I called Chocolate
to make sure that she doesn’t plan anything crazy for her birthday, like leaving New York. She told
me on the phone, that Monica made plans with her to go see a movie on her birthday. It was
perfect! Chocolate had no idea that “the movies” is just a cover for her surprise birthday party. But
in reality, it was me who had no idea…On March 16th Chocolate called me in the morning, just to
ask one more time if there really isn’t any way for me to get out of work. Later on the same day, I
got another call from her, but that time it was about how grateful she is for me getting her away
from World of Wormcraft, and pushing into a reality. The last phone call I got from her was in the
late afternoon, around the time that Monica was supposed to come to Chocolate’s house. The time
when Monica was supposed to lying about going to the movies, but really taking her to a party.
Well, that didn’t happen. It turned out that Monica didn’t show up, and didn’t even call Chocolate
to cancel the plans. Right away I called Juliette and found out that the party she was talking about
was a Last Senior Dance at our high school, not Chocolate’s surprise birthday party. I called
Chocolate, and when she picked she was crying. Of course she said she’s fine, but I knew better. I
told her to call Eric and go hang out with him, but she said Eric was in Pennsylvania, doing some
work for his dad. When I asked where Dona is, Chocolate said her mom left the house with Jacob,
so that Chocolate can invite some people over and celebrate her birthday with close friends. I
didn’t even bother telling her to go to the dance. I knew she wouldn’t anyways. The only thing I
could do at that moment, was trying to get out of work as soon as possible and rush over her house.
[26]
At midnight, I was still at work. The clock striked 1, then 2. Finally at 3, I was done cleaning, and
there were only few people at the restaurant, so I apologized to my mom, and left work. Without
checking my phone, I jumped into a cab, which was already standing in from on my job. While
fixing my hair and makeup, I was giving the cab driver directions, on what’s the fastest was to my
destination. I made it to Chocolate’s house in literary 30 minutes, opened the front door with a
metro card, like I used to do. Quickly, I ran upstairs, and found the doors to be locked. I knew
where the spare key was, but just in case her mom was already there I decided to take out my phone
and call Chocolate. The message on my cell phone screen read “5 voicemails.” I pressed and hold
1 to call my voice mail system. All messages were from Chocolate. In the first one, she was
crying and screaming how she hates herself for ruining her own life. I got nervous, so I turned
around and started looking for the spare key in the shoe closet. In the second message, Chocolate
was still crying, begging me to come by her house, because she’s losing her mind. My hands
started to shake as I was trying to unlock the door. The third message was silent. It seemed to me as
if Chocolate called me from her packet, just by mistake, and didn’t realize it, until she looked at her
phone. I opened the door, and called out Chocolate’s name. Nobody answered. In the fourth
message, Chocolate was calm. Speaking very softly and quietly. She said it would be better if I
didn’t show up at all. She said she loves me, but she’s gonna go to sleep. As I walked into
Chocolate’s apartment, I dropped my bag and my jacket on the floor, and looked to my right into
the kitchen. The light was on, but nobody was there. I turned to the left, and started to make my
way to Chocolate’s room, through the living room. I opened the door to her room, while listening
to the fifth message: “Sweetie Pie, this is the last time I’m calling. The very last time…I wanted to
thank you again for everything. You have no idea how much you’ve helped me in the last couple of
years. I owe you so much. But tonight, I realized that no matter how much I want to get my old life
[27]
back, I know I can’t. And this is why there’s no point of me to be miserable anymore. There’s just
no point.” The door swung open, the cell phone fell out of my hand, and then, my body dropped to
the floor unconsciously.
Dona Copper (mother): After the dinner, Jacob and I decided to go to the Coney Island beach. We
hadn’t been on a date in a very long time, and Tria’s birthday was a perfect occasion to escape from
everyday stress and routine. Jacob and I got us some romantic, alone time, and Tria had a house to
herself, so that she could invite people over. What we didn’t expect was to come back home and
find four police cars and an ambulance parked in from of our house. At that time we knew
something was wrong, and we expected the worse. But unlike in the movies, the worse was exactly
what we found. Tria was dead.
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): I was on my way back from Pennsylvania when I got a phone call
from SJ. She was yelling and crying hysterically, and to be honest I didn’t understand a word she
said. Only after she calmed down a little bit, she cried out “Chocolate, she’s dead. She killed
herself!” I had no idea what to do, so I just kept on listening to SJ cry and said nothing. And then I
started crying too. I was making my way through the tunnel, so I lost a signal while the phone call
dropped. I accelerated. Half an hour later, I was dialing 911 at Chocolate’s house describing the
image of a girl who’s floating in the air, her neck wrapped around with a thick rope, tied up to the
ceiling lamp.
Monica Conrad (high school friend): Last Senior Dance was amazing! All of my friends were there
celebrating our last year of high school together. No wait, Chocolate wasn’t there. I think she
didn’t come, because she made plans with someone else.
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): The day after Chocolate committed suicide, I gather everyone
[28]
in front of the school in a memory of her death. We didn’t go inside. We called for a principle, and
explained that we all need some time to cope with Chocolate‘s death, because she was our dearest
and closest friend. He allowed us all to go home.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): They asked for a day off, because Chocolate’s death was too much for
them to take. Once they were excuses, they all ran off to the closest bar, just two blocks away to
“drink their sorrows away.” Fucking fake ass bitches that would do anything to stay at the top, to
be the most popular, and to have the latest gossip. People who call themselves your friends.
[29]
GRADUATION DAY
Rebecca Bay (neighbor): Doing grocery shopping at a Food Mart in Middle Village.
Buster “Boogie” Bormann (friend): Standing in front of Grover Cleveland High School, debating
whether should he come inside or leave.
Dona Copper (mother): Sitting on an honorable seat in the middle of the stage in Grover Cleveland
High School Auditorium listening to the true stories about her daughter’s life, which she had no
idea about.
Eliza Copper (aunt): Praying in the Church with her mother and daughter.
Eugene Copper (grandmother): Praying in the Church with her daughter and granddaughter.
Monica Conrad (high school friend): Texting on her cell phone during the graduation ceremony,
ignoring everybody around her.
Bart Da (father): Driving to Canada, having no idea his only daughter is dead.
Pauli Horrand (student body president at Grover Cleveland H.S.): Standing in front of the stage,
reading letters discovering the true biography of Tria Da.
Sally “SJ” Johns (friend): Sitting by Tria Da’s graveyard.
Justin “Eric” Lorez (friend): Sitting by Tria Da’s graveyard.
Stephan March (high school friend): Comforting Juliette in a Grover Cleveland High School girl’s
bathroom on the second floor.
[30]
Adrian “Lunchhbox” Shein (wow player): Playing World of Wormcraft.
Juliet Vadoski (high school friend): Crying furiously in a Grover Cleveland High School girl’s
bathroom on the second floor, after hearing a content of a letter written by Sally Johns.
[31]