Hey, guys. I’m not going to post this one in Spanish. Too much. But I’ll do it in English. You guys don’t have to read this all at once, I realize this is very long. But, here is my first ever book:
Who Am I?
By: Rachel Baker
Table of Contents
1. Clueless On Monday
2. Help….. Sort Of
3. The Family… At Dinner
4. Tuesday, Extra Recess, Amanda
5. Wednesday, Rain, Amanda….. Again
6. Thursday, Gym, At Least I Can Play
7. Friday, News, I’m Glad She’s Not Here
8. What Am I Gonna Do?
9. Stripes Are Stupid. Wait, No They’re Not!
10. My Happily Ever After
Chapter 1: Clueless On Monday
I am having the worst day EVER!!! Not the fact that Amanda, my arch-enemy, gave me a note saying that I’ll always be lame with a badly drawn picture on it. That I’m used to. And it wasn’t the fact that Davis, my best friend, gave me a Hershey’s kiss with a note saying that he wishes my parents a happy anniversary. Actually my parents’ anniversary is in December when it’s August. But today is officially two years since we met and became friends. So I think he’s trying to up our level of relationship status. Nope. That’s just a minor obstacle in my way. The real problem is my homework assignment.
She could have given me a hard division problem. She could have given me a project to find a panda and bring it back next Monday. She could have given me an assignment to visit Disney Land! At least that would have been fun. But, no. Ms. Jones gave me something much, much, MUCH harder than that. She gave me a worksheet to fill out. With hard questions.
What is your favorite color? Do you prefer sun or rain? Do you prefer red or blue? What is your favorite fruit? I know what you’re thinking. In what way are these hard? But I had never thought about these questions before. I like purple, but green’s good too. Sunshine is bright, it means I can be free and play outside, but the rain makes me feel peaceful and helps me sleep. Red reminds me of fire, which makes me feel warm. But blue is like water, which reminds me of the beach. Apples are nutritious and delicious, but grapes are so juicy, and I love juice. So I was clueless. No one should know me better than me. But there are two people who know me better me. They’ve known me since I was born. Mom and Dad.
I went out the door, snuck down the stairs, past the dining room, and looked around the kitchen. Where is he? I think. Billy always hides in the kitchen to scare me. Just then, cold water floods over me. Then I hear laughing. I don’t even have to think about who it is. “BILLY!!!!!”
“Hey, Crystal,” Billy, my obnoxious older brother, said. My name is Chrissie, but my name sounds like “Christie,” which sounds like “crystal,” so he nicknamed me Crystal.
“Very funny, Billy. But wait till I switch your toothpaste with Grandpa’s dental glue!” I said.
“Whoa, whoa!” Dad came in, followed by Mom. “What’s all the fuss about?”
“Billy set up a trap to dump water on me. Do you see how wet I am? I’m dripping!” I said.
“Billy, apologize to your sister,” Mom said.
“Sorry, Crystal-er-Chrissie,” Billy said.
“Apology accepted,” I sigh, even though I give him the death glare.
“Now, Chrissie,” Dad said, “what is it you needed? Whenever you go in the kitchen it’s either you need to talk to us, dinner is ready, or you want a snack.”
“I need help on a homework assignment,” I said.
“Sit down at the table. And Billy,” Mom said. She used her stern voice that all of her children hate to hear. “Dog poop. Every last pile,” Mom said.
“Aw, Mom, that will take all afternoon! And I have a date with Cecelia!” He whined.
“Then you’d better get started,” said Dad, handing Billy a shovel and a heavy duty trash bag.
Billy scowled at me as he walked through the door. We sat down and I explained all the questions and how I never thought about them. “Can you help me?” I ask.
“Sorry, sweetie,” said Mom. “We don’t even know what your favorite subject is.”
My heart sinks as I remember the next to last question on this homework essay.
“This is the kind of thing you have to figure out for yourself. But you could talk to Davis,” said Dad.
“Davis,” I whisper. “Yes, Davis, Davis, that gooberface Davis!” I gather a few bananas, a pencil, paper, cookies, and water bottles all in my backpack. “Thanks, Dad!” I yell as I walk out the door. “You’re the best!”
As I walk down the street I remember I am still wet. I stop at the town’s park and run around for at least ten minutes. When I feel dry and out of breathe, I walk slowly down to Davis’s house. I find him on the front porch swing writing a birthday wish list. “You know your birthday is three months away, right?” I ask as I sit down.
He looks up and smiles. “Hey,” he says. “Your parents got my gift, right?”
I decide to humor him. “Yes. They said to thank you. Can you help me?”
“Depends,” he says. “What do you need help with?”
“Who am I?” I ask without hesitation.
“What?” Davis asks. I can tell he doesn’t understand. But how could he, when I said so little?
“Sorry. I was doing our homework assignment, you know the one where we have to do all these questions-“ I am broken off.
“I know just what you mean. You don’t know what your favorite color is?” Davis asked, in his kidding way. He doesn’t know that this isn’t a practical joke. He needs to know I’m serious. But he always finds some way to make everything a joke.
“I wish he could take something serious for once!” I quickly cover my mouth. I said that out loud.
“I can take things seriously!” says Davis.
“I know that, but… you… I…” He stops me before I can say anything else.
He smiles at me. “Okay, I’ll help you. And I will take it seriously. You don’t want to fail your first homework assignment.”
“Thank you!” I say with a sigh of relief. “Someone I can talk to!”
“Meet me at the treehouse in ten minutes,” he says. I just smile and run to my house.
I am going to have this assignment done in no time.
Chapter 2: Help….. Sort Of
An hour of my life I’ll never get back belongs to the treehouse. Again. We tried What Do You Prefer questions, played Would You Rather, and even took personality quizzes. And yet, nothing.
I wish I could just tell Ms. Jones I don’t know who I am. Like I tried to do when I first read the questions at recess. I don’t want to go back to the nurse. I just want to be excused from this stupid assignment to get to know one another. I already have plenty of friends, so I think it’s pointless. Others disagree.
“Why is this such a big deal?” asked Davis. “You have until next Friday. But you might want to take your report to school, just in case you have a moment where you suddenly know who you are.”
“That’s a good idea,” I say. “Thanks.”
“No prob. Hey, you’re kind of a nerd. You freak out over nothing.” See? Makes everything a joke!
“You’re a dork, nerd, and geek,” I say as I’m leaving.
I go back up to my room after we’ve had some cookies and drew goats in ties. He’s left. I know because I waved goodbye to him as he rode on his scooter down the road. Even though I told him I’d drop it for today, I take more personality quizzes. Nothing. This sucks! How am I to pass this class if I don’t even know what my favorite color is?
Then it hits me. This one assignment in 6th grade could affect the rest of my life! If I don’t know if I prefer red or blue, how am I supposed to choose between skates or cashier at Sonic? See, if I don’t know who I am, what I want to be, how am I supposed to choose a career? I have to search. Non-stop. I spend the next hour taking more personality quizzes, soul searching, and going through my colors of clothes. That’s when the phone rings. I answer and I immediately know who it is. Ashley Diamond.
“Hello, and we received your application to Loser Club. You’re in!” I hang up and call Amanda.
“Hello, Awesome Amanda, and how can I make your day?” Her perky voice answered.
“You made Ashley call me to tell me I’m in the ‘Loser Club?’”
“Oh, yeah, I think your application of how you act was the best yet,” she says in her annoying joking tone.
“You can’t make her keep doing things like that,” I say.
“Yes, I can,” she says. “I’m Batman. She’s Robin.”
“Really?” I ask. “Because it seems like you’re Batman and she’s Albert the Butler!” I slam the phone into its position on the wall.
I kind of feel bad for Ashley, Amanda’s “best friend.” She’s more of her side kick. But she seems so loyal to Amanda, and I don’t know why. She acts like an enemy around Amanda, but when Amanda’s out sick, Ashley suddenly becomes my friend. And when Amanda comes back, Enemy Ashley is back as well.
Maybe Amanda threatened her into helping her. I know she couldn’t pick on me by herself. But at least she has a reason to pick on me. Kind of.
It was in Mrs. Hurt’s class in fifth grade. You know those classmates that are kind of just there the whole year? That’s what Amanda was. Well, for a while, anyway. At the end of the year, about a month before summer vacation, we had to write an essay about what we liked best about the school year. I thought about it for a while, then an idea came to me. I liked my friends best of all. I wrote a wonderful essay, and so did Amanda.
Mrs. Hurt read them the way we call roll, in last name alphabetical order. My last name is Goldenberg. Hers is Halco. She also sat right next to me in class, which made things worse. She had an idea before I did to write about friends. But because Mrs. Hurt read mine before she read hers, it looked like Amanda actually copied me. So yeah. We’ve been enemies ever since. All because she thinks I copied her and blamed it on her.
But there’s one of the fifty questions on this essay answered. Question: Who misunderstands something you’ve done in the past? (Yes, that is actually a question I have.) Answer: Amanda Halco.
Chapter 3: The Family….. At Dinner
After spending 3 hours sorting out pros and cons to the “Do You Prefer” questions and still end up with 5 pros and, you guessed it, 5 cons, Mom called us down for dinner. Pork chops and salad and, my favorite, Bacon mashed potatoes. Yum!
Billy smells like apples and his hair is wet and combed to one side. He has a short-sleeved button up shirt with jeans and freshly cleaned cowboy boots. With a wave he’s out the door, in his car, and driving away down the street.
I hope he kisses Cecelia and she tastes dental glue, because I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d switch his toothpaste out for it.
I try explaining to Mom and Dad that I tried Would You Rather, Pros and Cons, personality quizzes, and soul searching. “If I don’t know who I am, how will I know what I want to be when I grow up?”
“You’re always talking about how you want to be a doctor,” Mom says. I make a mental note to write that in for: What do you want to be when you grow up?
“But this is something you have to do on your own,” says Dad. “I’ve said it before. And the internet can’t tell you, either.”
“But you’ve known me since birth!” I say. “There must be something you can help with!”
“Just because you’re our daughter doesn’t mean we know what your personality is,” Mom explains. “It makes us your parents. Now eat.”
I do. Then I request a movie. I want to take a break from my homework. If this were due tomorrow, I don’t know what I’d do.
But my mind doesn’t automatically go to the movie, as it usually does. It stays on my homework. Pros. Cons. Pros. Cons. Pros. Cons. That’s all. Pros and Cons. Good thing I found something other than soul searching and personality quizzes. Dad doesn’t like when I use up internet access. But he likes it when I get off my computer. So I make mental notes. Luckily I found one answer to a question. Do you prefer red or blue? Red. Yes. Finally. A question answered. 4 questions answered. What is your name? How old are you? Who misunderstands something you’ve done in the past? Do you prefer red or blue? Chrissie Goldenberg. 12. Amanda Halco. Red.
Imagine if I walked up to someone I don’t know and said:
“Chrissie Goldenberg. 12. Amanda Halco. Red.”
I bet they’d be scared.
People around my neighborhood aren’t used to anything disrupting their normal day life. That’s how my parents are about dinner. If anything disrupts dinner time, they are scared that that’s how dinner is going to be from now on. If Billy comes barging in during dessert, mom gets mad at him for making her deal with this from now on. So if I walk up to them and say those things, they will think that every day will be the same routine.
It’s how my family is at dinner, as I said before.
Chapter 4: Tuesday, Extra Recess, Amanda
I went to school and had a normal day. Math, History, Science, Language, lunch. Then I got excited. As we were leaving the cafeteria, Mr. White, our principal, came on the intercom and said:
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman. As you all know, every Tuesday I give a reward to all students who have gotten 75% or more on the previous Friday’s math quizzes. And today’s reward is……….EXTRA RECESS!!!!! The students who earned it will stay on the playground an extra 15 minutes. Your teachers will tell you who has earned it. Thank you for your hard work and keep it up.” Then he said his signature catch phrase goodbye. “May you have happy learning, and may learning make you happy.”
I was pretty sure I’d get extra recess, and sure enough, I was right. When my name was called, I had a glimmer of hope. Then Amanda’s name was called.
Amanda. Always where I never want her to be. I go to the park to be alone, she’s there. I go to the beach to splash around, she’s there. I go to my tree house, she’s taking a hot air balloon ride. A HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE!!! Grrrrrrrrrrr. Sometimes I think that she made Davis spy on me to sabotage me. Ridiculous! I think. She could never force Davis to be friends with me! Or could she have? No! I choose my friends, not Amanda!
At recess I pulled out my notebook of blank papers in case of emergencies. And this is definitely an emergency. I make many pros and cons charts. I manage to answer one question. Do you prefer bananas or apples? Apples. 5/50 questions answered. I don’t really have 50 questions, just 25, but it feels like 50. 5 down, 20 to go. “What am I gonna do?” I say to myself.
“Give up trying to be the best,” a perky little voice says.
“What do you want, Amanda?” I say without moving.
She comes and sits on the grass across from me. “I just want to know what you’re doing. Is it so hard to be nice to me?”
It is when you’re not being nice to me, I think. But she doesn’t have that smirk on her face. She’s serious. Then she breaks out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I ask. I really don’t know. Was it something she overheard? Then I know.
“You actually thought I wanted to be friends with you!” Amanda giggles. Grrrrrrrrrrr.
“Why did you ask then?” I’m confused.
“Because I wanted to see the look on your face! And it was sooooo ridiculous!” She has such an annoying little laugh.
At this point I just get up and leave her rolling in the grass.
I decide to go over my questions.
1. What is your name? Chrissie Goldenberg.
2. How old are you? 12.
3. Who misunderstands something you’ve done in the past? Amanda Halco.
4. Do you prefer red or blue? Red.
5. Do you prefer bananas or apples? Apples.
6. What is your favorite color? I leave it blank.
7. Do you prefer sun or rain? Blank.*
8. What is your favorite fruit? Blank.*
9. Who is your best friend? Blank.
Wait, what? Who is your best friend? How could I not see that one? Davis Hakesley. Yes. I now have 19 more questions to go.
10. What is your favorite animal? Blank. *
11. Do you play a sport? I didn’t see that one either. Soccer.
12. Do you have a hobby? Blank.*
13. Do you have any siblings? Did my thumb cover these up? I have a brother.
14. What do you do in your free time? Seriously, it must be my thumb. Hangout with my friend.
15. What is your favorite book? Blank.*
16. Who is your favorite superhero? Blank.*
17. Who is your favorite singer? Stupid thumb. Carrie Underwood.
18. What is your favorite season? Blank. *
19. Do you prefer cold or hot? Blank. *
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? I remember what mom told me. A doctor.
21. Do you have a favorite sports team? Blank. *
22. What is your favorite genre of music? Blank. *
23. Are you right or left handed? Right.
24. What is your favorite subject? Blank.
25. I you could change one thing in your life what would it be? Blank. *
See, I have 12 questions to go. My thumb does tend to get in the way, so it’s no surprise that I missed that many questions. So the situation isn’t as bad as I thought it was.
But I still have a lot of questions to go. Not counting today, I have 10days to find the answers to 12 questions. Even if I find 1 a day, it’s not enough.
Though, it’s not as bad as 19, which I thought it was.
I was so lost in thought, the scream awakes me. Everything else is like silence. I look over and see that Amanda is torturing a poor little fourth grader. I recognize her. Georgia Freenan. Glasses, braces, nerdy outfit, no wonder why Amanda is picking on her.
Amanda hangs out with some girls from time to time that don’t like nerdy girls. They must have convinced her to do this.
I walk over and say, “Amanda, go pick on someone your own grade.”
“Like you?” she says. My courage lowers.
I turn to Georgia. “Go and play with Erin.” Erin is her best friend. She runs off immediately.
I turn back to Amanda, and then the whistle blows for extra recess students to come in. Thankfully, because I really don’t know what I’d say. The rest of the day was as usual. Finish school, ride home, homework, celebrate something. Dad always said that everyday has something to celebrate.
Today it is that I have 12 more questions to go.
That’s a relief.
Chapter 5: Wednesday, Rain, Amanda….. Again
Wednesday morning I got up and went to the window. I heard pitter-pattering like….. Rain. Oh no.
I HATE rain. It’s so dark and gloomy. I am practically locked in jail. Well, not exactly, but I might as well be. I can’t go outside the house. You can’t go outside a jail cell. At least I have privacy when I use the bathroom. Jail cells don’t have privacy when you use the bathroom.
I got in my favorite green tank top and threadbare jean shorts. My mom cut off the pant leg of some jeans I had. August is hot in California, but rain is even hotter.
I get on the bus and, thankfully, Ms. Frankie, our bus driver, has the AC running. I am the first one to get on. Next is Davis. We sit in the same seat. He slides in next to me and puts his backpack on the floor.
“Bet you had a rocky morning.” He said. I did. Oh no.
“I forgot to eat breakfast!” I say.
Davis laughs. Ms. Frankie giggles. We sit in the seat behind her.
“Ms. Frankie, is it ok for her to eat an apple I packed for snack?” Davis, my obnoxious hero.
“Yeah, but ye two know the road, so don’t take a bite when ye know it’s ‘bout to be a big bump!”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say, and snatch the apple from Davis’ hand. As more kids load the bus, Ms. Frankie keeps getting complaints about how I get to eat and no one else does. About halfway done with my apple, I drop it in my lunch box.
“I don’t want to cause you any more trouble, Ms. Frankie,” I say.
“Oh, I jest want ye to get a healthy breakfest, darlin’,” Ms. Frankie said. “Did ye get enough?”
“Yes, ma’am, I did,” I say.
“Okee-dokee, sugar!” I love Ms. Frankie.
At school I continue my normal day until recess. It’s raining cats and dogs now, so we just hang out in the gym. It’s about the size of the playground. Mr. Ponson, the gym teacher, pulls out individual trampolines, hula-hoops and jump ropes. But I don’t need those.
Well, Amanda won’t let me near them.
“Aren’t you gonna hang out with your boyfriend?” She and Ashley crack up. I don’t think it’s funny at all.
“Davis isn’t my boyfriend!” I catch Davis trip on his jump rope and realize how loud I said that. Then he looks up with a very hurt look on his face. Amanda has crossed a line.
She has crossed a line BIG TIME.
I run over and offer my hand. He ignores it and gets up on his own. He ignores me for the rest of the day.
Until we get on the bus.
“Davis, I didn’t mean it!”
“Then why’d you say it?” He looks over with unfamiliar eyes. No laughter. Just hurt.
“I-“
“You shouldn’t say stuff you don’t mean.”
“Davis.” My voice is cracking. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” He looks at his backpack and then at me. He’s smiling. “That mouth is gonna get you in trouble someday, you know that, right?”
I laugh. “Yeah, I know.” I lean my head on his shoulder to cheer him up. “It’s got me in trouble before, it’ll get me in trouble again.”
Chapter 6: Thursday, Gym, At Least I Can Play
Today sunshine was pouring through my window when I woke up. Yes! I love sunshine! I put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Today was green, again. I love this color.
I really wish Amanda got sick more often than she usually does. I got off the bus and she was at my locker. Leaning on it. Totally oblivious that her back pack was on Darius’s locker. Darius is my locker neighbor.
“Hey, Chrissie! Are you okay?” Did she seriously say that in a sincere way?
“Yeah, Amanda, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“You’re acting weird, and I don’t want to pick on you if your head isn’t in the game.” Ok, that made me feel better.
“Well, actually, it’s just some trouble with some homework. Nothing really. Continue picking. But can I have my locker back?”
“Oh, yeah.” She moved out of the way. I entered my combination, and got out my math books.
“I should have known it was nothing but homework. That doesn’t surprise me.”
“Huh?” The sound comes out of me.
“Well, let’s see, what is your homework assignment?” I should just walk away, but I don’t. I don’t even think about what I am saying.
“The Who Am I one,” I say, kind of scared of what she is going to say.
“Oh, yeah! I suspected it was that one.”
What does she mean? “Huh?” is all I can muster.
“Well, you don’t even know whether to play jump rope or hopscotch at recess. How are you supposed to decide between yes or no? Rain or sun? Yin or yang?”
She has a point. “I… uh… um…” I can’t get the words out!
“Face it, Chrissie, you don’t know who you are, and you never will know,” she says.
I have to believe her. It’s some power she has. She can hypnotize you with words.
One time, she used a hypnotizing tone to tell a fourth grade boy to go to sleep. It didn’t work at first, but then she used her normal voice and he was out like a light.
She even got Davis once.
Once, he told me that there was no meat in the burgers at school. It was very specialized grain. I didn’t believe him. Would you? Then he told me Amanda said so. I eventually told him how ridiculous the idea was and he doubted what Amanda had told him. So if she got to Davis, she can get to me.
Today we had gym class.
Two days in a row with Mr. Ponson would usually make Amanda crack. Not today.
She is still cheered up from today at the lockers.
We are playing soccer.
I got this in the bag, I think. I am on the soccer team, after all. We are separated by boys and girls. Mom says when Davis and I play one-on-one soccer, Mom says I do it for fun. Not because I’m practicing for an upcoming game.
But, even though Davis, the best soccer player on the team, is on our opposing team, and I have Amanda on my team, my team wins. How?
Because I rock.
Chapter 7: Friday, News, I’m Glad She’s Not Here
Today was more sunshine. But I don’t have any more tank tops so I settle for a Disney land shirt. I wish I could go there every day. I also wish it could be more cool in August. Don’t get me wrong, I love autumn, but I wish I wasn’t as hot, especially where I live.
I get to school, and everything is okay until I get to homeroom.
“Class,” Ms. Jones says, “I’m sure you all have completed your assignments, so I decided that you will turn it in Monday.”
Oh, no.
I forgot about it. At least I haven’t had my mind on it and got no sleep at all. I got plenty of sleep and still am sane. But I still have a bunch of questions. I am doomed.
But I do have an upside.
You remember how I told you that I wish Amanda would get sick more often? Well, my wish has come true. I have no one to make fun of me for freaking out and hiding under the slide at recess!
But I do manage to pull myself together and go through the papers. I have 12 questions to go. No less than the amount I had when I last went through the questions. I am not getting any better. I ask myself all of these question and spend way too much time on each question and end up having a whistle blown in my ear because I’m so lost in thought. I just don’t think I can do this homework assignment because of how long it’s taken me to find out if I like apples or bananas better. Most students had trouble with question #3:
Who misunderstands something you’ve done in the past?
I had no trouble with this one, unlike others.
But I do have trouble with other questions that my fellow class mates had zero trouble with, such as:
What is your favorite animal?
I am so different. But I’ll save you the boringness of telling you what I do and do not do vs what my class mates do and do not do.
I just don’t feel like I can do this assignment. But I have all week end. It’s ok.
I just need to do a little bit more inner research. And I’ll go anywhere that might bring up a memory of when I told my parent s what I wanted to be when I grow up or what my new favorite animal is.
Anywhere…..like the beach.
Chapter 8: What Am I Going To Do?
I went straight to the beach on Saturday, since we live right across the road from it. I invited Davis, since it’s been a while since he’s been to the beach. He seemed too focused with burying himself in sand to care about helping me look for memories, so I just said “You go ahead and bury yourself, I’ll look for memories.”
He just completely forgets his age and acts like a 5 year old at the beach. So I just let him do his thing, and I walked along the shore looking for seashells, and memories, too.
I keep walking until I hear a whistle. I look up and see a female life guard.
“That’s too far, sugar,” she says. “Why don’t you keep looking the other way?”
“Ok, sorry,” I say.
I walk in the other direction for about a half an hour before I hear another whistle. I turn straight around and wonder across the beach, not up against the water. I end up with a sand dollar, about five dozen seashells, and a crab that has his claws stuck together with two rubber bands I found. It took a while to actually get them on, and a lot of pinching, but it was worth it because Davis loves crabs, and he also loves sand. It was funny watching the crab get made into a sand castle guard.
But it wasn’t fun going home with no memories. Nothing to add to my project. No clues on who I am.
“Remind me again why this is such a big deal?” Davis asks for about the fifth time this week. All the other times I just waved the question away. But I think he ought to know.
“I won’t know who I am unless I find out before Monday. What am I supposed to do?”
“I have no idea,” he says.
“Awesome.”
“Oh, wait, I think I’ve got something!”
“Great!” Finally! “What is it?”
I was expecting a plan of a big idea. Something that would for sure help. But all he says is:
“A picnic at the park.”
“Huh?” I’m confused.
“Just pack some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, water bottles and bags of chips, and meet me at the hill at the park, where we always meet.”
“Ok,” is all I say, but I have a confusion bomb that has just exploded with a very big boom.
I do what he says, and when I get to the park, there he is standing on a checkered blanket, holding both is hands behind his back.
I set the picnic basket down, and look at him questioning.
“Left or right?” He asks. I don’t know which one to pick.
“Left.” I hold my hand out. He holds his hand over mine.
“Don’t look until I say, ok?” He asks.
“Ok.”
I sit and he sits beside me.
“Hold it up to the sun,” he says. I do.
A half of a Hershey’s kiss. And do you know who holds up the other half?
Davis.
Chapter 9: Stripes Are Stupid. Wait, No They’re Not!
“Davis, I’m sorry,” I begin to say. But he cuts me off again.
“For what? It’s not like I’m asking you to marry me.”
I wish I hadn’t said this, but I lost my temper.
“You probably would’ve if we weren’t under age!”
He immediately got that unfamiliar hurt look in his eyes that I hated to see.
“Davis-“
“You shouldn’t say stuff you don’t mean!” He’s shouting now.
“I know, and I’m sorry,” I say. “But I’m just so frustrated that I don’t even know my favorite color!”
He no longer has a hurt look in his eyes rather than a guilty look.
“I didn’t know you would take this so seriously,” says Davis.
“It’s ok.”
“I thought you had it figured out. Figured out a plan.”
“Davis.”
“I should have known.”
I give up the regular voice and take a sweet sing-song tone that always gets his attention.
“Da-vis,” I say. He looks over, as if partially controlled by my voice. I give up the sing-song part but keep the sweet in my voice. “It’s ok.”
“Ok,” he says.
“Now, you said you had something that would help?”
“Oh, yeah,” he says, snapping back into reality.
“Well?”
“Weeeelll,” he says mockingly. “We have to eat first.”
We eat. Then he lays down and spreads one of his arms out and pats it with the other hand. I lay down on it.
We lay a while in silence. Then Davis speaks.
“Once upon a time, there was a small bumblebee. Her name was Hannah.”
“Davis-“
“Shh, just listen,” he says. He begins to tell the tale passed down through the Hakesley family. “One day, Hannah was invited to her friend, Lady Ladybug’s, birthday party. She decided to put on her best and only stripes. She looked in her closet, but they weren’t there. She looked in the laundry room, but they weren’t there. Finally, she looked in the bathroom. They still weren’t there! She gave up and called Lady. She told Lady she couldn’t come to the party because she couldn’t find anything to wear. Lady was sad, but she understood. Later that night, Hannah scolded herself in the mirror, but then saw that she was wearing her stripes all along! She surprised Lady by showing up to her party. Hannah was pleased when she realized she had her stripes all along. The End.”
I didn’t waste time to ask what this was for. I just gave him a questioning look.
“I thought you could find your stripes. Just like Hannah.” Then he does something I, surprisingly, don’t mind. He kisses me on the cheek and leaves.
I thought you could find your stripes, he had said. Just like Hannah.
What is that supposed to mean? That I know myself better in stripes? That I have a lot more striped shirts than I think? That I have the potential to find out who I am?
Wait a sec. Find out who I am? Is that what he meant by find my stripes? Or did he mean something else?
I thought you could find your stripes. He must have meant that my stripes are the qualities that make up my personality.
I go straight home, and I dig through my backpack until I find my papers. I find the first question with a blank answer.
What is your favorite color? I think of how I loved how many green tank tops I had. Green.
Do you prefer sun or rain? I think of how I hated Wednesday because it was rainy. Sun.
I do this for all of the questions until I come to the last one.
If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?
I think and I think and I think, until Mom calls that it’s five minutes until dinner. I finally think of how I had so much trouble I had with this assignment.
I close my eyes and let my hand spell out the letters. Then I open my eyes.
This is what I see:
I WISH I NEVER HAD ANY TROUBLE WITH THIS ASSIGNMENT. BUT I’M STILL GLAD I HAD SOME.
What I wrote down was true. I am glad I had some trouble. It gave me a reason to realize how much I care for Davis. But his family is going to Disney Land tomorrow. So, on Monday I’ll tell him.
I’ll tell him I love him.
Chapter 10: My Happily Ever After
On Monday I got up and put on something I NEVER wear. A dress.
When I was on vacation in Florida visiting my grandparents, Mom bought me a yellow sundress with red and orange flowers. At first it looked like l was wearing fire, but then I noticed the green leaves. It’s really pretty, but everyone knows I hate dresses.
I know what you’re asking. Why, Chrissie, if you hate dresses, are you wearing one? Because Davis likes it when I wear dresses. And if I’m going to tell him I love him, I am not only going to look nice, but I am going to wear something he thinks I look nice in.
I do my hair in two braids instead of my usual side ponytail. He likes that hairstyle, too.
When he gets on the bus he sits down and smiles a big huge orange slice smile.
“Well, well, look at you,” he says. “What’s the occasion?”
I hesitate, trying to decide whether or not too tell him now. I decide to wait.
“You’ll see,” I say in my sing-song voice.
We get to school, and I get about five hundred comments on my dress. But when we get to homeroom, I say we should get straight to work. Everyone before me goes, and then it’s my turn. I tell the class how much trouble I had with this assignment when hands go up after I read the answer to the last question. I tell them how I had never had never thought about them before. But after I finish explaining, hands still remain in the air. Dalton Park, a boy from last year’s class, is waving his hand in the air.
“Yes, Dalton,” I say. “What is your question?”
“Why does Amanda misunderstand something you did in the past?”
Amanda has been reading a book this whole time. But after Dalton asked his question, she looked up, put the book away and got comfy with a smirk on her face. I hesitate, but then I swallow my pride and turn to Amanda. I look her right in the eye. She needs to know I am saying this from the heart.
“Amanda, last year, when it looked like you copied me, you didn’t.” She rolls her eyes and mouths obvious to me. “And I didn’t, either,” I say. She gets a confused look on her face. “In fact, I never looked at your paper. You just came up with the idea to write what you wrote before I did. And I am really sorry that I made you look like that. I didn’t do it intentionally, but I admit I did it.”
Amanda now has a guilty look on her face. But then she shakes her head and has a mad look on her face. With that look still on her face, she comes up to me and raises her hand. Davis practically jumps out of his chair but I hold up my hand to him and mouth it’s ok. He relaxes. I turn to Amanda, who still has her hand raised and an angry look on her face. I close my eyes, prepared for her to slap me out of reality. But instead, I feel warm arms wrap around me. I open my eyes and she’s hugging me tight. I look at the class and Ashley is clapping. Davis is stunned and his jaw has dropped.
She lets go and looks at me with tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry I did all that stuff to you,” she says with a cracking voice. “I really, truly am sorry.”
“It’s ok, Amanda,” I say. “I forgive you.”
Davis walks up and hugs us each with one arm. Ashley comes up and squeezes us all together.
I try to gasp and she notices. She lets go and we all gasp. After lunch, we all gather at recess. We all play jump rope. I swing the rope since I am all fancy. We spend the rest of the day together. Ashely says we could be the Quadruplets. None of us really grow on the name, but we let her have it. At the bus, we hugged one another, agreeing to meet at the tree house. We got on the bus and Davis kept pestering me to tell him why I wore a dress.
“Davis, stop,” I finally say. “I’ll tell you later.
“Tell me now!”
“Davis-“
“Tell me!”
“Ok, ok,” I say. “Tell you what. You meet me at the fountain in the park at 5 ‘til 3, I’ll tell you why I am wearing a dress.”
“Ok!”
He almost ran off the bus. When I got home, I went inside really quickly, grabbed the Hershey’s kiss he gave me last Monday, cut it in half and walked quickly to the fountain. It was 5 ‘til 3, and he came walking. He had nothing in his hands, but he was dressed nicely.
“So, why the- wait,” he said. “What in your hands?”
“Left or right?”
He studies me. “Left,” he says cautiously. He holds his hand out and I tell him what he told me the last time we were in the park together.
“Don’t look at it until I tell you.”
He sits on the fountain next to me.
“Hold It up to the sun,” I say. He does and I almost immediately link my half to his.
When he realizes what I am saying he looks over with a confused look. I lean in and kiss him.
This was the first time I have ever kissed a boy. It felt nice. When our lips touched, I knew I had made the right call. It felt like Davis and I were meant to be together. When he leaned out he looked at me with a grin.
“I knew you had feelings for me.”
“You bet I do.” I lean in and kiss him again.
When we break the kiss, he looks at me.
“So, are you-“
This time I break him off. “Yes, I am you girlfriend.” And I say it with a smile on my face.
I just don’t know how my parents are going to take it.
The End
Talent For Me 