Come on, come on! Why won't they hurry up? Autumn wants me to just walk, but I can't! I am the Caboose after all, so I can't very well leave Tatiana and Melissa behind. Autumn is pulling me away from them. Not fair! What'll happen to me if Mrs. Troph finds out that I didn't work as the Caboose? What on earth are they fighting over, anyway?... What!? They're fighting over who gets to walk in front of me? I don't want either of them to, because Autumn already is.
Oh, no! The line's getting farther away! All I can see is Johanna's hot pink earmuffs disappearing into the building. I better move now. Uh, oh, Mrs. Gross is coming back out. "When we get inside, I have four ladies on red!" She yells, holding up four fingers. What? That's not fair! It's Tatiana and Melissa who are holding us up!
"Come on, Autumn, let's go!" I say to her.
"Finally!"
We walk into the building. I have a bad feeling in my stomach. It's not my fault that we're getting put on red! I was just doing my job. I heard that Principal Plumb spanks the kindergarteners who get put on red. Oh, why does this happen to me? Now I'll have to go to the principal and get spanked, and I'll get a phone call home, and I won't be able to go out to recess again. *groan* I can't believe it. I hate kindergarten...
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Missed Opportunity
Tonight I was one of the first people to arrive at a youth group in the park. I took a piece of pizza and began to eat it while I waited for everyone else to arrive. Then, a lady got out of her car with a cat on the harness and started walking it around the park. I thought to myself, "How cute. I've never seen a cat do that before."
A few minutes later, the cat started pulling her towards me and she told me I could pet him. I reached down my hand and stroked his long, slightly matted fur and he rolled over on his belly in delight. After a while, the cat, whose name I found out was Tabby, jumped on the table and tried to push our pizza boxes over. He wanted to eat them. The lady remarked how cute she found it, and I told her how one of our cats used to eat our bagels off the counter. She laughed and eventually they moved on to a different part of the park.
As everyone else arrived, I thought nothing of the incident, until one of my friends asked me why my friend wasn't participating. I asked, "Which friend?" She motioned to the cat lady who was standing by her old green car and I told her that I hadn't ever met the girl before: we had just talked briefly earlier. She shrugged and we continued with our games.
Throughout the night, the girl kept taking Tabby and walking around the park with his harness and some of my friends kept making snide comments about her. I'm afraid to say I joined in on a few of them. It grew dark, and I began to grow a little worried about the lady because it seemed like she wasn't going to leave. It almost seemed like she was spying on us. I also thought she might be up to some mischief and felt she had no business hanging around in a park after dark anyway.
As I was getting into the car when everything was over, I looked over next to me and saw the green car that was piled high with things in the backseat, the girl and her father sleeping in the front seats, and the cat on top of the luggage.
I should have offered her a piece of pizza. I should have asked for her name. I should have at least asked if she wanted something to drink. Why didn't I? At first, she seemed like a normal person, but then she talked to me and I could tell she was different. Then, I poked fun at her behind her back in front of my friends and jumped to conclusions about something I had no right to. And then to find out she was only a homeless girl with her father and cat who lived out of an old green car... This just goes to show that we should look at our surroundings and gather what information we can before judging people. Now there's nothing I can do for her, even though I had an opportunity to help. It may have made the difference of dinner for her and Tabby if only I had thought to offer her some food.
A few minutes later, the cat started pulling her towards me and she told me I could pet him. I reached down my hand and stroked his long, slightly matted fur and he rolled over on his belly in delight. After a while, the cat, whose name I found out was Tabby, jumped on the table and tried to push our pizza boxes over. He wanted to eat them. The lady remarked how cute she found it, and I told her how one of our cats used to eat our bagels off the counter. She laughed and eventually they moved on to a different part of the park.
As everyone else arrived, I thought nothing of the incident, until one of my friends asked me why my friend wasn't participating. I asked, "Which friend?" She motioned to the cat lady who was standing by her old green car and I told her that I hadn't ever met the girl before: we had just talked briefly earlier. She shrugged and we continued with our games.
Throughout the night, the girl kept taking Tabby and walking around the park with his harness and some of my friends kept making snide comments about her. I'm afraid to say I joined in on a few of them. It grew dark, and I began to grow a little worried about the lady because it seemed like she wasn't going to leave. It almost seemed like she was spying on us. I also thought she might be up to some mischief and felt she had no business hanging around in a park after dark anyway.
As I was getting into the car when everything was over, I looked over next to me and saw the green car that was piled high with things in the backseat, the girl and her father sleeping in the front seats, and the cat on top of the luggage.
I should have offered her a piece of pizza. I should have asked for her name. I should have at least asked if she wanted something to drink. Why didn't I? At first, she seemed like a normal person, but then she talked to me and I could tell she was different. Then, I poked fun at her behind her back in front of my friends and jumped to conclusions about something I had no right to. And then to find out she was only a homeless girl with her father and cat who lived out of an old green car... This just goes to show that we should look at our surroundings and gather what information we can before judging people. Now there's nothing I can do for her, even though I had an opportunity to help. It may have made the difference of dinner for her and Tabby if only I had thought to offer her some food.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Avocado
I couldn't believe I was standing there. That was the day I had been dreading ever since I learned of its coming. The house guests were coming. And what was worse, they had a girl my age. I knew what that meant: I would have to be "friendly" with them all, especially her, until they finally left and I would be free.
The dreaded moment came. I heard the knock on the door, and I took my position. I waited in my room until my mother called me. I wanted one last moment of solitude to myself before I lost a spring. I waited for my cue ("Oh, she'll be out in a minute, don't worry!") and stepped out into the kitchen, where I greeted our guests with a smile. I wasn't exactly charming, but what was to be expected from me? I was never really comfortable around people in the first place, but it didn't help that I hadn't showered after swimming earlier, and that I was wearing my bathing suit cover-up. There were lemon bars on the table, special ones because one of our guest's daughters was allergic to milk and eggs. The night passed by fairly tortuously, with games, stories, and many futile attempts to make friends with the teenage girl on my end.
It was later in the night, and the girl and I were in my room trying to make a decent conversation. Neither of us were very good at it. We had nothing in common; she liked completely different music from me, she loved make-up and popular clothes (whereas I preferred not to bother and just wear a skirt instead), and she was allergic to cats. We did both like reading, but not the same kinds at all. On top of all that, she talked so quietly that I could barely hear her on a regular basis.
I tried again to make a conversation. I asked her what it was like to be allergic to milk and eggs, only to find out that it was her sister, not her, with the allergy. Great. I had just made the biggest idiot out of myself as I possibly could have. I couldn't tell, but I'm sure my face turned tomato-red, redder than a strawberry (which, I might add, is very noticeable due to my fair complexion).
I was only starting to think of something to say to make my blunder less obvious when I was distracted by a thump on my mainly-open door. We both turned. Something was lying on my floor next to my penny jar. I picked it up. It was an avocado. The girl asked me if that was what I had been thinking. I replied back that, yes indeed, this was an avocado. I looked to see where it might have come from. There was a green splotch on my doorjamb. One of my brothers had thrown it at us. We both looked at each other, me with avocado in hand, and burst out laughing. It was so funny, so weird, so random. That was exactly the right moment for it to have appeared, too. I looked at the avocado with new-found meaning. This little fruit was my savior, the reason I was able to get through the rest of the night.
This just goes to show that we need to expect everything, prepare for the unexpected, and not take for granted those little avocados in life that pass us by each day.
The dreaded moment came. I heard the knock on the door, and I took my position. I waited in my room until my mother called me. I wanted one last moment of solitude to myself before I lost a spring. I waited for my cue ("Oh, she'll be out in a minute, don't worry!") and stepped out into the kitchen, where I greeted our guests with a smile. I wasn't exactly charming, but what was to be expected from me? I was never really comfortable around people in the first place, but it didn't help that I hadn't showered after swimming earlier, and that I was wearing my bathing suit cover-up. There were lemon bars on the table, special ones because one of our guest's daughters was allergic to milk and eggs. The night passed by fairly tortuously, with games, stories, and many futile attempts to make friends with the teenage girl on my end.
It was later in the night, and the girl and I were in my room trying to make a decent conversation. Neither of us were very good at it. We had nothing in common; she liked completely different music from me, she loved make-up and popular clothes (whereas I preferred not to bother and just wear a skirt instead), and she was allergic to cats. We did both like reading, but not the same kinds at all. On top of all that, she talked so quietly that I could barely hear her on a regular basis.
I tried again to make a conversation. I asked her what it was like to be allergic to milk and eggs, only to find out that it was her sister, not her, with the allergy. Great. I had just made the biggest idiot out of myself as I possibly could have. I couldn't tell, but I'm sure my face turned tomato-red, redder than a strawberry (which, I might add, is very noticeable due to my fair complexion).
I was only starting to think of something to say to make my blunder less obvious when I was distracted by a thump on my mainly-open door. We both turned. Something was lying on my floor next to my penny jar. I picked it up. It was an avocado. The girl asked me if that was what I had been thinking. I replied back that, yes indeed, this was an avocado. I looked to see where it might have come from. There was a green splotch on my doorjamb. One of my brothers had thrown it at us. We both looked at each other, me with avocado in hand, and burst out laughing. It was so funny, so weird, so random. That was exactly the right moment for it to have appeared, too. I looked at the avocado with new-found meaning. This little fruit was my savior, the reason I was able to get through the rest of the night.
This just goes to show that we need to expect everything, prepare for the unexpected, and not take for granted those little avocados in life that pass us by each day.
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