Sept ember 17t h, 2015
Dear Diary,
Today was an absolut e mess.
Early this afternoon, I was
reading Walt Whitman?s poetry
collect ion by t he window in my
room (which is in t he far back
room on t he first floor by t he
way) when I saw t hat uniformed
girl come home from school. I
was st aring at t he folds in her
skirt , and I guess she could feel
someone st aring, because she
swivelled around and st ared
st raight at me. I panicked when
she did, because I don?t know if
it ?s okay for people t o observe
ot hers like t hat , and I
immediat ely pret ended t o be
really int erest ed in my book.
W hile I was looking down, I
was hoping she would hurry up
and go home, but inst ead I
heard a few dull knocks on t he
t hick glass of my window, and
when I looked up, she was right
t here, her face pressed right up
against t he glass. She gest ured
in a ?come out ,? sort of way, so I
creaked open t he window.
?Hey,? she said. ?You?re around
my age, I t hink. W hat are you,
like, eleven? Twelve??
?Twelve,? I answered. I was
surprised how squeaky my voice
came out .
?Good, my age exactly.? She
smiled. She sounded so confident,
like an adult. ?Wanna come out
and ride bikes with me??
?I don?t have a bike,? I said. I
felt anxiet y bubble up. She
doesn?t know me, how could she
just ask me t o hang out wit h
her like t hat ?
?You can borrow my brot her?s,?
she said. I t sounded more like
an order t han a suggest ion.
?I don?t know how t o ride.?
?Gosh, I?ll teach you,? she sighed
wit h exasperat ion. ?Come out
and we?ll have fun.?
67
66
I was about t o comment on how
I t hought t here was no way my
mom would let me, but t hen I
realized she might think that was
weird, and t hat it had not hing
t o do wit h her. Or worse, she
might t hink I was making up
excuses because I just didn?t
want t o play wit h her. But I did.
So I paused for a while, and
t hough my heart was racing
just at t he prospect of going
out , I pret ended t o be cool and
casual and said I ?d ask my
mom. Wit h each st ep t owards
t he living room my mom was in,
I kept daydreaming. How fun it
would be, t o glide across t he
pavement in a bike for god?s
sake. Wit h a friend!
I wasn?t even t hinking clearly. I
was way t oo jumpy. Now t hat I
t hink about it , who was I
kidding?