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| PREVIEW | From The Book o' Summer Love
Emily by Mechante Fille Emily was leaving. She was my best friend. MY best neighborhood-friend. We were in different grades, so I had other friends at school, but for all after school and weekends hours, she was the one I sought to spendt time with, and now she was leaving. I tried to come up with how I should feel abou this. I always felt a little disconnected with my feelings. Sometimes, my body seemed to feel without my mind's involvement, like when I cried for almost no reason, or became angry without knowing why, and flew to my bedroom and slammed the door. But other times, I knew my face was blank, and I tried to come up with the way I should feel, and how to express it, so no one would think me odd. I did not know how I felt about Emily's family returning to England. I did hope she picked up an English accent over the summer, before school started. I knew how important accents were when you were new. Even at age nine, I had moved enough times to know how it worked. The new kid is instantly popular, at first. Everyone wants to know you and all about your former school and town. Being different is what draws thme to you. But by the time their fleeting interest fades, you had better not sound like the new kid anymore. Differences are suspect. This was definitely true in tidewater Virginia. Even though the are was growing, thanks in part to the nearby Air Force base, there was still a divide between the locals, called Islanders, and the newcomers and military folk. Even though the growth brought money to the area, some people would rather believe it was better when there was less money and fewer people. Perhaps they were right. Even the children knew of the discord, and it was best not to remind anyone too forcefully that you were an Air Force brat. ... |
All works copyrighted to their respective creators. For more information, e-mail Alison at jagen13@hotmail.com. |
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