Annaso
06-12-2007, 03:43 PM
Magical Miranda
Chapter 1
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Is there anything more agonizing than the sound of the clock's second hand on the last day of school?
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Apparently not....
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Why do they make us come to school on the last day, anyway? I mean, all we really do is party....
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Correction: the other kids are the ones that are partying. Me? No way. I'm just Miranda Grant Kimberly, a normal fifth-grader who just "chooses" to write in her journal for "fun" because she just "happens" to want to become a writer one day. Even on the last day of school. The last day she'll ever see any of her friends, because she's not going to Benjamin Franklin Middle School (even though her BFFs, Lauren, Jacob, and Hillary are). Instead, she is going to...wait for it....
PRIVATE SCHOOL
No fair. I have to go to private school while all the other kids I know don't? Do you know what they do to you there? Do you? No? Well, neither do I, but that's probably how horrible it is! They don't want anyone to know, so they just come up with this whole bunch of junk that says they are "not only the best middle school in Miami, but the best middle school in the United States".
I really don't want to seem ungrateful, but I just wish I had some say in this. I mean, my parents never officially asked me, "Hey, Miranda? Want to go to George Washington Preperatory Middle School? Just for a change? You know, just so you can abandon your old friends who you have known since you were in diapers?" If they had, I would have at least thought about it. Or thought about thinking about it. Whichever one required less thinking.
Well, looks like the last bell of my elementary school life is about to ring. I am going to say a final "see you later, alligator" to my buddies. I hope I don't cry. I really hope I don't cry....
***
I tucked my pencil into the metal wire thingies on the side of my journal (I forgot what they are called), put down my journal and stretched my legs out from underneath my desk. Ten more minutes until school was out. Ten more minutes until I could officially say, "Hey? Guess what? I'm a middle-schooler," without feeling guilty that had just told the biggest lie of my life.
I stood up from my desk and walked over to where Lauren was playing a game of Scrabble with Hillary and Jacob. I felt my heart beat faster and faster as I approached them. A big lump started to form in my throat. Was I going to cry? Or was I simply nervous that I had not yet told them I wouldn't be joining them next year? I was about to find out....
"Hi," I said.
"Two points? What do you mean the letter "M" counts for two points? Doesn't that little three in the lower right-hand corner mean anything to you?" Jacob was furious as he said this. Lauren held the letter "M" in her hand, and I assumed they were fighting over the scoring. Hillary looked as if she was about to burst out laughing. I've got to admit, it's pretty darn funny watching those two argue about a game.
"Uh...hi?" I said again. Maybe they hadn't heard me.
"It does, Jacob. It means that there are three "M" pieces available in the game set. Duh!" Lauren was always good at backfiring.
"Hello? Does nobody notice me anymore?" I was getting really angry now, but not as angry as Jacob was when he next opened his mouth.
"Look, if you think you're so smart, then why don't you check the instructions? They clearly state that the number on a letter represents the amount of points each letter is worth!" This fight was getting so out of control, that Hillary had to jump up and shout "Be quiet!" in the loudest voice I knew.
"Guys?" I said, hoping that this time, they would actually realize I was standing no less than three inches away from them.
"Oh...hi, Miranda!" Lauren said, with a smile.
"Hi," the other two chimed in unison.
"Hey...uh, listen, I need to tell you something. Got a moment?" I asked. I just wanted to make this end as soon as possible. The sooner, the better. That has always been my motto-- unless it came to cleaning my room. That was a different story.
"Yeah, OK, what is it?" Lauren replied. She didn't seem to think it was anything big, and neither did the others. Man, were they in for a surprise.
"Oh...well, uh, I don't know exactly how to say this, but...I...."
"Yes?'' Hillary said, hoping I would continue.
"Well, uh...you see...."
"Come on, just tell us." Jacob, urged, with a growing desire to find out what was going on.
"OK, then. But if you suffer from any post-important news trauma, that is not my fault."
"Miranda!" Lauren exclaimed.
"Fine, fine, fine. I'll say it: I'm going to private school next year." I closed my eyes tight as I said those last seven words. I knew that, if I had kept them open, I'd have been mentally scarred for the rest of my life.
"You're what?"
"No...how could you?"
"Miranda? You can't be serious!"
"What the heck?"
"Seriously, Miranda, is this a joke?"
"I don't even believe it!"
Those lines, and many others which are far too inappropriate for me to list were the only things I could hear. They went on for so long, that I didn't even hear the last bell ring. I just had to open my eyes when it was all over, look around, and know that there was nothing I could do about it. I picked up my journal from my desk, gave my teacher, Ms. Harp, a final hug, and walked out the door.
I thought about many things on my last ride home on that yellow school bus (next year, I would be able to walk home, since the school is literally two blocks away from my house). I thought about how I could be sitting next to my old pals, had I not given them those shocking news, and not some annoying first-grader who slipped his finger into his nose every five seconds. I also thought about how I was going to survive next year without Lauren, Jacob, and Hillary. But the thought that displeased me the most was that this would not be a very pleasant summer, since my friends were probably not speaking to me.
CHAPTER 2 SOMING SOON
Chapter 1
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Is there anything more agonizing than the sound of the clock's second hand on the last day of school?
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Apparently not....
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Why do they make us come to school on the last day, anyway? I mean, all we really do is party....
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
Correction: the other kids are the ones that are partying. Me? No way. I'm just Miranda Grant Kimberly, a normal fifth-grader who just "chooses" to write in her journal for "fun" because she just "happens" to want to become a writer one day. Even on the last day of school. The last day she'll ever see any of her friends, because she's not going to Benjamin Franklin Middle School (even though her BFFs, Lauren, Jacob, and Hillary are). Instead, she is going to...wait for it....
PRIVATE SCHOOL
No fair. I have to go to private school while all the other kids I know don't? Do you know what they do to you there? Do you? No? Well, neither do I, but that's probably how horrible it is! They don't want anyone to know, so they just come up with this whole bunch of junk that says they are "not only the best middle school in Miami, but the best middle school in the United States".
I really don't want to seem ungrateful, but I just wish I had some say in this. I mean, my parents never officially asked me, "Hey, Miranda? Want to go to George Washington Preperatory Middle School? Just for a change? You know, just so you can abandon your old friends who you have known since you were in diapers?" If they had, I would have at least thought about it. Or thought about thinking about it. Whichever one required less thinking.
Well, looks like the last bell of my elementary school life is about to ring. I am going to say a final "see you later, alligator" to my buddies. I hope I don't cry. I really hope I don't cry....
***
I tucked my pencil into the metal wire thingies on the side of my journal (I forgot what they are called), put down my journal and stretched my legs out from underneath my desk. Ten more minutes until school was out. Ten more minutes until I could officially say, "Hey? Guess what? I'm a middle-schooler," without feeling guilty that had just told the biggest lie of my life.
I stood up from my desk and walked over to where Lauren was playing a game of Scrabble with Hillary and Jacob. I felt my heart beat faster and faster as I approached them. A big lump started to form in my throat. Was I going to cry? Or was I simply nervous that I had not yet told them I wouldn't be joining them next year? I was about to find out....
"Hi," I said.
"Two points? What do you mean the letter "M" counts for two points? Doesn't that little three in the lower right-hand corner mean anything to you?" Jacob was furious as he said this. Lauren held the letter "M" in her hand, and I assumed they were fighting over the scoring. Hillary looked as if she was about to burst out laughing. I've got to admit, it's pretty darn funny watching those two argue about a game.
"Uh...hi?" I said again. Maybe they hadn't heard me.
"It does, Jacob. It means that there are three "M" pieces available in the game set. Duh!" Lauren was always good at backfiring.
"Hello? Does nobody notice me anymore?" I was getting really angry now, but not as angry as Jacob was when he next opened his mouth.
"Look, if you think you're so smart, then why don't you check the instructions? They clearly state that the number on a letter represents the amount of points each letter is worth!" This fight was getting so out of control, that Hillary had to jump up and shout "Be quiet!" in the loudest voice I knew.
"Guys?" I said, hoping that this time, they would actually realize I was standing no less than three inches away from them.
"Oh...hi, Miranda!" Lauren said, with a smile.
"Hi," the other two chimed in unison.
"Hey...uh, listen, I need to tell you something. Got a moment?" I asked. I just wanted to make this end as soon as possible. The sooner, the better. That has always been my motto-- unless it came to cleaning my room. That was a different story.
"Yeah, OK, what is it?" Lauren replied. She didn't seem to think it was anything big, and neither did the others. Man, were they in for a surprise.
"Oh...well, uh, I don't know exactly how to say this, but...I...."
"Yes?'' Hillary said, hoping I would continue.
"Well, uh...you see...."
"Come on, just tell us." Jacob, urged, with a growing desire to find out what was going on.
"OK, then. But if you suffer from any post-important news trauma, that is not my fault."
"Miranda!" Lauren exclaimed.
"Fine, fine, fine. I'll say it: I'm going to private school next year." I closed my eyes tight as I said those last seven words. I knew that, if I had kept them open, I'd have been mentally scarred for the rest of my life.
"You're what?"
"No...how could you?"
"Miranda? You can't be serious!"
"What the heck?"
"Seriously, Miranda, is this a joke?"
"I don't even believe it!"
Those lines, and many others which are far too inappropriate for me to list were the only things I could hear. They went on for so long, that I didn't even hear the last bell ring. I just had to open my eyes when it was all over, look around, and know that there was nothing I could do about it. I picked up my journal from my desk, gave my teacher, Ms. Harp, a final hug, and walked out the door.
I thought about many things on my last ride home on that yellow school bus (next year, I would be able to walk home, since the school is literally two blocks away from my house). I thought about how I could be sitting next to my old pals, had I not given them those shocking news, and not some annoying first-grader who slipped his finger into his nose every five seconds. I also thought about how I was going to survive next year without Lauren, Jacob, and Hillary. But the thought that displeased me the most was that this would not be a very pleasant summer, since my friends were probably not speaking to me.
CHAPTER 2 SOMING SOON