“Come on, “ I groaned. I’d been waiting forever. And a day. It was August 15, two days before school started and the day of the “Meet & Treat.” The event was designed to your new teacher and enjoy a delicious creamy snack—my favorite summer treat, ice cream!
I’d already planned my whole debut outfit for the first day of fifth grade, still two
Evelina (right) enjoys a break with her writer friend, Avani
long days away. I would wear a grey skirt and a stylish blue and green sparkly tank top. And now I was all ready to head to the “Meet & Treat,” to see my friends finally after the long summer.
I glanced at my watch. It seemed like I had been waiting to leave for hours, although I knew it had probably only been minutes. Soon my mom’s white Toyota rolled into the driveway and she hopped out of the car. She gazed at my eager face and sighed.
I began skipping at top speed around her. “Can we go to the Meet & Treat now, please?” I begged.
That’s when she dropped the bomb: “We moved you to Madison.”
What?” I asked, stunned.
“We decided today,” she said again. “We moved you to Madison.”
The realization hit me like a bird hits a window. A rush of tears streamed down my face like rivers.
“How?”
I tried to lick my tears away but there were just too many. I tried again, “How?”
Author Evelina, left, with Mr. Jewell and Avani
My voice felt weak and quaky. I could taste the salty tears that were still spilling down my cheeks. I couldn’t seem to get the words out. I hiccuped.
A sudden thought began eating away at my mind. What if I never saw my friends again? Then I remembered we’d go to the same middle school. That was a relief, but it didn’t last long.
A second terrifying thought quickly replaced the first. What were the new kids like? I wondered. Were they nice? There was only one way to find out.
Evelina, 11, is in the 6th grade. She loves all animals, playing viola and learning about history. Evelina hopes to be a realistic fiction author and an endocronoligist.
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