Scary Stuff!

I'm writing from the school library because Vee's computer is in the shop. :(

The other night we lost power! There wasn't any reason for it, just lost power. On top of that, Vee's DVD player suddenly stopped working after the power came back on. It was pretty scary being in the dark suddenly, but after the power went out Harriet's grandma lit a few candles.

What's even scarier is this "swine flu" that's going around. Some schools here have even closed down. Not ours yet, but I don't know.

Someone in comments on another post asked about Hilary and Bridget. They're not even speaking to each other right now, which in my mind is probably a good thing. I told Hilary the other day, if she's gonna have friends like that, she doesn't need them.

Kristy is completely insane!

Let me explain my title for a second. Okay, most of you who've followed this blog know that Kristy Van Dyke is a girl in my class. She was Harriet's pal before she became mine, and now she's one of my best friends.

Above is a picture of her with her long, thick brown hair that she really hardly does anything with, except maybe put in a ponytail. I'm jealous sometimes that her hair is so thick.

So, the other day Kristy is like, "I wanna cut all of it off." My reaction was, ARE YOU SERIOUS????? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND????

"Yeah, I wanna cut it all off. I want it very short."

Please tell me I'm right. I think this is a terrible idea.

Earth Day, talent show, other stuff

So, yesterday was Earth Day. I spent most of the day with my Girl Scout troop (yes, I am and have been a Girl Scout for the last four years) running a recycling drive. Harriet and Kristy joined our troop this year. I didn't get home until late last night, and when I did, I simply crashed.

Today was the first day of dress rehearsals for the talent show. Have to say, they've been surprisingly uneventful, so far, though Miss Drama Queen yelped about her ballet costume, "Well, this is too small!" She stamped her feet and carried on like a little kid.

Speaking of little kids, a couple 5th graders came by to watch the rehearsals. Lindsey Bergman, I remember her from the basketball game, said she knew someone who worked with a lighting company. She knows more about computers than our IT people have forgotten. She even agreed to help with decorations. Oh, and did I mention she's in my Girl Scout troop?

An eighth-grader named Marisol Luna is in charge of the modern dance routines for the talent show. She's from Chicago and knows all kinds of dance moves, the stuff that's on TV all the time. She has long brown hair and wears clothes I only see on TV, she may very well be the coolest girl in school. I walked in on their practice and I have to say it's intense! Even Mia, who may be the fittest girl in my class because of what she does with her figure skating, was winded.

What About Your Friends (Part 3)

Well, I've got good news and bad news. First the good news. The good news is that Vee is finally gonna let me travel this summer! And my first stop is -- California, to see Wendy! Woo hoo! I can't wait.

And now the bad news. Auditions and rehearsals have started for our school's talent show coming up, and I've got to say, tempers are... already flaring.

Witness this confrontation between Hilary and Bridget. Now, they've got some history -- they used to be BFFs when they both attended Riverside Academy. Of course, Bridget has been lately in the company of Meredith and the Mean Bees (sounds like the name of a girl group, eh? They've sure been acting like one lately, lol). Hilary's gonna play piano and Bridget's doing an Irish dance.

It started over what song Bridget was going to perform to, and then it got personal.

"How can you do this, Bridget?"

"Do what?"

"You betrayed me. We used to be best friends."

"And?" Bridget sounded as callous as Meredith. "So what? Things change, people change."

"Bridget, you're the one who's changed. I don't recognize you. These clothes, that hair -- you're not who I thought I knew."

"Hil, lighten up, will ya? Stop being so dramatic. You know that's your problem, you're so dramatic. You always wanna make people feel sorry for you."

I could see Marisa and Meredith whispering things in Bridget's ear, giving her 'encouragement' so to speak.

"You're the drama queen, Bridget! As soon as you got on the gymnastics team, you dropped me like a hot potato. You didn't even give me a chance."

After Meredith whispered something in her ear, Bridget shot back, "Hil, you couldn't make the gymnastics team if you wanted to. I'm not insulting you, I'm just stating a fact. You're fat and clumsy. Besides, why would I even wanna hang out with you? I'm popular now -- and you're stuck with the dork squad. Sorry."

"Bridget --" Hilary choked back tears. "Bridget, they're just using you." I handed Hilary a napkin. If I had an ex-friend like Bridget, I probably wouldn't confront her like that, so I give her props for that.

I went over my list. So far there were twelve acts -- from dancing and singing to juggling, ballet, and piano. I figured it was decent enough variety that people wouldn't automatically get bored. Although, the thought of Meredith dancing is enough to make my blood curl.

Forgot to mention...

In all my stress over mom's visit, I forgot to mention this little incident.
Ok, remember we were supposed to have a party for Easter? We ended up doing something, but a gathering over at Vee's place, on the day after Easter. With Nicki leaving that evening, it was the least I could do.

Kristy brought someone with her. I was expecting she'd bring Alison but it wasn't her. It was someone else. She wore glasses and a red jumper. I have to admit she was cool-looking. "Her name is Veronica Vasconcelos," Kristy said, "she's my roommate at the center."

I like the sound of the name, Veronica Vasconcelos. She's as exotic as her name is. She's is half-Brazilian and half-Mexican, and she speaks fluent Portuguese and Spanish. But I wasn't prepared for what Kristy said next.

"She's legally blind."

"She can't see?" asked Harriet.

"Not too well," Kristy said.

I'd read about blindness in a book once, and I explained to them that there are different definitions of sight, and once a person's vision falls below a certain threshold, they're declared legally blind. For example, my vision is officially 20/50, which means I'm mildly nearsighted. Veronica's vision has to be worse than 20/200.

Veronica told us she's learning Braille, the written language for visually impaired people. I saw a documentary on it once, it's raised dots on a page, and it allows for them to 'read' even though they can't see well.

Just then Nicki showed up, with Sprocket in tow. I had to turn away to keep from sneezing as Sprocket barked and barked and barked at Veronica.

I was shocked at what happened next. Nicki, who'd as far as I knew had only seen Veronica this one time, reached over to her and handed Sprocket to her. "He's a trained service dog," she explained, "he'll be your eyes and ears." Veronica was quite touched by the gift, she gave Nicki a huge hug and started crying.

Later on, on our way to the airport, where Nicki only had 1 dog with her, I asked her why she did it, and she said that Veronica needed Sprocket more than she did.

My Trip to the Principal's Office

Well, today I found myself in the principal's office. But not for what you think.

I was there because before my mother left, she'd angrily marched there to complain about my bullying, and they'd called in Meredith and her mother, too.

Meredith shot me a glare that could melt steel. "Tattletale," I could hear her mumble. "You are sure gonna get it now."

Tossing her hair in my face, she sat down in one of the chairs opposite the principal. My mother was on one end and her mother -- basically a grown up version of her daughter -- was on the other.

Meredith's mother proceeded to blame me for being teased. It was as Harriet's grandmother says, the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. "If you so much as punish my daughter for what that girl did," she said, "there is no end to what I can do."

Principal Ballard caved, only giving Meredith detention for three days, only saying he was limited in what he could do. She was going to be there after school for two of them anyway, because of talent show rehearsals, so she wasn't being punished at all. And all he said to me was, "Since you're a good student, I'm only going to give you a warning."

Why should I be warned for something I didn't do?

Untalented and Overstressed

Easter Week -- and spring break -- has come and gone. Frankly, our holiday wasn't long enough, I needed at least two weeks to recharge. Maybe even a whole month. Summer can't get here fast enough.
Some 8th grader came up with the theme for the upcoming school talent show -- "Adams Got Talent." I understood it to be a play on the name of a TV show. We ended up having to put the new slogan on every sign we made and hung for it, along with the names of the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade class presidents. And as sixth grade class president, I have to help organize the talent show -- a thankless job, to be sure.
While Harriet and I were hanging up our signs, Meredith and a couple of her merry minions came up to us. "I'd like to sign up," said Sasha Moore, who, I could tell, had gotten her hair done.

"What are you doing?" I could hear Meredith whisper to her.

"Signing up for the talent show. Why?"

"Whatcha you gonna do then?"

"Sing."

Then I heard Marisa say, "Mer, Sasha can sing."

I stood there and watched Sasha sign my signup sheet. Meredith looked at Sasha and Marisa, and I could tell she was up to something. She stepped up to me and demanded, "Put me down... for the ballet." She then walked away, dragging her followers with her.

I let out a deep groan. How am I going to get through the next two weeks?