Open House

Open House at Adams Junior High was held last night, mostly in the school gym and auditorium. I looked around and suddenly I felt a bit overdressed. There were quite a few of the usual suspects, along with kids I'd never seen before. One girl with short blond hair said she wanted to join the newspaper staff when she got to Adams next fall -- and this other girl, Carissa Miller I think her name was, who was wearing the same dress I'd seen in the movie -- said she liked to paint, sew, and do pottery.

I was talking to the blond girl, I didn't quite catch her name, mostly about the newspaper and what kinds of stories they covered. She showed me some of the work she'd already done for her hometown paper in Ohio -- including an article she'd written about homeless kids -- and I told her I was sure our editor would love to have her join the staff when she entered next year. As sixth grade class president and a member of the newspaper staff, it was my job to try to 'sell' these activities to the incoming students.
Then I introduced her to Megan, the editor, and had them talk awhile, while I went ahead and spoke to Carissa about our art classes.
Carissa's father is Michael Miller, a local sculptor. Harriet says he's the one who sculpted the statue of former president John Adams outside our school's front entrance. I suppose that's where Carissa got her artistic side from.


Just then Meredith showed up. She was there as captain of the cheerleaders, recruiting new members. She was wearing an especially slinky pink dress. "Well, if the dork didn't decide to put on a dress. If you dress up a dork, guess what, it's still a dork."
"Shut up, Meredith," I said.
"What'd you just say?"
"I said shut up. Didn't you hear me?"
Meredith tossed her blond head in staged anger. "Are those -- heels -- you're wearing?" she asked, looking down at my feet.
"So, what if they are? They're my shoes and I can wear them anytime I want."
It felt good. They were things that needed to be said, and I'm glad I said them. By that time though I was holding my heels in my hand and walking with little slippers on. Meredith went off in a huff but I didn't care. Carissa asked me if she was always like that, and I nodded.
Lindsey from the basketball game was there, too. She has freckles and auburn hair. She mentioned she was Jewish and was getting ready for her brother's bar mitzvah (a sort of coming of age in the Jewish culture). She also said she was interested in the newspaper and the yearbook.
With the addition of at least two new staffers next year, the newspaper should be very interesting.