Catching up

Okay, I promised Sabine at AG Playthings that I would be doing an update entry. Vee's health issues and my own busy life have seriously cut into my computer time. Trouble is, I may have to do TWO because so much has happened since I last wrote here!

I may have stretched myself TOO thin. That's because I'm now (finally) Student Body President at Adams. Yes, I got elected to the position pretty much by acclamation (sp) because no one else ran. You got that right. No one else ran. Right now, for example, I'm coordinating the holiday food drive.

Also, I'm in charge of all of Adams' student publications. That means the newspaper, the yearbook, everything.
And that isn't all. I'm also president of Jr. Beta club (which is an honor society for kids who have been on the honor roll) and volunteer in the library.

And you'll never believe what ELSE has happened. Natalie Spencer (yes that Natalie) is now captain of the cheerleaders. She beat out Meredith and boy was Meredith ANGRY. Meredith was so mad that she transferred to the private school on the other side of town, our biggest arch-rivals, Hillside Academy. Harriet says it's karma. I say Meredith got her just desserts. But Natalie being cheer captain is just so... weird. It really is. And it's even weirder cause she's kinda sorta dating Ethan Bergman. As in my friend Lindsey's older brother.

And to think, Natalie looked like THIS when she got here. Sigh.

Oh, and one more thing. When I came back this new girl, Cassidy, had formed a Glee Club, and Harriet of all people had joined it. I don't know her that well, but the other day she asked ME to join. Seriously. I can't sing a lick. Neither can Harriet actually, that's why she eventually quit the club. Anyway... I think she's playing Clara this year in the Nutcracker ballet.

Blessing in Disguise

Because I don't have the student body presidency to worry about (ironically that was the job I wanted since I got to Adams) I could devote my attention solely to the newspaper and yearbook. And with that in mind, I got some news that shocked me. I, Haley Elizabeth Hotchkiss, was named editor-in-chief of both newspaper and yearbook, succeeding Megan Ryder, who moved to Stamford, Connecticut, this year. Mrs. Baldwin even gave me a fancy title -- director of student publications. This means that anything that's printed in any student journal has to go through me. I kinda like this idea. I've got big shoes to fill but I think I'm prepared.

With this in mind, I started decorating my desk. At the right is the "Follow Your Dreams" book Wendy gave me in California, that I read sometimes and sometimes I use as a mousepad. There's a crocheted charm Marina gave me in New Hampshire and Kirsten and Mrs. Linda gave me a teddy bear. On top of the computer is the peace charm Alexi gave me in DC.

My first order of business as "director of student publications" was to meet with my staff. Isabelle Yarbrough was first. She's a new arrival, from Dallas, Texas, and she's the photographer. She has blond wavy hair (that she usually keeps in a braid), brown eyes, and darker freckles than mine. Lindsey says she's seldom without a camera around her neck.
"Hi," she said with her Texas twang, extending her hand out. "You must be Haley."
We talked about darkrooms and digital cameras for a bit and then we went to the yearbook. "We need to start getting club photos. Club photos, team photos, pictures of kids doing stuff."
Isabelle nodded.
I wanted to give them a glimpse of what I expect. I'm a perfectionist and I intend to run a pretty tight ship, now that my attentions aren't divided between student gov't and student printing.

Next I spoke with Lindsey and Kate. Kate's taking over sports for Alison McCann (who decided to focus on playing sports instead of writing about them) and is the assistant newspaper editor. Lindsey's in charge of graphics and artwork. Not necessarily drawing but making sure the paper 'looks' good. Kate taking over sports is actually a good fit -- she's crazy about baseball, especially her hometown Cincinnati Reds, and knows a whole lot of baseball trivia.

Last I met with Katarina Engel. Kat's actually really shy, doesn't say much, but boy, can she write. She's been the researcher because every time I see her her nose is buried in a book. I told her I wanted her to take a more active reporting role, and she made a suggestion I hadn't even considered. "Let's do a literary magazine," she said, "you know, for short stories and poetry and stuff." I would have to bring that to Mrs. Baldwin but I actually think it's a good idea.

Friends Come...and Go?

Wow, judging by the comments here, I notice Antoinette has gotten everyone talking! I had so many questions for her, I couldn't ask them all!

But, I have to tell you, sometimes I don't get her.

Today she officially joined the newspaper staff when Megan created a 'special correspondent' post for her. She doesn't usually do that kind of thing, except it was Ms. Baldwin's idea and it's not every year a bona fide French exchange student attends your junior high school.

We were talking on our way to class when out of the blue she said in her French accent, "Pardon, I did not know you and Meredith did not get along."
I let out a deep groan, wondering what Meredith had told her. "You obviously have not been here," I told her. "You do not know her at all."

"Pourquoi?" she asked.

I was tempted to go through the laundry list of the things Meredith had done. But I didn't. I'm hoping Antoinette sees soon enough what kind of person she is. When I told Nicki about this, she said Meredith may actually be on her best behavior re: Antoinette because she doesn't want her to see her 'bad side.' And she also said something else too -- that Antoinette may actually be torn between me and Meredith. An odd place to be, for sure.

I decided to try to change the subject by doing what Abby suggested and asking her about her hometown of Nice. "It's a very beautiful place in the south of France," she said, making me even more jealous. "There are a lot of historical landmarks there, and since the weather is great, a lot of tourists come to visit."

"Have you been to Paris?" I asked.

"Un certain nombre de fois," she said. "A few times." She also joked that she tries to avoid a lot of the famous French cuisine but can't resist partaking of a few crepes every now and again.

At the same time, I do think Harriet is somewhat jealous of my activities & other friends -- I've been trying to talk her into joining the newspaper, that if nothing else she'll meet some new and interesting people -- and she insists that she'll have nothing to do on the staff. When I mentioned Antoinette to her, she was like, "why are you trying to befriend her?" I explained that I'm curious about her since she's new and different and seems cool. She didn't behave this way when I introduced her to Kit & Lindsey. Matter of fact, she's friends with them, too.

Oh, neither Hilary nor Kristy have returned. I'm wondering about Hilary's parents. I know they were getting a divorce this summer and she was back and forth. I also know Kristy was going through a time of it too -- she ended up in West Virginia (where she's from). Seems some relative claimed her out of nowhere, that's what Harriet said. I don't know if Kristy'll stay in WV or if she'll return.

All in all, I think I may be on my way to making a new friend, at the same time I may be losing at least one of my old ones. I'm hoping she and I will keep in touch even when she returns to France after Christmas.

Some staffers posed for this pic while we're working on the back-to-school issue, which'll probably be in the yearbook. Megan (seated) is still editor-in-chief. I'm the first four-eyed fool (lol) on the left, Kit's next to me, Marie-Antoinette (I actually just wanted to type that, lol) is next to her, and Alison is wearing the hockey shirt. Missing is Lindsey (who also joined today) and Katarina Engel. Having the new staffers around certainly helps; I remember at some points last year we were so stressed out because there were so few people. I hope these newbies stick around for the whole year. It's much more fun with them around now.

All About Antoinette

The majority of comments from my last post were about Antoinette, the French exchange student who's at Adams for the semester, and with good reason. Naturally everybody's curious about her. So imagine my surprise when Megan approached me with an idea to do a profile article on her for the back-to-school issue due out this week. I asked her, "How am I going to interview her? Especially with Meredith in the way?"

So, today when I approached Antoinette, Meredith looked at me like I was crazy. "What are you gonna do with her?"

"It's for the paper, you doofus," I shot back. "You don't own her!" I've decided I'm not going to take another year of abuse from her. We're never gonna be friends, and I can live with that.

I'm still not sure about the format to use for the article, but back in February I did do a 15 things about me post on my blog, so I suppose I may use that.

This afternoon I managed to get Antoinette in the newspaper office, and here's what I know about her now that I didn't know this morning. One thing I know about her is that even with her glasses, she's very pretty, and another thing I know is that she's very thin. She's even thinner than I am.

• Her full name is Marie-Antoinette (one name) Anais Boucher, and she gets teased a lot back home because Marie Antoinette was a French queen who was beheaded.
• Instead of using her full name, she chooses to go by Antoinette.
• Her mother is Italian, her father is French.
• She speaks three languages (French, Italian, English) and is learning Spanish and German.
• She's in seventh grade, like me.
• I have two classes with her.
• She was born in a town called Versailles (she pronounces it vur-SY) and was raised in another town called Nice (pronounced like niece instead of nice). I'm sure Avery or Sophie may be much better at writing out the pronouncing of these names, though.
• Her birthday is May 2.
• She admires France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, a former model who has also launched a music career.
• Her family in France is fairly well-off.
• She is an only child.
• Her favorite artist is someone called Lady GaGa, and like me she doesn't get the obsession with Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana. "It's not that I don't like Mi-lee or Anna," she says in her cutely accented English, "it's just that they are not my favorite."
• She wants to write for the paper. Knowing Megan, I'm sure that could be arranged.
• She loves Harry Potter, admits to having a crush on Daniel Radcliffe (the guy that played him in the movies), and fantasized about being a Hogwarts student.
• She loves fashion and is interested in the AG couture scene.

The cool thing about having her around now is we actually get to practice the French we're learning in class. I actually think she's okay. If I could rescue her from the clutches of the evil Meredith...

And the other cool thing about having access to the computers in the newspaper office is, they're connected to the internet... ;-)

The Blond Girl Shows Up Again

I thought about what Wendy and Sophie had posted under my "Mean Girls" post all night. I couldn't sleep, tossing and turning in my bed. And then I figured out why that was.
So the next day after school I had a little bit of a 'bull session' with my friends, and we've decided on a new tactic for dealing with the girls at school.
We decided to try to isolate Meredith by being nice to her followers, even though some of them are as mean as Meredith herself. We figured out that Meredith was probably the problem, and that she's probably bullying them too.
We wanted to try out our new tactic, but after school I had to go to the newspaper office, where I had a surprise waiting for me.

The blond girl showed up, again.

I was surprised when she did, because she's still in fifth grade and won't attend Adams till the fall. "I'm Kathryn Kittredge. Call me Kit," she said as she extended her hand.

Kit it was, and she was wearing glasses. When we walked to the newspaper offices, she was telling me she was originally from Ohio and was into baseball trivia, aviation history and newspaper journalism. She also said she was related to the Kit Kittredge immortalized in books and even a movie. "She was my great-great aunt," she told me, "my great-grandfather's younger sister."

"Oh, and I want to run for class president."

I didn't really know what to make of that statement. She seemed so sure of it, too. In contrast, I hadn't made up my mind to run until I was reading Felicity Merriman's books and I realized Meredith was running unopposed. Then it suddenly dawned on me that my tenure as sixth grade class president is soon to come to an end. I have some decisions to make. I know my position at the newspaper is probably secure. But if I were to return to Adams, would I run for seventh grade president? Should I? My head's still spinning. Even though summer's coming up, August will be here before I know it.

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.

No News Is Good News

We met to produce another edition of the Adams Gazette, the school newspaper that's distributed to the faculty and students. Most of the time, our newspaper is about events that happen at school, but sometimes we talk about national events. In January we had a 3 page special on the inauguration of the president and how students felt about it. Our editor-in-chief is Megan Ryder, who's pretty much been writing since she was a tot. Her father is a reporter who travels all over the world, and ever since she was little, Megan has wanted to follow in his footsteps. She really likes the color yellow and pretty much wears that color all the time.

So, today Megan showed up to the meeting wearing her glasses. Sometimes she wears glasses and sometimes she wears contacts, but I know when she has her glasses she means business.

Only three of us showed up -- Alison, Katarina, and me. We're understaffed but we manage.
We had a couple decisions to make. One was who was going to cover the upcoming open house for incoming students. I wasn't going to be able to, because as class president I have to make my own presentation. I knew Alison, as sports reporter, and Katarina, as fact checker and researcher, might probably have to pick up the slack.

Just then Megan pulled me aside. I had to admit she looked quite 'editorly' in her glasses and starched yellow skirt set. "Haley -- is something wrong?" she asked me.

I shook my head. "No -- there's -- there's nothing wrong."

"I was wondering -- because you've seemed a bit distracted lately."

"Distracted?"

"Listen, Haley, I know you're class president and I realize that takes up a lot of your time. If you need to resign just let me know."

I shook my head again. "It's not a problem, really. I can handle it."

Who am I fooling? There are days I come home wondering what on earth I got myself into. Did I take on too much? My dad says I need to figure out how to be eleven again. Problem is, I never did.

Dullards and Deadlines

It's just dawned on me that I can't wait till summer.

As it is now, I'm swimming in deadlines. There's my social studies fair project, which I still haven't finished. There's my year-end book report for English class. There's the yearbook, which we still haven't started working on. And there's my article on gymnastics tryouts for the newspaper. That's as big a problem as any. And making matters worse, Bridget, the captain of the team, is not making things any easier.

Bridget O'Shaughnessy used to be BFF with Hilary Lang, but they began growing apart this year. So that's what Hilary told me. Bridget's into gymnastics, dance, theater -- anything that involves performing in front of a crowd, that's where she'll be.

So, anyway, on the second day of tryouts, I asked Bridget if I could sit in and watch again, and she tried to cop a Meredith-like attitude.

"You can't close down tryouts!" I said. "Who do you think you are?"

She didn't want to, but she let me sit down anyway. A few moments later, who walked in but the paper's regular sports reporter, Alison McCann. And she had Kristy in tow. I had to admit the closeness of their relationship over the last few weeks made me just a little bit uncomfortable. They were always touching each other, holding hands and stuff.

"Alison," I shouted as Bridget did her stretches, "this is your baby. You haven't been pulling your weight. If Megan finds out --"

"Megan's not going to find out, is she?"

I shook my head. Alison could be such a basket case sometimes. "So who's going to write the article, Alison -- me or you?"
She looked at me and shrugged. "Haley, why are you so bossy? You're not the editor."

"Maybe not, but I've been covering gymnastics tryouts, and as sports editor that's your job."

I could see Kristy peering at us off to the side. She and Alison had gotten quite close over the last few weeks.

"Okay, Haley, I tell you what," Alison said. "Give me your notes from the tryouts and I'll take it from here."

Believe it or not, I had mixed feelings about this. I wanted to prove that I belonged on the newspaper staff. And on the other hand, covering the tryouts was Alison's job, not mine. I had other things to do.

On top of all this, I have to find something to wear to the open house coming up. As sixth grade class president, I have to be there and make a presentation to the incoming students. And all this at a time when I don't even know if I'll be at Adams this fall.

My First Solo Assignment

The other day at school, I had to turn in a report on the President's speech to Congress. I had to give a bullet list of the main points of his speech. Which was something I didn't mind doing, except I couldn't figure out really what he was saying.
As I told you before, last fall, at the request of my English teacher, I joined the newspaper staff. With my duties as class president I've been very busy with that, so I kinda neglected the newspaper. Then my teacher gave me an assignment. I had to go cover the tryouts for the gymnastics team. Sports aren't my thing, so I groaned at this assignment.

When I got there, there was a girl with a purple jacket and a whole lot of red curls that came up to meet me. "Hi, I'm Bridget O'Shaughnessy," she said. "I'm the captain of the gymnastics team."
"Haley Hotchkiss from the Adams Gazette." She extended her hand, and seemed like she was going to squeeze my fingers off.

For an American Girl, Bridget was incredibly tall and thin. I couldn't believe it. While I scrambled to find a seat, Bridget led the girls through some exercises. I recognized a few familiar faces -- Mia St. Clair, Marisa Perez, and Natasha Ivanova among them -- and wondered openly why they would spend their time tumbling on a mat and doing somersaults and trying to walk on a plank only a few inches wide.

Bridget spent pretty much the entire hour screaming at Mia, saying she needed to lose weight and train harder.

When the session ended, I asked Mia openly why she was going through with it. "As a figure skater," she said, "I needed a sport to keep myself in shape during the summer months, and since gymnastics is mostly flexibility and strength training, it works." I have to admit, I admire her dedication. She is determined to make the 2014 Olympics. I have no doubt she'll get there.

After I'd finished my homework, I spent the rest of my evening trying to write this article. I knew the basics of newswriting, but actually doing it is quite another thing. My thoughts are, should I do this by talking about Bridget? Or do it by profiling the girls trying out for the gymnastics team? How does Megan do this? I wonder.

I've thought myself about becoming a traveling doll, but Vee says if it happens at all it won't be until the summer months and then it would be limited to maybe one or two locations every couple of weeks. And I absolutely would have to return home by time school starts up again. Sucks, but them's the rules.

Speaking of school, I haven't really decided where I'm going to school next fall. Believe it or not, returning to Adams has crossed my mind, a thought that was unthinkable just a few weeks ago. I'm class president and writing for the school paper and yearbook. Then there's the thought of leaving my friends. Yes, I said it. Leaving my friends. I never thought in a million years I'd have a best friend but I do. Even back home I had problems making friends because I'm smart.

I have, however, been considering a couple private schools -- Hanover Academy (an all-girl boarding school for grades 7-12) and Parkview Ladies' College in Virginia. But going to a private school means I'd have to make the 'new girl' adjustment all over again. And who knows how it's going to go this time around.

Busy, busy

Avery's latest blog entry got me to thinking -- about my own schedule. By all accounts I've got a pretty full life.

My school classes first -- I have math first period with Mr. Herbert. You'd think starting off the day with fractions and decimals and basic algebra would frighten me, but as tough as math is, I'm glad I get it out of the way early, it wakes up my brain. He's this old gray-haired guy with thick glasses who's fond of grading us on the highest curve possible. All things considered I'm lucky to be getting a B in his class.

2nd period is spelling, right next door. I'm actually pretty good in spelling, I must admit. My teacher is Ms. Joyce. She says what she means and means what she says.

Third period is reading with Mr. Glenn. He's a young guy, looks like he should still be in school himself, and half the girls have a crush on him.

Fourth period is English with Mrs. Baldwin. She's also in charge of the yearbook and the newspaper, so I see her a lot.

Lunch and recess follow, and fifth period is social studies/history. I have to admit it's my favorite class. And it's not just because I got extra credit in it for my successful campaign for the class presidency. It's because I feel like I learn so much in there.

Sixth period is science with Ms. Evans. She's a hard one to figure out. It doesn't help that science is among my least favorite subjects.

Seventh period is physical education with Ms. Riley. I try with this one, really I do.

Last period is study hall, but honors students have the option of taking French. I'm now taking French classes, and I have to say I'm enjoying them very much. Not that I can speak the language as well as Sophie or Avery, but oh well. D'accord.

After school there's newspaper staff, yearbook staff, student council, plus I tutor some days after school. Many days I don't get home until 7 or 8 at night, and then after that it's homework. I have a strict bedtime of 10 p.m, except on weekends.

Sometimes I wonder if I've given myself too many things to do. But the fact is, if I don't give myself things to do I get bored very easily.

So, today, after I was done tutoring I went over to the gym, where the dance committee was meeting. As of now the dance committee consists of myself, Hilary Lang, Mia St. Clair, and (unfortunately) Meredith Hopkins. And Meredith, as usual, showed up late. But this time she came with a new copycat, a girl named Marisa Perez, who was dressed head to toe exactly like her. "You're late," I said.

"So?" Meredith asked.

"We started talking about the dance ten minutes ago."

"What do I care?" asked Meredith. "I told you I wasn't going to your stupid little dance."

"Then why did you sign up for the dance committee?" I asked her.

"I didn't sign up for that."

I got out my signup sheets and showed her where her name appeared, just below Mia's. "I didn't write that."

"I don't care who wrote it," I said, "what matters is that you signed up, and I expect you to show up to all meetings on time."

Meredith was all in a huff, but she disappeared up the bleachers, with Marisa following her. I tried not to get upset about the whole thing, but every time I thought about it, I fought back tears. Come on, Haley, you're the class president, you can't let her get to you, I was telling myself. I was getting ready to wipe my eyes when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I looked back with some shock when I found it was Mia. She didn't say anything, but the fact that she did that let me know she had my back.

While that was happening, though, Meredith was forcing Hilary to give up her seat on the top bleacher so that she and Marisa could sit there. "This is my seat," she yelled, startling both Mia and me.

"I don't see anyone's name on it," Hilary said.

"You know every time we have a meeting I always sit on this top bleacher." Then I heard Marisa kind of correct Meredith, telling her Hilary's new. Hilary got up anyway, though, and Meredith and Marisa took their seats on the top bleachers. After the meeting I passed both Mia and Hilary invitations to Harriet's party.

School Newspaper?

Today my English teacher, Mrs. Baldwin, asked to see me. "Haley, I've looked at your essays, and I was wondering -- have you considered writing for the school newspaper?"
I had to admit, I'd never thought about it.

"I just thought, you know, Haley, you're a good writer. You have talent. I just think it's time to put your talent to some good use."

Harriet was waiting for me outside the door when I came out. "Are you going to do it?" she asked.

"I don't know," I whispered.

Just then Meredith walked by in her cheerleaders uniform. I'd forgotten there was a pep rally this afternoon for the football team. And I was reminded once again of why she made me sick.

When I walked into the library where the newspaper staff was meeting, a girl with stick-straight red hair -- hair even straighter than mine, if that's possible -- and wearing a yellow dress approached me. "Hi, I'm Megan Ryder," she said in a cheery voice. "I'm the editor of the newspaper. You must be Haley. Mrs. Baldwin said you were coming."

She did? I wondered. I'd never told Mrs. Baldwin I would come.

Megan shook my hand hard. She then introduced me to some of the other staff members. "Keisha Vance is our music editor. Ask her anything and everything about music and she'll tell you. Alison McCann is our sports guru. She's memorized all kinds of cool stats and plays three sports herself. Katarina Engel speaks three different languages and was even born in Germany. Whatever you want her to research, she'll find."

Alison called me over to sit at the table with her, Keisha, and Katarina. She was a scruffy looking sort, with long messy blond hair that she kept running her hands through. It didn't look like she ever washed or combed it.

Just then Mrs. Baldwin came in. She introduced herself as the faculty adviser. She then said there needed to be a back-to-school edition of the paper.

"Well, what can we put in it?" I wondered.

"Anything you want, as long as it has to do with all of us coming back to start a new school year."


For the next few minutes, we talked about ideas for the issue. We finally settled on interviewing students on what they thought of the beginning of the year. Question was, who were we going to interview?