The Evanesce

Sarah Murphy's Diary, August 21 2006

Dear Diary,

Today was my first day of the 6th grade at my new school, White Oak Academy, and I met my very best friend forever! I'm sure of it. Rosalind Swan! What a beautiful name! I wish that was my name, but I guess I'm just not as lucky, being stuck with a name like Sarah Ann Murphy. It's the most boring name! I bet everyone knows a Sarah, I couldn't be more plain if i tried.

My plain, straight, dull blonde hair. My plain face, nothing remarkable or memorable about it. My plain greyish-brown  eyes. My plain voice, I've been told I sound very monotone. My plain clothes from donation centers; mom says she doesn't have a lot of money right now.

Enough about me, I want to write about my day. I met Rosalind Swan during recess, when a boy I very quickly learned was annoying and self-centered, Miles Rivera, insisted we all see who can swing the highest. Boys vs girls.

Miles was lanky and looked weaker than all the girls combined, but he was light enough to get super high from the ground, easily higher than everyone, everyone except a girl with two black ponytails and purple flower-patterned overalls with a yellow t-shirt under it, and the boots! The boots were the purple ankle cut boots I try to get my mom to buy me every time we walk past them in the mall but she always says they're too expensive.

The girl plopped down on the seat of the swing and dragged her feet forward so that she was standing at a slant, and then pushed off, propelling herself from the mulch. It only took her a few swings to get to the height of Miles "unbeatable record" but she didn't slow down then. She kept building speed until finally the swing with her on it went up and over the top of the bars and it looked like she could've floated there for a moment, until she quickly came down on the other side.

The crowd that had gathered gasped and then all started a joyous conversation about how amazing that had been, some people even clapped. Miles said the girl had cheated because swinging over wasn't in the rules, that he made up. She was quick to tell him that even if she hadn't swung over the top, she still went higher than him. Defeated, he just sighed and thought of something to say, but I guess he decided against saying anything since people had started "oooing".

As everyone else began to take their turn, nobody dared the same trick as the girl with the black ponytails. Then it was my turn last. i knew I also wouldn't attempt to swing over the top, but I still wanted to try going as high as I could. This was my first impression on all my new classmates so I had to do well.

I sat down, and started the same as the girl with the black ponytails, pushing my feet off from the mulch. I hadn't had much experience on a swing before aside from when I'd occasionally sit on one and read, but I definitely haven't swung very high before. I got to a decent height, just about the average of everyone else so i decided to try to swing a little higher.

Then came the dull hot pain in my elbow and everyone's faces over mine. I hadn't even realized I had fallen. The girl with the black ponytails helped me up and said something about the lousy mulch that always seems to stick to your clothes. She acted like she hadn't even noticed I'd fallen.

Everyone else though did notice, and the laughter echoed all around me and engulfed me until someone screamed a high pitched shrill. I didn't realize I was the one screaming until I lost my breathe. The crowd had gone silent and Miles was the first to notice why I was screaming.

My left elbow was bent the opposite way of what it should be, and my skin was quickly turning shades of blue and purple, while at the same time my reverse-elbow was swelling by the second.

"Her arm! Oh my God her arm!" Was all he could say before he turned around and threw up in the mulch. The girl with the black ponytails looked down at my arm and the color had left her face.

"Let's go to the nurses office, okay?" she said sounding way to calm. "I didn't see you here last year, are you new?" she asked as we entered the building.

She was trying to distract me from the pain, she reminded me of my mom. I told her I just moved here from Nebraska, which she found very amusing. "I didn't know people actually lived there, you never hear about it. Here's the nurses office. do you want me to go in with you?"

So just like that, she stayed with me the rest of the day. At some point, while I was waiting on the ambulance, high on painkillers, she realized we hadn't introduced ourselves. She formally stuck her hand out and said "Rosalind Avery Swan." she smiled brightly and laughed. I shook her hand with my non-reverse elbow and she giggled, "I know it's a mouthful. I think my Mother hoped I'd be a model or a singer with a name like that."

"Or an actress!" I said laughing, "I think it's a wonderful name! It's much better than mine. I'm Sarah Ann Murphy. I think that may be the dullest name I've ever heard." I finished with a sigh.

"Oh! But Sarah is such a popular name! I don't see anything wrong with it, but if you don't like it, maybe I could call you by your initials, Sam!" She seemed proud by this creation but I quickly had to stop her.

"Sam? Oh just kill me now, or better yet, I'll get a dog and name him Max. We'll be the plainest pair around!" She laughed at that.

"Hey! I had a cat named Max!" with that we were in a fit of laughter by the time the ambulance got there, and Rosalind asked for permission to ride with me, which the nurse granted with a wave of her hand.

I'm writing this as I've just got home from the hospital with a plain white cast on, and I can't wait to go to school tomorrow to see my best friend!