Rubber Bands

September 10, 2000

Dear Diary,

Hello! I found you this afternoon when I was cleaning out my room. I'll start by introducing myself... My name is Ariel Starling, I'm 16 years old (17 on Nov. 14!), I live in Manhattan, and tomorrow I'm going to be a junior at Bannon High School.

Exciting, right? I already have an outfit picked out and everything... But I'm getting ahead of myself. I live with my mom, my dad, and my little brother Daniel. I get that he's only 8, but he's not exactly the best roommate. Why? It's easier to just show you.

This morning, he decided that he'd hog the computer for like an hour, so I couldn't even send my friend a good morning message! By the time he got off, she was already offline. And then at lunch, I was eating a burger because my mom had made them for everyone. And before I'd even finished I'd called dibs on the last burger, right? But then Daniel decided he wanted to eat it! I super politely asked him not to, but he did anyway!

But I digress. Let's see... What else do you need to know? Oh, yeah! Why am I writing this? Well, I play the keyboard. You know, like a piano but smaller and it can make more sounds. I know that one day, I'm gonna get super famous because of my keyboard playing, and I want to leave something for people to read when I'm dead. Or when I just don't have enough time to answer five-hundred questions, because I'm too busy being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Of course, those plans could change. If something really embarrassing happens to me and I just have to write it down somewhere, there is no way the Dead People Paparazzi are gonna get their hands on that!

Okay, last thing, who is this friend that I mentioned? Her name is Alexis (but everyone calls her Alex) Steele. She's going to be a junior tomorrow too, and she's the best person ever ever ever. She's so nice and energetic and whenever I'm around her all I feel is happy. We have this thing together where we trade rubber bands. I have, I think 150-175 now? She should have the same amount. I have all of the warm tones plus black, and she has all of the cool tones plus white. Whenever either of us gets a new pack of rubber bands, we sort out the cool and warm tones and trade them. It's so cool! It's our own personal thing that no one else is involved with or even knows about. It's usually the highlight of my week, when Alex gives me rubber bands or when I give them to her. It's so great. She's awesome.

Well... That's all I can think to talk about. And my mom just called me down for dinner... so I have to go. Goodbye, Diary! Until tomorrow (my first day as a junior in high school)!