Blue Girl

What The Hell Kind of Name is Elsie Blue?

Elsie|Age 11
Summer

The Nelsons had moved out as soon as the school year had ended, which meant I had the entire summer before middle school all to myself. Nothing but me and my wonderful family and my big beautiful backyard. I spent the first three weeks of summer vacation doing nothing but reading in my backyard and walking to the library to return old books for new ones. I lazed around to my hearts content.

It was July first when I first met Liam. I had walked to the library to go get new books and when I came back, the for sale sign was gone, and our new neighbors were pulled up, unloading their entire life into the Nelson's old house. My heart sank at the sight of it all. I was terrified of having neighbors who had another horrible kid ruining the beautiful world that was in my backyard. I decide right then and there to be positive and get the jump on whoever my new neighbor would be and become friends with them before they even had the chance to dislike me. If I just stayed positive and showed them how fun I could be, there was no chance in hell that they wouldn't like me. I quickly rushed inside and set all of my books down and ran back to the front yard to go introduce myself.

"Hi there! I'm Elsie, I live next-door. It's really really nice to meet you." I said to the woman standing on the porch. She was beautiful. She was as tall as they come, nearing 6 feet and she had beautiful custard colored hair. She wore tortoiseshell glasses and was dressed in her moving day best, sweats and a tee. She looked kind, and my hope skyrocketed to a million when she spoke to me for the first time. "Well hello Miss Elsie, I'm Isabel Clark. It's nice to meet you as well, sweetie. I'm glad to see my Liam will have a sweet girl like you to be friends with."

Her Liam. So she did have kid after all. A son.
My excitement was at a million and one now. If Isabel Clark was this nice, surely Liam Clark was just as great if not better.

"Liam? Is he your son? May I invite him over to play?" I asked.

"I'm afraid Liam is in the backyard pouting, Miss Elsie. He's not as enthusiastic about the move as we are. Maybe you could cheer him up, sweet girl." She said with a wink. I liked Mrs. Isabel. She was funny. I could tell she was extremely lighthearted. I missed being around that. Once upon a time, my mama was that way too. I had a feeling that if mama wasn't so sad about daddy leaving us, she would be best friends with Mrs. Isabel.

I gave Mrs. Isabel a smile and made my way to the backyard. As I walked through the house and near the back door, I carefully thought of a plan to catch Liam's attention in a way he couldn't possibly forget. I couldn't think of anything that would stand out so I opted for the most simple gesture I could think of. When I reach the fence separating the two of our yards I rapped lightly with my knuckles and said, "Liam? Your mama sent me to meet you. You can have some of our apples if you'd like. My name is Elsie Blue Peterson, it's a pleasure to meet you." I held an apple over the gate with my hand and waited for a response. For a minute straight, there was nothing. No noise, no breathing, no talking. When it was clear that he had no interest in me or my apples, I quietly withdrew my hand and turned to walk away. Then I heard shuffling, followed by a big loud thump. Slowly, I turned around and faced Liam Clark for the very first time.

Liam was the most beautiful boy I had ever met in my life. He had custard colored hair like his mama, but it fell in a mop of messy curls at the top of his head. His features were sharp and angular even at his young age, but the most beautiful thing about Liam was his mesmerizing jade green eyes. They were a forest of emotions, and I found myself immediately lost in them. I let out a breath I had no idea I was holding in, and patiently waited for Liam to speak. With confident strides, he walked right up to me and snatched the apple from my hand. He appraised me with his eyes, took a bite, and said 9 words I'll never forget,

" What the hell kind of name is Elsie Blue?"

I was at a loss for words. I had never met someone so rude that they would make fun of your name the second they met you. not even Kimberly was that rude to me. I couldn't believe this boy. So what if Liam Clark didn't want to be my friend, I was about to give him a piece of my mind. I took a deep breath, and found my voice.

"Huh?! What do you mean? It's just my name! And anyways, it's Elizabeth to you now, only my friends get to call me Elsie and you aren't my friend! I could have a lot worse of a name you know. I was trying to be nice and welcome you to the neighborhood! Your mama was very nice but you are a mean boy!" I spat.

He looked at me then, with a sly smile and a glint in his eyes, like he saw right through me. Like I had said exactly what he wanted to hear.

"You know what Elsie Blue, I like you. I was testing you and you passed. Can't be friends with anyone who takes shit from others." He said.

This boy was crazy. He said bad words and was mean just to get a rise out of me? I sighed and gave him a cautious look. At least he wasn't Kimberly. There was no way this boy could possibly be as bad as Kimberly.

" you mean it Liam? You really like me? It's no take backs from here on out, if you wanna be my friend, you gotta say so."

"Sure Blue, I'll be your friend."

"It's Elsie Blue."

"I'm just gonna call you Blue, your best friend should have a special name for you."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Best friend?" I whispered.

"Sure, why not Blue?" He smiled.

After that day, we spent every single day together. There wasn't a moment we were apart. not that we wanted it that way anyways. we were inseparable. Where I went, he followed, and where he went, I followed. we were a united force at school and at home with his parents and my mama. I shared my precious apple tree with him and he shared with me what was the most precious to him, football. His family treated me like their own daughter. From 11 to 15 were the best of friends. It felt like it had always been that way.

I never wanted it to end.