Vacation

Chapter Four

The next day, Allison went to visit Patty again. She woke up, put on her outfit, ate breakfast at the hotel, and then walked across the street to the restaurant.

"Hello, Ally!" Patty called. "How about today we take a walk around the city?"

"Okay," Allison said, stuffing her hands in the back pockets of her jean shorts. She and Patty left the restaurant and started walking down the sidewalk. "Wait, don't you have to work?"

"Nah," Patty said. "I'm old. They let me do what I want."

Allison laughed. "Cool."

Patty looked at Allison. "Do you remember what I told you yesterday?"

"About believing in myself?" Allison said.

"Yes," Patty said. "We're going to start that today."

Allison felt nervous. What did Patty have in store for her?

"I want you to go up to that guy and tell him he's cute," Patty said, pointing to an old man sipping coffee at a table outside of a coffee shop.

"But--" Allison started.

"No buts," Patty said. "Do it."

"But that guy is old," Allison said. "And I'm too shy for that."

"Well, I think he's cute," Patty smiled. "And you need to stop thinking that you're too shy for things. Believe in yourself."

Allison sighed. Was she really going to go up to an old man and tell him that he was cute? That was so weird, especially for someone as shy as Allison. But she wanted to be able to believe in herself, and that meant she had to try.

"Okay," she finally said. "I'll do it."

"Yes!" Patty yelled. "That's what I like to hear!"

Allison went up to the old man. "Hi," she said.

"Hello," he said to Allison.

"Y-you're," Allison started, "you're, uh...cute."

The old man stared at her. "What?"

"Yeah," Allison said. "Okay, bye!" She walked back to Patty, her face blushing bright red.

Patty congratulated Allison. They started walking down the street some more.

"See, that wasn't so bad," Patty said.

"That was downright weird," Allison laughed.

Allison and Patty looped around so that they were at the restaurant again.

"I shouldn't take advantage of my old age anymore," Patty said. "I have to actually work now. It's almost lunch time, and that's when the restaurant gets busy."

"Okay," Allison said. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"You got it!" Patty yelled as she went inside.

Allison went back to the hotel. As she was walking down the hallway to her room, she saw Josh.

"Hey, Allison," he said.

"Hi," Allison said shyly. Ugh. Why do I always have to sound so awkward?

"You look really pretty today," Josh said before going into his room. Allison looked down at her outfit. It wasn't that great. The last time she had worn it to school, someone told her that it made her look fat. Her hair was even worse. She had it in beach waves, but she didn't think she could pull that look off.

If I'm so ugly, why would he say that I looked pretty? This must be a prank. Cute boys telling me I look pretty when I'm really just a potato, Allison thought. Everyone has always called her ugly, so she believed it.

She couldn't decide if Josh was really being nice to her or if this was all some sort of prank.

I don't realize how great I really am, Allison thought, thinking about what Patty told her about believing in herself. Maybe I should stop believing what the bullies say about me and just believe what I think about myself.

Allison sighed. It's hard to believe what you think about yourself when countless other people tell you the opposite.

She didn't know what to believe. For years, the people in her school had called her worthless, stupid, ugly, shy...

But the people in Florida didn't say those things. Instead, they called her nice and pretty. And deep down, Allison knew she wasn't what the people in her school called her, and more like the things that Josh and Patty had called her.

So why couldn't she truly believe it herself?

She didn't have the answers quite yet, but she was determined to find them. After talking to Patty, and meeting Josh, she desperately wanted to learn how to believe in herself, and not let the people in her school change her opinion about herself.

So Allison started with the thing Patty had shown her today--the fact that she wasn't as shy as the bullies in her school made her feel like she was. I am not shy. I am not shy. Today, I went up to an old man and told him he was cute. That--as awkward and weird as that was--shows that I am not shy.

Allison took a deep breath. I am not shy. And no matter what anyone says, I believe that I am not shy. I am also not ugly. A cute boy told me that I looked pretty. I am not ugly, and I am not shy.

Slowly, but surely, she was finally beginning to believe in herself.