Meng Jia is Not the Color PINK

Chapter Five

"So where's your boyfriend?" Jimmy comes up to my desk on Wednesday morning and teases me. "How come he hasn't been in school for three days? Did he get sick of you?"
"Leave her alone," Jackson tells him. "You're being so mean. Mr. Cohen told you that Taecyeon and his mother and brother flew to see Mr. Daniels and to look for a new house."

I chew on a strand of my hair. "They got back real late last night. It was a foggy or something and they couldn't land right away and then they missed a connection or something and they didn't get in until three in the morning. That's what Mrs. Daniels told my mom when we called her this morning. She said that they were going to try to get some sleep."
"Wow. That sounds SO exciting," Jackson says. "Their trip, I mean, not the going-to-sleep part."
"Yea. Exciting," I say, in what my mother calls "Little Ms. Jia's sarcastic voice." Taecyeon got to go on a REAL plane before I did. Life sure isn't fair some days . . .some years.

Mr. Cohen flicks the lights off and on. "Continue working on your China project."

I reach into the desk and pull out half of a peanut butter and M&M sandwich. I made it one day when my mother overslept and asked me to make my own lunch. When I look at the sandwich, I think about the joke that Taecyeon told me before he went away . . .about the person so dumb that he got fired from his job at the M&M factory for throwing away every piece of candy with a "W" on it.

I find the scrapbook under an overdue library book. Looking through it, I realize that there's a chance that Taecyeon won't even be here to finish it. Soon I may even be sending postcards to him. I try working on the scrapbook, but it's no use. I can't. I'm too sad.

When I grow up and remember third grade, I'm going to immediately try to forget it. This is definitely the worst year of my life . . .the very, very, very, very worst. I thought it couldn't get worse when my parents started fighting more than usual. I thought it couldn't get worse when my parents sat down with me at the kitchen table and told me that they were going to get a divorce.

For a long time after that, I felt sick to my stomach every time I sat down at that table. I thought the year couldn't get any more worse when my father told me that his company was moving him to France for at least a year. Tings were just getting a little bit better and then I found out that Taecyeon's father got a great new job.

Taecyeon and I begged him not to take it. Taecyeon even offered to give Mr. Daniels part of mine. But no, he took the job. He said that it was an offer he couldn't refuse, that it was a great promotion with lots more money. I think that one of the worst days of my life was when the real estate lady put the FOR SALE sign on the Danielses' lawn.

Nut then things got better, because months went by and no one bought it. I did feel a little guilty being so happy that the house wasn't sold but, to be absolutely honest, not all that guilty. And now it's happened. Mrs. Bradley saw the house and wanted it. Then Mr. Bradley saw it and he wanted it, too, and they bought it.

I was positive that the day two weeks ago when we saw the SOLD sticker on the sign was the worst day of my life. But that was only the beginning of worst days. Taecyeon and his mom have been so busy they haven't even had much time for me. Even though I still go over there, Mrs. Daniels is always packing. And Taecyeon will play, but he won't talk about how they really are leaving.

I feel so sad just thinking about Taecyeon leaving and try to think of something good about his going. (My mom always tells me to try to find at least one good thing in even a bad time.) It takes a long while to think of one good thing, and then it comes to me.

When Taecyeon leaves, I can store some of my stuff in his desk. That way I won't have to clean up my desk. As messy as I, Meng Jia, am, I would clean up my desk every day if only Taecyeon could stay.

I try to think of other reasons to be glad that Taecyeon is leaving, and I can't think of one. Taecyeon's being gone for the entire weekend plus two school days let me see what it's going to be like when he really does leave. And I really don't like what I'm seeing . . .or what I'm feeling.

I, Meng Jia, am definitely one very unhappy human being. :(