The Way of the Journal

Franny's Sneak Peek

After art class, Belle had study hall in the library, so she went there. Franny had French class at that time, and they came down to the library. Franny hoped this would be a good time to peek into Belle's journal. She sat at the same table as Belle while her classmates were on the computers.

"Hi, Franny, you have study hall, too?" Belle asked.

"No, I have French this period, and we're doing an assignment, so that's why we're down here," Franny replied.

"Ah," Belle smiled. She turned to the French teacher and asked, "Madame, do you know where the bathroom is?"

"Oui, mademoiselle," the French teacher smiled. She led Belle to the bathroom.

None of Franny's classmates were looking, and since Belle was now gone, Franny decided to sneak a peek into the journal. Franny opened the front cover, and the inscription had "Private Property of Isabelle Gonzalez". There was also an old photo of a veteran who looked just like Belle. Franny was getting a bit suspicious. She flipped through the pages and found an entry that shocked her.

I can't believe it—today World War II is starting! I'm really nervous. When I learned about World War I, it was scary enough. I'm not sure I want to do this, but I can't let my country down. I don't want anyone to see me as a bad person.

That entry was written on September 1, 1939—the day World War II started. Franny wondered why Belle would write an entry like this. She flipped through the pages until she came near the end of the journal, where she found an entry that said:

September 2, 1945

Well, World War II is officially over. I can't believe it lasted for 8 years, and I especially can't believe 15 million soldiers died in the battle. I'm very lucky to be alive, but I feel so sorry for these soldiers and their families.

So much has changed throughout the years. Harry S. Truman became president in April, and my brother, Arturo, lost his life during the war a year ago. I miss him so much. He would've been proud of me, and I would've been proud of him—but even though he's gone, I'm still proud of him for staying with me to help serve the USA.

Franny started to get suspicious—this old journal was written in the 1930s, and it had Belle's name and picture inside. She quickly closed the journal, so nobody could catch her reading it.

"This is strange," Franny whispered to herself. "How can Belle even serve the country in World War II? She's only sixteen." That's when Franny came to a conclusion: Belle wasn't really who everybody thinks she is.

Belle and the French teacher came back. When Belle sat back down, she started reading her journal again. Franny squinted at her suspiciously. She really believed that Belle was not what she appeared to be.

During lunch, Belle was looking for a place to sit when Hugo showed up.

"Belle, do you want to sit with me and my friends?" Hugo asked.

"Gracias, Hugo," Belle smiled.

Hugo led Belle to his friends, who were very happy to let her sit with them. But before Hugo could sit down, Franny pulled him away desperately much to Belle's and the other boys' confusion.

Finally, Franny and Hugo were out of the cafeteria, and Hugo was really annoyed for pulling out like that without a warning.

"Hugo, I really need to talk to you," Franny declared.

"Well, you could've just told me," Hugo huffed.

"Sorry, but you have to stay away from Belle," Franny told him.

Hugo was shocked at what Franny had just said. "Are you out of your mind?" he glared. "Just because she's from Texas, it doesn't mean you have to tell me to stay away from her!"

"It's for your own protection," Franny declared. "Listen: I looked in Belle's journal, and..."

"You read her journal?" Hugo cut her off. "Did she give you permission? What if that's her private diary?"

"Listen to me—that's not the point," Franny said. "Belle is not who you think she is."

Hugo glared at her, annoyed that Franny is telling him why he needs to avoid Belle. He really thought Franny was jealous of Belle for being the descendant of a late veteran.

"Belle served the country in World War II, and she's really in her 70s or 80s!" Franny told Hugo. "After the war, she used a magic potion to keep herself young, so she wouldn't die the way those 15 million soldiers died in World War II! For years, she had to be adopted by other parents whom she tricked into believing she was really a teenager! She still does that to this day."

Hugo couldn't believe this. "I cannot believe what I am hearing!" she cried.

"I know, right? She's quite a dirty trickster," Franny declared.

"No, I mean I can't believe you're trying to spread some kind of rumor about the new girl!" Hugo chastised her.

"But it's not a rumor—it's true," Franny protested. "That journal was written from the 1930s to the mid 40s, and it has her name and picture inside it."

"Franny, you've been watching too much TV," Hugo frowned. "There is no way anybody can be frozen in time for around 70 years." He walked back to his table with Franny trying to stop him but no luck.

"What was all that about?" one guy asked.

"Franny is jealous of Belle," Hugo declared.

"Why?" Belle asked.

"Probably because you're beautiful, and you're not afraid to show your pride for your country," Hugo surmised.

"Come to think of it, when Mr. Maxwell told me about the Veterans Day party, he said I could do something special to honor my great-grandmother and great-granduncle—they served the country in World War II," Belle said.

"That could be the reason for Franny's jealousy," Hugo surmised.

After school, Victor drove to Ridgeway to pick up his daughter. Belle climbed into her father's car.

"So did you have a good day, Belle?" Victor asked.

"It was great, but I've really gotta watch my back," Belle declared. "I hear I have someone envying me."

"Oh, my," Victor frowned.

"But I hear there's a party on Veterans Day for the juniors because we're in the year of 2011," Belle continued. "Mr. Maxwell said I can do something special to honor Mamá Isa," Belle declared.

"Que bueno," Victor beamed.

At home, Belle went up to her room to do her homework when she saw a picture of her and Mamá Isa. She smiled at the picture and said, "Guess what, Mamá Isa? For the Veterans Day party at school, I'm going to do something very special in your honor—and Tio Arturo, too. I just need to know what to do for you."