Watching Addie one day, I noticed something she was doing. Since the beginning of the school year, Addie would be talking to someone at her locker and someone would walk behind her. At that moment, Addie would begin to talk about that person, seemingly behind their back. But not in the way you would think. For example, today:
Addie was talking to a girl named Colleen. They were just talking about random things and not too serious about any of them.
"It would be cool to be on the ballroom team," Addie agreed with Colleen. "You should go for it."
Colleen snorted. "Yeah, and break my leg in front of a boy? No, ma'am. Not for me."
Addie laughed and looked into the mirror in her locker. At that moment, a quiet boy named Hugo shuffled by. Addie started a new topic.
"Have you met Hugo?" Addie asked Colleen. Colleen shook her head. Addie gasped and now Hugo had slowed to a stop behind them, waiting to hear more of the crap he heard from so many other people.
"You should talk to him," Addie said. "That boy had got some serious computer skills. The teacher asked him to come fix his computer instead of calling down the computer teacher. I mean, how cool is that?! I wish I was good at something like that so the teachers would ask me for help."
Colleen shrugged. She hadn't seen Hugo behind them. "Maybe you could ask him for some pointers," she said. "I'm sure he would love to teach you."
"You think?" Addie said. "That would be awesome. I'm no good at computers. And he's so nice, I hope he wouldn't mind." Addie smiled and changed the topic. "Did you know that the school got these new lockers so..."
Hugo grinned, happier than I had ever seen him and skipped off to class. The rest of the day he seemed lighter.
I thought Addie was just lucky about with timing when talking about people then I noticed her mirror. She was always looking in it and I thought she was kind of vain. Until I realized she was looking for people behind her, coming down the hall.
It was a brilliant idea. People walked by her locker more often, hoping she would say something nice about them. Addie somehow knew nearly the whole school's name, from the freshmen, all the way to the seniors.
I decided to give it a go one morning before class. I walked slowly by and without missing a beat, Addie said to the girl next to her, "I wonder if Amy will go for the School Pageant next year. She's already gorgeous and she's so graceful. She would have it in the bag."
I couldn't help but smile. Me, beautiful? Hardly. But it felt good to hear someone say it. And graceful? I will admit that from years of tiptoeing around people, I've gotten pretty light footed.
During lunch, I was eating alone, as usual, when someone sat next to me. I looked over and saw it was Addie.
"Can I sit with you today?" she asked. I nodded and began to put away my food. She put a hand on the bag of pretzels. "Don't stop eating because I'm here." She looked so distressed, I complied. She smiled, relieved. She pulled out her own lunch. "I hope you don't mind the smell of Cool Ranch Doritos. It's what I got in my lunch today. She pulled them out and looked regretful.
"You're fine," I said quietly. I carefully put a pretzel in my mouth. My heart began to pound and I had to look away to swallow it.
"Do you have any book recommendations?" Addie asked. It was a good topic, as I spent most of my spare time in a book. I nodded. "I'm re-reading Lord of the Rings and just started a book called Walk Two Moons."
"Lord of the Rings is so good!" Addie said with a sigh. "And Walk Two Moons, is that good?"
"Pretty good so far. There are a couple different stories going on so you're always wanting to know what happens next in all of them."
Addie nodded and put a chip in her mouth. She accidentally caught her wavy hair and put in her mouth with it. She spluttered and pulled out the mess. "I'm so sorry!" she said, turning her head away a little. "I am so awkward around everyone. I have no idea what happened."
I laughed. "You're fine. I do the same thing."
She examined my hair. "At least your hair is all done up on top of your head today. You won't have to worry about eating it." She looked at my hair some more and I began to get self-conscious. What was she looking at? Was there food in my hair after all? I began to squirm.
"Did you get such pretty, dark hair from your mom or dad?" Addie asked. Oh...
"Dad. But he's bald now so I hope I don't go that way."
Addie giggled. "Actually it's your kids that will have to deal with the baldness. That trait comes from your mom's dad. At least for boys."
"My poor future kids," I said, laughing.
"Just out of curiosity," Addie said. "And I swear not in a stalker sense, where do you live?"
"Red Rock Flats."
"The neighborhood? I'm just down the road! We could hang out if you ever got the desire."
"That would be cool," I said. I inwardly cringed. I totally sounded like I hated hanging out with people. She probably not only thinks I'm a crybaby but rude too.
"You know you don't have to stick around me," I said. "I'm sorry you caught me at a bad moment. I really regret crying in front of people."
Addie's eyes looked concerned instantly. "No, don't. I really didn't think anything of it, just that my friends were sad and needed a hug."
Friend? "Okay, just don't feel like you have to hang out with me because you, I don't know, feel bad for me."
"But I can hang out with you if I genuinely like to be around you?"
What else could I say? "Sure."
YOU ARE READING
The Addie Alexander Challenge
Teen Fiction"When you meet someone, treat them as if they are going through the hardest time in their life and 80% of the time you'll be right." A boy struggling financially. A suicidal girl. A tough guy with family problems. A bullied boy. A misunderstood girl...