Once Upon a Time: True Stories of an Aspiring Writer

6: Excerpts from a Fourth Grade Notebook

FOURTH GRADE WAS a time of new horizons.

To borrow a term from a recent highly enjoyable middle grade graphic novel, I was what you might call "between friends." Not that I didn't have anyone to talk to. I met Haley in second grade. At first, I was annoyed at her always wanting to sit by me at circle time, but I got over this rather stupid pet peeve.

We really had each other's back after a sleepover one weekend. Sara was hosting, and at some parts of the day, she was very bossy. We were only allowed to play on "our" parts of the swingset. For me it was the rock gym; for Haley, it was the swings. Finally, it was time for tag. "And we're going to play it MY way," Sara said, as the rest of the group trailed her.  Not wanting to partake, we sat on the driveway and talked together. 

Soon, we had a good time for the next two years with making each other laugh, Haley by coloring her nails with markers in art class, and by playing UNO at indoor recess. We quickly had become UNO experts. There were so many rules you could change. If you didn't have a card, did you draw one or keep drawing until you had one that worked? If you placed down a card identical to the one facing up, did you have to yell "Copycat?" before the previous player? What was the penalty for forgetting to say UNO? 

These games became a recess staple, as did jump roping. Haley became friends with another girl named Willa, and we'd often hang out together. This led us to jump roping. I wasn't very good, but eventually I found my rhythm as long as the rope was turning a little slower. But no matter what, you were promised a good time with Haley.

 But she also left our school after third grade, leaving me to my own devices. At home, I got to know some students I didn't always talk to in class. May and I loved playing with Micro-Pets, tiny electronic animals that could respond to your voice or clapping patterns. So did the entire class. Kids would bring in their Micro-Pets and play with them as a group---some even got married. 

These instances inspired the Micro-Pet games between Kelly and I at home. We would marry off our own Micro-Pets, but just as exciting were the divorce ceremonies we staged. Pets would "act up" all the time, particularly a blue pony named Rio, and we'd have to take care of those broken relationships. We also made a stage from shoeboxes and had them perform.  

The problem was, I still felt awkward about including myself in those situations at school. After realized I had a Micro-Pet Dalmatian at home, in my basement, I ran to dig it out. At school the next day, I ran to my locker at snack time to dig him out, as everyone else grabbed theirs. But I couldn't bring myself to join in. They already had their own established Micro-Pet universe, and asking to join in was...weird. Soon after, though, I think Micro-Pets were made to stay in lockers.

Over the next two years, I had other friends. Mari and I had playdates as well, playing board games with her little sister like Pretty Pretty Princess and Great States. We had a great time together, even when our third-grade class spent the end of the day telling jokes and she kept borrowing my joke about a woman trading her sister for a dog. (I didn't mind. I liked that she felt it was worth telling!) 

Kelsey and I accidentally invented a game called Monster Under the Bed when she was convinced she heard a noise coming from the closet. I rolled my eyes. We were big second graders who knew better. Then, we both heard it: a sharp, raspy voice I couldn't quite make out. 

Something was definitely in the closet! 

She jumped on the bed, and I followed. We had a real mystery on our hands! Looking through various forms of slime and variations of Play-Doh in her room, we determined the kinds of alien substances he might have left behind. We also eventually discovered that the culprit was a stuffed E.T. that she didn't know could talk.