lover boy & dollar store girl ♬ matt sturniolo

XXVII

CHAPTER XXVII
[ lisa frank pencils ]
♬

     there was only one time that jasmine could recall taking the first step and making the conscious decision to be honest about her feelings.
     there were plenty of times in the grand scheme of life where she had to make a decision, of course- what to choose for breakfast, what jacket to wear, what book to read next. minnie has done nothing but make choices. but when it comes to real people, and real feelings, she is a deserter. the last thing the girl wants to do is admit that she might not be the best person to get a point across, but she knows it's true; she flakes the second she feels something real, and waits for someone else to step up and put their heart out first. better to be the rejector than the rejectee.
     minnie was never the first to do anything. she let other kids answer questions she had the answers to, out of fear of getting it wrong. she approached every situation with skepticism, ever since she was a child, and she always let everybody else do all the talking. she never wanted the responsibility, except once.
     when she was in second grade, she had one good friend. before the girl knew she'd have hayley, lose hayley, and find her boys, the girl only had one person that she considered a real friend. she was a little blonde girl named lara. lara was minnie's deskmate, and she always had the best pencils- the sparkly, mechanical lisa frank kind. they were so colorful, and every girl in the second grade was jealous of lara for having them, even minnie. but she was lucky, because lara would share.

"i have blue, purple, and pink! which one do you want?"

she was always so nervous when she had to choose. minnie pointed to the blue one and said, "can i have this one?"

"of course, minnie!"

every day, lara brought the blue pencil to school, and minnie always picked it. blue was her favorite color.
one day, minnie forgot to give the pencil back to lara. the little girl found it wedged inside her notebook when she got home from school, and the guilt was overwhelming. minnie ran into her mother's home office and sobbed, hysterical over the idea of stealing from her only friend.

"honey, i'm sure lara won't mind!"

"b-b-but i took it! i f-feel so b-bad!" the little girl hiccuped.

"just bring it to school tomorrow and apologize, honey. i'm sure everything will be just fine." mrs. mcallister shushed the girl, hoisting the little one into her lap and squeezing her tight. her mother was somewhat heartwarmed by minnie's guilt- it was reassuring to know the girl had a good conscience.

the next day, minnie woke up a wreck. she clung to the pencil all morning and the entire bus ride to school, and when she finally got to class and saw lara, she descended into a frantic apology, to which the blonde couldn't have cared less about.

     "i'm so sorry, i accidentally took your pencil home with me! here, take it, it was a mistake!"

"it's okay, minnie! you can keep it, if you want!"

     "you're not mad at me?"

     "of course not! it's only a pencil."

     minnie had never felt such relief in her life. "you are the best friend ever, lara!"

     "so are you!"