Hi. My name is Jessica. I’m 10. I am not like the popular girls. I’m not a Girl Scout, I don’t have pretty clothes, and I don’t do gymnastics so that leaves about 2 girls in my grade that will talk to me. I live in a little town called riverside. It’s nice, minus the not having very many friends at my school.  There’s this boy named Brian that calls me bald eagle because I have a scar on the top of my head. Right in the middle of my scalp. A big bald spot from when I had cradle cap as a baby. My mom said I scratched it so much I made it scar so no hair ever grew there. I tell people that I fell down the stairs and my hair got stuck on bubble gum and it ripped it out and then no hair ever grew back.

I do have friends of course. But they are older and they all live on my street or a few streets over. They’re so cool and they actually like me so it makes school bearable. My friend Katie has an older sister who leaves her make up out so we do make overs. Our friend Drew comes over and we dress him up in neon mini skirts and belly shirts and watch La Bamba and Beaches and eat huge bowls of fruity pebbles.

Then we stuff our fake bras with tube socks and walk down to the penny candy store with our scrunchie socks layered. Katie has the coolest clothes. After that we steal money from Drew’s grandmother and some Capri cigarettes and smoke them on the way to McDonald’s to split a 20 piece McNugget and a large fries. I don’t actually smoke yet. I just hold it in my mouth and blow it out like I’m cool. I don’t actually inhale till a few years later.

Drew can drive too. But only in his driveway, so we pump new kids on the block, Whitney, Janet and Mariah and cruise up and down his driveway for hours. I have a big pin of Donnie that I put on my backpack. Katie can have Joe, Donnie is for me. My friend Kristen, who’s actually my age, loves Danny.

One day Cathy shows up at Drew’s house claiming that mayo is a great conditioner so we take and entire tub of miracle whip and slather it in on her head. She has died her hair one to many times and her hair is crispy. After the great Miracle whip conditioning, I can never eat it again and her hair is greasy for a month.

My next door neighbor Cory explores the woods with me. Her older brother is in college and we go visit him at Cornell University in upstate New York.  It’s super cool.  He goes to a party and leaves us to watch movies and hang out in his dorm. I feel so grown up as we blast Kris Kross and eat ice cream all night. Cory also tells me about the woman in the woods with marble size holes in her face that watches children from her window and then sneaks out at night and watches you through your windows. I am so scared my mom forbids Cory from coming over for a few weeks. But Cory lives next door so, sure.

10 year old me loves reading. I love exploring the woods (when not being followed by a woman with holes in her face) and I looove singing. One day I am going to sing and be famous. One day I’ll write poetry and books and live in a House looking over the ocean.

I’m in fifth grade and none of the girls in school ever really talk to me but I know I am awesome. They take turns showing off their cool clothes and doing splits. I can’t do splits and all my clothes are hand me downs from my two older brothers. I’m not as skinny as the other girls and I am not as pretty. But I have awesome friends and some crazy stories and that’s good enough for me!

Gym class is awful because we have to change and I feel like everyone is looking at me. I try so hard to hide in the corner but I can hear the girls whispering in the corner. I get so mad and I take my water bottle and spray it in all their lockers right before break so when they come back everyone has moldy, stinky clothes.  Everyone except a few people. Me and the two people that talk to me. I confess and get after school detention. I have to help the art teacher clean the art room. She has holes in her face but she’s not scary and she gives me all the art supplies that they are going to replace for the next year. She gives me books and clay and paper and tells me that she likes me and I can help her anytime. I spend the first week of summer vacation going to the school helping her clean out her art room just so I can spend time with her. She’s fascinating and artsy and awesome.

Next year I go to middle school and decide that I will talk to all the new people and make some friends my age. And I do. And I am still friends with some of them. I am also still friends with some of those cool crazy fun older kids that lived around me.