Chapter Five Eighth Grade
Dear Collin,
You are the only boy I know that admits that you cry. My mom says that boys who know how to show their emotions are the best kind.
Did you go bowling with Melissa? Do you think she likes you? I’ve only been bowling two times, and the last time was really terrible because my dad got upset about not doing very well and made a big scene. It was so embarrassing.
I feel a little bad about being so mean to Michael Dunford, but I just wanted to be clear that I’m not interested in him. On the last day of school he gave me a heart necklace. I didn’t throw it away, but I didn’t say thank you either.
You’re right, I would rather be able to travel to the future because I think it would be so exciting to see the new inventions and advances we’ve made, like self-driving cars and synthetic organs and interpreters that can let animals talk to humans.
It would be so cool to be a bird because I have all these amazing dreams about flying, but I think I would rather be a fish.
There is so much to see and explore in the ocean, and I could swim with dolphins and whales and turtles.
Plus, there’s something so magical about being underwater and seeing a whole different world. It’s like being on another planet.
Would you rather be super strong or super fast?
Sincerely,
Glory
July 26, 2006
Dear Glory,
I did go bowling with Melissa a couple weeks ago. It was kind of awkward. We did fine talking and stuff for the first 10 minutes, but then there was nothing left to talk about. And she kept giving me the stink eye every time I got a strike. I don’t think I like her anymore.
I liked the way you talked about being underwater. Have you been scuba diving or something? The only thing I feel when I’m underwater is burning in my nose.
I would love to be super strong, because then I could beat my brothers every time they wrestled with me, but I think I would rather be super fast. That way I could run around the world and see all these cool places in a day, like the Eiffel Tower or the Great Wall of China or the pyramids.
I could also rob banks and not get caught, but that would make my mom cry, and she already cries enough about my brother.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
How has your summer been? Are you going to space camp again? At the beginning of the summer I was selling water and candy at Navy Pier again, but then the police came and told me I had to stop. So then I went and sold stuff by the museum.
Would you rather have an itch that won’t go away or a nose that won’t stop running?
Bye,
Collin
September 8, 2006
Dear Collin,
If I could go anywhere in the world I would go to Cape Canaveral to watch a rocket launch.
They say you can feel the vibrations when it takes off.
Or I would go to New Zealand. That would be cool too.
I haven’t been scuba diving, but I went snorkeling in Hawaii and it was amazing to see all the fish and turtles and the colors of the reef.
I didn’t go to space camp because I’m too old to go now. I thought about lying on the registration form, but they know my birthday because they have it on file from the last couple summers.
Stupid Michael Dunford joined science club even though he’s not into science at all. It’s so annoying. But I just spend most of my time there talking to Allie and I ignore him, so it’s fine. How is school going for you? Are you still doing music stuff?
Would you rather live in the world of Harry Potter or the world of Lord of the Rings?
Sincerely,
Glory
November 14, 2006
Dear Collin,
Why haven’t you written me back? Did you not get my last letter? Did you move or something? I like getting letters from you, it makes me feel like I have an imaginary friend that’s not imaginary.
For Thanksgiving I’m going with my parents to Colorado where my uncle lives. I think it will be good because it’s been a long time since all three of us have gone on vacation together.
I tried out for our school play with my friend Dianna. She made it, but I didn’t. I guess I’m not very good at acting, which is weird, because I’m great at pretending. But it’s okay, I didn’t want to spend all that time doing the rehearsals.
Anyway, I hope you’re doing okay. Write me back.
Sincerely,
Glory
December 29, 2006
Dear Glory,
I’m sorry I didn’t write you back. The truth is, I’ve been having a terrible year, and I didn’t want to tell you about it.
But my dad says that it’s healthy to talk to people about your problems, so here it is.
For eighth grade we all get to chose an elective, and I chose choir, because I like to sing.
Well, I’m the only boy in there, and everyone’s been making fun of me.
I wasn’t able to get out of the class, and it’s been awful.
I thought everybody would stop bothering me about it after the first couple weeks, but it’s only gotten worse.
Even all the girls in choir were bullying me about it until Mrs. Henderson told them to stop.
I don’t have any friends, except for you, I guess, but you’re hundreds of miles away and that doesn’t help when people are throwing food at me during lunch.
I’ve been spending a lot of time on the roof.
It’s been nice to be away from all of it during winter break, but I really don’t want to go back to school.
I even asked my mom if I could transfer to a different school or just do homeschool, but she just smiled and said I was having a valuable experience. Sometimes parents can be so annoying.
Anyway, I hope your Thanksgiving trip was good. I like getting letters from you too.
Bye,
Colin
January 14, 2007
Dear Collin,
I’m sorry that you're having such a terrible time at school. I don’t think it’s right to make fun of people for things that they’re interested in.
There’s this guy in one of my classes that likes to tap dance, but nobody bothers him about it.
Maybe it’s because he’s taller and stronger than almost everybody else.
Maybe you should start working out. If I was at your school I would tell them all that their brain cells are rusted.
There are a few boys that do choir at my school and they’re all pretty weird. Except for Richie Dierden. I bet you’re like Richie.
What about your janitor friend? I know he can’t be at school with you, but he might be someone that you could talk to. And are your siblings helping you out, or are they just making fun of you too?
I hope things get better. I would hate it if people threw food at me.
Sincerely,
Glory
February 21, 2007
Dear Glory,
People at school are still bullying me, but I’m trying to ignore them.
We have a choir concert at the end of the year, and I’m really not looking forward to it.
I liked your idea about working out, so my brother Patrick has been letting me borrow his dumbbells.
He's actually been really nice to me for the past few months, which is a big change. He’s started working at a pizza place after school so he can save up money to buy a car.
He brings food home from work a lot, so we’ve been eating a ton of pizza.
At first it was awesome, but now it kind of makes me sick.
Is there any food you think you could eat forever and never get sick of? Maybe toast. Toast would be alright.
The janitor, Rick, doesn’t work at our apartments anymore. He decided to marry his girlfriend, so he told me he had to go get a better job so he could take care of his new family. He showed me pictures of his baby girl. She’s really adorable. It would be so weird to have a baby.
Thanks for not making fun of me for being the only guy in choir. I wish more people here were like you.
Bye,
Collin
April 19, 2007
Dear Collin,
I would probably get sick of pizza if I ate it all the time too. But I think I could eat Corn Chex cereal forever. I never get tired of eating that.
I’m glad Rick decided to take responsibility and marry his girlfriend. But I agree, having a baby would be super weird. I’m definitely not going to have any babies until I’m really old. Like, at least 23.
I’ve been doing a lot of stuff with the girls from the volleyball team lately.
We have a lot of swim parties and go to movies, it’s been really fun.
A couple weeks ago we went to the mall and started dancing by the fountains in front of the entrance.
People were looking at us like we were crazy.
We only did it for a couple minutes, and then we ran away and couldn’t stop laughing about it for hours.
I go over to my friend Allie’s house a lot too to work on science projects or just to hang out.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
Sincerely,
Glory
P.S. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m sending you a shirt that I found on . I had some extra allowance, and when I saw it, I thought of you. It’ll probably get there in a few days.
May 17, 2007
Dear Glory,
Thanks so much for the shirt, I love it!
But I think if I wore something that says: “Real Men Sing in Choirs” at school, people would probably make fun of me even more.
But it made me laugh, and I’ll definitely wear it for pajamas.
Actually, things aren’t so bad anymore. We had the choir concert, and one of the songs we did was Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson.
I sang the solo while all the girls sang back up.
Everyone thought it was pretty cool, so they’re not making fun of me anymore.
I guess it turned out alright, but I’m still never going to do choir again.
I would have loved to see you and your friends dancing in front of the mall. I love when random things like that happen. It actually sounds like a flash mob. I think it would be fun to be in one of those.
I haven’t really done many crazy things.
My mom always says that I’m her calmest child.
She means it as a compliment, but to me it just makes it sound like I’m boring.
I’ve always wanted to jump off a bridge into the Chicago River, so maybe one day I’ll do that and that will be the craziest thing I’ve ever done.
Are you going on any vacations this summer? You should come to Chicago sometime.
Bye,
Collin