First Friend

From Torg Adventure

Revision as of 18:02, 10 August 2011

• Third Person

“What did you do this summer, Jenny?” Ashley asked on the first day of first grade.

I was in a new school, and Ashley sat next to me. She wasn't at all shy, just talking to me right off the bat. I decided to be just as friendly. “I had a car accident. I slept for like the whole summer in the hospital.”

“Wow, that’s neat. Did you get ice cream? I got ice cream when I got ear tubes.”

“No, no ice cream. I had tubes in my arm that fed me. That was weird.”

“You wanna come over to my house tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but I have to ask Daddy first.”

Daddy said okay.

The next day after school I went home on Ashley's bus. Her mom made us a snack of juice and cookies. We went upstairs to play.

"Jenny, this is Mrs. Parsons. She likes her tea with milk and honey," Ashley said as she poured nothing from the tea pot into a tiny tea cup. Mrs. Parsons, the doll in the chair to Ashley's left, had a big head and shiny black hair. I picked up a small spoon and dipped it in the empty honey pot. I put the spoon into Mrs. Parson's cup, and Ashley poured imaginary milk from the creamer.

As I put the cup in front of Mrs. Parsons, I got cold and my neck prickled. The tea cup across from Ashley rattled. Ashley turned to the empty chair across from her and said, "Miss Violet, this is my friend, Jenny. The usual, Violet? Tea and sugar?" She poured from the tea pot. The prickling cold made me shiver a bit.

"No, you dumb girl!" The voice was clear and gruff -- a boy's voice. I sat still, too scared to move. I looked at the empty chair. The air wiggled a little, like the air above the stove when it’s red hot. The tea cup rattled again. Ashley spooned invisible sugar into Miss Violet's cup.

"Here you go, Violet," Ashley said.

"I'm not Violet. I'm Randy, you stupid girl!" I stared at the empty chair, sometimes seeing the wobbly air, sometimes not. I dug a finger into my ear, trying to get the voice out. Nobody was there to be saying these things. My tummy hurt, because he sounded so mad.

"How do you want your tea, Jenny?" Ashley asked.

I was frozen, looking at the empty chair. Finally my mouth opened and it just burst out. "Did you hear something, Ashley?" I said, ignoring the question. "When you talked to Randy, er, Violet?"

"Randy? Who's Randy? It's just us here." Ashley leaned toward me, cupping her hand next to her mouth. "Violet is in...vis...ble. She doesn't talk either," she whispered with a little meanness in her voice. I looked at her, not smiling at all. That's how they talk to stupid people on T.V.! She thought I was stupid!

"Wait! You called me Randy! You can hear me?" I could almost see a mouth floating above the empty chair. "Tell that stupid Ashley I hate tea parties. I hate tea. I want hot cocoa. Tell her!"

I didn't know what to do, so I just sat there. My hands were fists and they hurt. I remembered what the doctors said when I could barely move after waking up: 'Just relax your muscles and you'll feel better.' I relaxed and let my fists go. I felt a little better.

"Are you okay, Jenny? Nobody here but us. Have some tea." She poured me an cup and then put milk in from the pitcher. "Grammy says tea calms her nerves."

I was so mad at her for treating me like a baby. I know what I heard. I picked up the empty cup. My hands were afraid, so I was glad there was no tea in it. But my throat was sticky like peanut butter, and I really wanted some real tea. I almost dropped my cup when Randy spoke again.

"She never hears me. I tried to tell her."

I took a big breath, brought the tea up to my lips, and sipped loudly. Ashley giggled. Randy laughed. I couldn't help, but snicker into my tea. My tummy felt better. My hands weren't afraid any more.

"Can I have sugar, too? Nana always puts milk and sugar in her tea," I said, ignoring Randy. Whatever was going on, I wanted Ashley to like me, and talking about Nana made me feel better.

"Certainly. One spoon or two?"

"Two." She pretended to put sugar into my cup and stirred it. I sipped again, silently this time.

"Hey, you can hear me, so don't ignore me." He sounded mad. "Ashley does that, and I hate it! She can't hear me, so I guess it's okay. But you can. You have to talk to me. Nobody else can hear me. Tell Ashley that I hate tea parties. All she does is tea parties and play with dolls. She won't play ball or dig outside or nothing."

Randy just wanted to do something else. He wasn't being mean. I couldn't think what to do without Ashley thinking I was weird. So I just sipped tea for a minute. Then I got an idea.

"Ashley, I like throwing the ball with Daddy and helping him garden. What do you like to do?"

"I like making cookies with Mommy. The kitchen smells so yummy."

"I just wanna eat 'em." Randy smacked his lips. I giggled.

"Miss Violet has finished her tea," I said and picked up an unused pot from the table. "Here, have some hot cocoa. Ashley made it special for you."

"Hey, I'm still not Violet, but thanks for the cocoa." I could barely make out a hand lifting an almost visible cup. He seemed less angry.

"You're welcome, Violet. Thanks for playing with me."

Ashley leaned toward the large doll. "What's that, Mrs. Parsons? You want some cocoa, too? Okay. Jenny, would you pour for her?"

"Here, Mrs. Parsons. Careful, it's hot."

"Hey, you're all right, Jenny," Randy said. I could barely make out his outline. I smiled. "I like when someone hears me. You can even call me 'Violet' once in a while."

"Well, Miss Violet, I'm glad you like your hot cocoa. I like you, too." I turned toward Ashley and giggled. She grinned and sipped her tea.

"Jenny, can I come over to your house tomorrow?" Ashley asked.

"I'll ask Daddy when he comes to get me, but I'd like that."

"I'm tired of staying with Ashley. Can I go home with you tonight?" Randy said, sounding hopeful.

"Yes, Miss Violet. You can come over too. You should get out more. You're very pale." I saw him smile when I said 'yes'. I couldn't wait to talk to him with nobody around.

"Could you pass me and Mrs. Parsons some cookies, Jenny?" Randy laughed. His transparent arm pointed at an empty plate to one side. I saw his eyes and grinned.

Picking up the plate, I said, "Mrs. Parsons, have a cookie. You can have one, too, Violet." I offered the plate to our guests.

After the tea party, Daddy came to take me home. Ashley didn't notice Randy leaving with me, and Daddy didn't see him sitting in the back seat.

Ashley visited the next day. We played in the garden. Randy dug and raked and hoed and watered, but Ashley didn't like getting dirt under her fingernails. We stopped after we barely got started. When we played tea party, she noticed when Randy's cup rattled.

"When did Violet come over here!? You stole Violet!" Ashley shrieked. She stood up and pushed me, then started crying. "You're not my friend! You just wanted Violet for yourself!" Then she ran out of the house, bawling.

I didn't know what to say. In some ways, she was right. I did steal Randy sort of.

Daddy came up to find out what was wrong. "Where did Ashley go?"

"She doesn't want to be my friend anymore," was all I could say. I pouted on the floor.

He went outside.

"Hey, Jenny, it's okay. I'm still here. I like it here," Randy said. I felt a feather light touch on my shoulder, almost like a mosquito, but not itchy. Then I could feel Randy hugging me to comfort me. I let him and cried.

Ashley didn't speak to me again at school. Randy and I talked late into the night when I should have been asleep. He was my first friend.