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.I watched her walk away.“Jesus,” I said to myself.After last period, I find Gabe and we walk through the heat toward the parking lot.That’s when I see two girls standing in the loading area.There’s something about them, they stand out for some reason.We get closer.One of them is bizarrely skinny and dressed in this strange tube top thing.I say to Gabe, “Who is that?” Gabe doesn’t know.But as we get closer, I see who it is.It’s Tasha.The eighth grader from Sun River.In short shorts and an eighties tube top thing that’s supposed to look sexy but looks ridiculous on her because she’s fourteen and has no body…“Hey, James!” she says, smiling like, Isn’t this the funniest thing ever? She cocks her hip to the side.She does this like she’s been practicing it all day in the mirror.“Hey,” I manage to say.Gabe looks worried.“Who is that?” he whispers.“A girl I met on spring vacation.”“It took me a while to find you,” says Tasha.She and her friend are both chewing gum.“Wow,” I say.“This is my friend Fiona,” she says.“We got out of school early and we were bored so we decided to come find you.”“Wow,” I say again.She shields the sun from her eyes.“What’s up?” she says.“Not much.”She sees then that I’m not happy to see her, that I’m not overjoyed that she is here to play the sex kitten with me.“So what are you guys doing?” she says, not giving up.“Uh…,” I say.“We’re just…Gabe and I…we were heading downtown—”“What for?” she says.“We have to…,” I say, trying to think of a likely story.“Go down to the skateboard store…Gabe has to return…”Tasha’s smile falters.Fiona frowns.The two of them deflate right in front of us.They were hot babes, rock stars, sex kittens, as we walked up.Now they are embarrassed eighth graders in ridiculous clothing.“James?” I hear someone say behind me.I know who it is before I turn around.It’s Sadie.I turn.She’s coming up behind us.“Hey,” she says.Then she sees who we’re talking to.She stops.“Oh,” she says.“Who’s this?”“This is…uh…,” I say.“Tasha,” says Tasha.“Who are you?”“I’m Sadie.” She looks at Tasha.I can see her brain working.“She’s a friend of my—” I start to say.“No, no, that’s okay,” Sadie says, waving her hand.“I just wanted to talk…before you left…”I stare at Sadie for a moment.“But we can talk later,” she says.She turns and strides away.“Sadie, wait.”“No,” she says, walking quickly and not turning around.“That’s okay, I’ll call you later.”Fiona, meanwhile, is twirling her hair on her finger.“Awwwk-ward,” she says.James HoffJunior AP EnglishMr.CogweillerASSIGNMENT: four-page essay on natureON NATUREPeople think of nature as something separate from us.Nature is a park, or someplace you go on vacation.But nature is all around us.It is part of us.It can help us with our problems.People don’t think that but it’s true.TREESTrees are like parents.They look down on you with a wry smile.They know how it is.Not that they’re gonna cut you any slack.You still gotta do the right thing.But they’re always there.No matter how bad you mess up.You can always sit beneath a tree, nurse your wounds, try to do better next time.RIVERSRivers are like a talkative friend.Streams.Creeks.They babble.They make pleasing sounds.They soothe the soul.They chatter happily about nothing, allowing you to think about other things in a calming environment.OCEANSOceans are more imposing.They do not sugarcoat the truth.They represent all of life, not just the fun parts.They are not terribly interested in you in particular.You are just one of many.You have a problem? So does everybody.Oceans provide humility.THE SKYA clear sky will swallow your problems.It will empty your brain if you let it.Gray skies are like a bad mood, dismal and heavy on your soul.The night sky is endless, full of possibilities, full of dreams you had once and forgot about.Look up.Those dreams are still there.You can always go back to them.GRASSMountain grass, wild grass, grass along a trail.A place with grass is a good place to sit and think about things.Rabbits can be found in such places.Small birds.Little black bugs.Wild grass is light, airy, soft.Try not to hurt it.Try not to disturb it.Let it remind you how fragile things are [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]