Moffitt - Girls in Charge

Contents

One

Valentines Day should be outlawed. Really. I was just getting used to being Forrests former fake girlfriend, when it popped up on the calendar like a dentist appointment. The Valentines Day carnation sale at my school didnt help one bit. This annual fund-raiser, organized by the seventh-graders, helped pay for the eighth-grade spring trip. The flower sale involved buckets of white, pink, and red carnations that could be purchased and delivered to the person of your choice. With a note.

For just a dollar, you could remind your best friend that you adore her, tell your track coach that shes awesome, or toss a romantic volley at someone you think is super-cute, funny, and wonderful.

But dont worryI did not send Forrest a red carnation. Or a pink one or a white one. I sent him nothing, did nothing of any sort to mark this day of chubby cherubs, candy hearts, and love.

But I did receive a carnationa pink onefrom someone who decided not to send any note. Or maybe the note fell off. But either way, at lunch on Valentines Day, my biggest fear was relieved when I received my note-less carnation. You dont want people thinking no one cares enough to send you at least one.

Thats kind of why I sent a pink carnation to Mimi Caritas, Clems sixth-grade sister. Clem is a real-deal teen model and Mimi is just an ordinary girl whos a little afraid to grow up. Shes actually an ordinary girl who until a few months ago hated the PLS and tried to put us out of business. But its all been worked out and I feel like she needs a big sister whos a little nicer and a little less stunningly beautiful.

I held my breath when the vice president of the seventh-grade class approached our cafeteria table. For a long moment, the always friendly Shannon Andersen stood there, studying her order sheet, with that white plastic bucket of tall carnations sloshing in water.

Then she reached into her bucket and pulled out a small bunch for Kateone from me, of course. Shannon reached back in and pulled out a whole bouquet for Piper. Seriously, a committee of boys seems to pursue her at all times. Then it was my turn. I received threea white one from my friend Bet, a white one from Kate and Piper, and the anonymous pink one.

Wheres the card? I asked Shannon.

All the other carnations had small, pink construction paper cards attached to them by a loop of red yarn.

No clue, she said.

I stopped her before she moved on to the next table.

But isnt there some kind of master list or something? I asked.

Then I grabbed the edge of her bucket and peered in to see if there were any notes left floating in there.

Um, were not that organized, Shannon said, smiling at me but also pulling back on her bucket. You should see the Art room where were putting all these deliveries together.

I let her go and started to run through all the possible explanations for the pink carnation I was holding. More than likely it was Jake Austin, who I knew liked me. Theres nothing wrong with Jake. I even danced with him at the Backward Dance. But there was also nothing particularly right about Jake. He was a just a nice guya friendwho didnt give me butterflies in my stomach.

My stomach lurched, however, at the thought that Forrests younger brother, Trevor, might have sent the carnation. After I left a note for Forrest that was accidentally intercepted by his sixth-grade brother, Trevor still winks at me in the hallway. When youre in eighth grade, on your way to high school, you do not want to be known as the girl who crushes on a sixth-grade boy. Trevor never quite got the message and gives me the winky-wink every time we cross paths.

For all my questions about this pink flower, one thing seemed sure: Forrest had nothing to do with it. We had remained friends following my decision to break off our fake relationship. For us, friends meant the occasional hi and not much else. Just the other day, I saw him and his old girlfriend, Taylor Mayweather, standing together at his locker. She looked like she was crying and he was leaning down, trying to get her to look at him. What do I make of that? Nothing good, Im sure. If Forrest sent anyone a carnation this year, I bet it was her.

I need to find a vase for these, Piper said dramatically. She pronounced vase as vahz, and I feared she would slip into French as shed been doing lately. When Shannon gave her the flower, she exclaimed, Merci, mademoiselle! (Thank you, miss!)

Piper held her flowers upright, as if they were in an imaginary vahz. Then she arranged them in a professional-looking way, as Id seen her mother do.

Kate laughed as Piper hurried off, then she turned her attention to me. She knew what I was thinking about. Petal by petal, I was putting together the clues surrounding my mysterious pink flower.

Two

By days end, I could see that some peoples carnations were already going limp. So I was careful to protect mine on the bus ride home. In my room, I put the two white flowers on my desk in a skinny vase. The single pink carnation went into a tall, blue plastic bottle I found in our recycling bin. I was careful to give it just the right amount of cold water. I set it on my nightstand. Then, silently, I said something that had become sort of a little prayer:

I will not waste time thinking about Forrest. I will focus on:

1. being a good friend

2. becoming a better runner

3. school

4. learning how to be a big sister (Moms expecting!)

5. giving good advice on the Pink Locker Society Web site

Silly as it might have been, I had a personal mission statement now. We had a goal-setting class once, where the teacher said everyone should have one. It sounded weird to me at the time, but now it made more sense. I even made myself a soda tab bracelet to remind me of the five parts. It was five soda tabs threaded on a pink ribbon. I used four silver and one that I painted with pink nail polish in honor of the Pink Locker Society.

I also found a way to give myself credit for keeping on track with my five goals. I started out the day with my bracelet on my right wrist. If I made it through a whole day without thinking of Forrest, it remained on my right wrist. If I didnt, I moved the bracelet to the left wrist. At first, I had plenty of left-wristed days. But I was slowly learning how to forget him.

It was easy to be busy. Track team practices were starting, my mom was getting ready to have a baby (in June!), and the Pink Locker Society was moving in a new and exciting (and possibly terrifying) direction. First off, we were actually moving. Thanks to Mrs. Percy and our reunion with her sister, Edith, we were taking up residence again in the posh office behind our pink locker doors. No more basement meetings! We couldnt wait to once again gather around our glass conference table. We longed to update the Pink Locker Web site from our comfy office as we sipped iced tea from our fridge.

We answered tons of questions about girls feelings about their bodies and everyones fear of being embarrassed. There were so many ways to embarrass yourself. Maybe your mom wont let you shave your hairy legs. Or you dont have a bra and everyone else does. Or everyone is always talking about their periods, and you dont have yours yet.

That was methirteen and no period. But after answering hundreds of questions about periods, I knew that they come on their own schedule. A girl could be as young as nine or as old as me. So I felt better knowing I was normal but I really did hope that my period would happen soon. I mean, it seemed like something you should have over with before you go to high school, right? Well, high school would be starting for me in the fall.