Always, Abigail (10 page)

1.
I went to find AlliCam.

2.
I took them into the bathroom.

3.
I said, “I'm not a pom-pom girl. I'm an alternate.” Then I bawled my eyes out. Neither of them knew what to do. Somehow that made me feel worse.

What about SPF? Without the “P” would there be an “S” and “F”?

Would I be in the pom squad yearbook photo listed as an alternate? Or would I not be in it at all? I didn't know which one was worse.

1.
Today AlliCam stayed after school for their first pom-pom practice, so I had to sit alone on the bus.

2.
Gabby kept looking up from the book she had her head buried in to stare at me. She better not even
think
about trying to sit with me just because AlliCam aren't around. I have enough problems without being associated with
her
freakishness.

3.
After school I watched TV Land reruns and ate ten 100-calorie snack bags—three Oreos, four Cheese Nips, and three Lorna Doones. If I kept this up, everyone might start calling me “Flabby Abby.”

Let me eat dinner in my room.

Brought me my dessert.

Opened my bedroom door, stuck his head in, and said, “They don't know what they're missin'.”

Cried even harder because even though they all were being so nice to me, it didn't make me feel any better.

AlliCam taught the whole pom-pom squad the secret wave (which was
my
idea). Every time I go into the hall, I see them saluting and wiggling their fingers at each other. How could something I thought was so cute yesterday make me want to cry so hard today?

Roses are red

Violets are blue

The kids in 6H

Are glad we got YOU!

No one else would write something so
stupid
.

1.
Old Hawk let us work in groups today for spelling,
and
we got to pick our own groups.

2.
She shortened our homework assignment from ten questions to five.

3.
She ended language arts ten minutes early so she could start reading
Tuck
Everlasting
.

1.
Being able to choose my own group didn't do me any good since AlliCam aren't in my class. I ended up working with Jeannie and Marcy, but that just made me feel like a “pom-pom girl loser” because they tried out and didn't make it either.

2.
Having less homework just meant I'd have
more
time after school to watch reruns and eat junk food. Not that I like homework or anything. I'm not
that
much of a geek—not yet anyway, but I already didn't have enough to do after school.

3.
I couldn't enjoy
Tuck
Everlasting
because right before Old Hawk started reading it, a note came for me from the office.

Dear Abigail,

Every Thursday, I'd like you to join the pom squad's practice. That way you'll know the routines if you ever have to fill in.

We'll start tomorrow!

See you then!

Ms. Jenson

At least I'd get to hang out with the poms one day a week. That was something.

Would that be enough to make me part of the pom crowd?

NO.

Still feeling like you're not a real pom-pom girl.

1.
All the girls—that is all the girls except me—had matching “POMS FOREVER” T-shirts that Jackie's mom had specially made for them.

2.
They were learning a new routine, and even though
everyone
kept making mistakes, Jackie kept acting like I was the only one messing up. She kept putting her hand on her hip, sighing, and then rolling her eyes at me.

3.
At break time, AlliCam totally ignored me because they were so busy listening to J&M talk about a new girl in their homeroom who, as they put it, must be from “the last train to Loserville.”

“She actually wore overalls the other day,” Jackie said, while pretending to gag herself with one finger. “Who does she think she is? Farmer Fran? This isn't 4-H camp.”

She cracked her gum for about the hundredth time. All the other girls laughed, but for some reason, it didn't sound that funny to me.

Like low-fat frozen yogurt compared to real chocolate ice cream. No, make that a scoop of lumpy, disgusting cottage cheese compared to an extra large hot fudge sundae topped with homemade whipped cream—nothing about it is the same.

Being in the pom squad yearbook photo, not dressed in a uniform, and listed as an alternate—and I was afraid this was going to be my
destiny
.

I wouldn't have to go back to pom practice for a whole week.

Talk to AlliCam about how bad I felt.

I'm not sure they cared, and that made me feel worse.

Dear Miss Hendrick,

We love exchanging friendly letters! Thank you for giving us this opportunity to communicate with our peers using our writing.

Since we're enjoying it so much, maybe the friendly letter partners should spend some time together. How about partner spelling practice or partner vocabulary sentence review? If we get to know our partners better, we'll probably have more things to write about.

Sincerely,

Sixth-Grade Spirit in the Sky

1.
“What a
marvelous
idea!”

2.
“See how much the English language, when used properly, brings people together, my friends?”

3.
“All that text messaging and IMing has left this generation starved for good old-fashioned written communication.”

4.
“Let's make this partner day, shall we? Please push your desks together and spend the entire class period getting to know one another better.”

(She said all four things with that HUGE smile she's had on her face ever since Gabby gave her that insanely
stupid
mailbox.)