| 
I remember that when I was 6 in the first grade in Catholic school that I had this 8-pack of crayons where each color smelled like something different. For instance, I think red was strawberries, blue was clouds, and I forget the rest. I don't remember if those had just been invented, but I remember that me and my classmates thought they were great. I enjoyed them the most because I was the only one in class who had them, so all of the other kids would always be saying "Oh, Janice! Those crayons are so cool! Can I borrow them?" or "Janice! Come sit next to me so we can share your crayons!" Whenever art time came around I was the center of attention because of those crayons. I loved having everyone ask me for them and it felt good. And then, a week or two later, all of that ended. Clay, one of my classmates, had bought one of those nice 40-pack of crayons and they were all the new smelly ones that included every scent imaginable. Almsot instantly, nobody started asking to borrow my crayons. I was left alone during art time as everyone flocked to Clay's side, begging to use his crayons. I grew bitter that Clay had stolen my thunder. Clay had never been mean to me, but I secretly hated him for taking the attention away from me. Every day I frowned when I saw him take out the 40-pack and everyone's eyes turn to him, faces bright and smiling. Well, during one art class, I desparately needed markers and I had none of my own. Clay had lots of coloring stuff and I asked him if I could borrow his markers. He turned to me, a friendly smile on his face, and said 'sure!', instantly handing them to me. I was so taken back by the fact that, after all these days of hating him, Clay was still nice to me. I felt so fuzzy and warm inside that he had done that that I bent forward and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Of course, there was a collective gasp from my fellow first-graders and they teased me about it for the rest of the year but I didn't care. Clay had been so nice to me despite my hatred towards him. In retrospect, I had been incredibly silly because I never once made it known to him or anyone that I was angry at Clay so he had no clue and no reason to not be nice to me. I was sort of a sentimental idiot back then but I kindof wish I still acted that way. 
"If home is where the heart is, then I got evicted this week (Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains)"
|