Monday, September 15, 2008

Memoir - A Grown Up First Grader


Being a grown up first grader, I walk to school by myself. There’s one big street I have to cross really careful because there are lots of cars and some go fast. I know how to wait for the green light, look both ways, and then carefully hurry across before the light changes.

Today is hot. School is almost over for the year. I’m so thirsty as I walk home from school. So I’m going to stop at the corner drugstore for a drink. I’ve never tried it before, but I’ll die of thirst if I wait to get home.

The door is a little heavy for me. It feels nice and cool in here. There’s the snack bar. Next to the counter are stools attached to the floor with red plastic seat covers. They swivel around. I can climb up myself. It’s fun turning myself a little from side to side as I wait for the waitress to see me.

The woman in a white dress with a checkered apron bends over the counter and asks me, “What can I get you, young lady?”
“I’m dying of thirst.”
“Do you have any money with you?”
“No.”
“OK, I’ll give you a nice glass of water.”

She fills up one of those curvy Coke glasses that are smaller at the bottom, with some ice and water. In the muggy air it starts to sweat. I carefully hold the slippery glass and drink down the water, gulping it quickly. I stop to look around at the colorful displays, and then I sip the rest.

“Thank you. That was the best water I ever had.”
“You’re welcome. Don’t get lost on your way home from school now.”

I twirled off the stool. An entering gentleman holds the door open for me as I leave the drugstore for home, feeling a few inches taller than when I entered.
-By Terra

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