First things first, let's get one thing straight. This was not my idea. After the apparent "success" of the first story they made me write, they decided that the best way to get my feelings out or some crap like that was for me to write a whole goddam collection of writings like the other one. Which is a stupid idea if you ask me.

Anyway, back to the whole purpose of this paper in the first place, Sally Hayes. Total bombshell, no joke. One of the prettiest girls I've ever met, but don't let that fool you. She's the biggest phony you'll ever meet. I mean, she'd probably be the queen of phonies if she could. Yeah, I get that I probably shouldn't have insulted and laughed at her the last time we met, but sometimes she just gets on my goddam nerves. Like I said before though, I used to think she was quite intelligent and all back when we were younger. Then I found out the truth.

It wasn't like hating her happened overnight, quite the opposite actually. It built up slowly over time. A word here, and action there it was all very small in comparison to everything else but each thing she did was like adding a grain of sand to the scale of her life and it was slowly tipping south. She was always asking me to come over and do things for her, trimming the Christmas tree wasn't the first time she asked me to do something. She has three older brothers who all live in New York for godsakes, but I'm always the one she calls if she needs help doing something. At first it was kind of nice, but then it got real annoying real fast. There was one time when she needed me to help her build a goddam birdhouse for some reason. It's not like she had to make one for a school project or something, it was the middle of the summer. She kept telling me how superb it was that I was there and helping her while she did that was was sit in the shade complaining about how hot it was and how long it was taking. I was the one constructing the damn thing and it would have been nice if she actually helped out a bit you know? Not that I was mad to do it, we did end up necking for a bit afterwards, it was just annoying. And she always looks like she's acting in a goddam movie or something. Every action or every word is always over exaggerated and she also does this thing where she flounces while she walks.

But there was this one moment that's seared into my mind as the time when I realized that she was a phony. She was in this new blue skirt, I knew because she told me about fifty times. I was depressed and all because it was right after my brother died and we were taking a walk through the city. I wasn't really paying attention, because if I was I would have never let us wander onto that street. "You're really in a sulky mood today Holden, you need to cheer up"

I didn't respond, I was too engrossed in the shape of my shoes.
"Really Holden, you are being quite rude, just when are you going to grow up?
There was a flaw in the stitching and the seam was all off. It threw the whole balance of the shoe. I wonder what the shoemaker was thinking about when he made that wrong stitch. Maybe he and his wife just got into a fight, or maybe at that exact moment a gang of robbers broke into his store and he had to defend himself with the only thing he had by his side, a shoe horn. And after he successfully beat all of the robbers into submission with his shoe horn and called the police he was presented with a metal of honor or something and then when he went back to the store and found this pair of unfinished shoes and realized that the stitching was all wrong but he didn't try and fix it or anything because it was a good memo-

"Holden, are you even listening to me?"

"What?" I started to glare at Sally but then I suddenly realized where we were.

"This was Allie's favorite store" I said, gazing up at the sign that read Famous Maid's Sportswear. There was a mitt in the center of the display case held up by a stand. The sign said that it belonged to Bucky Harris or some other baseball star like that. Sally and I's reflection on the glass from where we were standing was projected inside the mitt.

"Who?"

She was crazy. She had to be crazy. You don't just forget Allie, Allie isn't just someone you can forget. "Allie, my brother".

Her face got all sad looking and for a second I thought she was going to comfort me. Boy, was I wrong. "Oh, Holden really, it's been six months, surely you would have been over it by now", she said distractedly, trying to catch the eye of the group of guys sitting inside the window of the ice cream shop across the street. It didn't work, we were too far away. "Come one, lets go in here" She and dragged me across the street, narrowly missing a honking car.

She didn't actually want ice cream, she just wanted to show off how good she looked in her new outfit and all in front of the the older boys. I know because she made a big show of walking all slowly up to the counter and bending down to get a better look at the flavors.

I mean it worked, you don't just ignore a girl like Sally, but it was kind of rude and all how she was ignoring me for them. It turned out that she knew these fella's too and had no problem chewing the fat with them, it would have been fine if she at least introduced me to them.

I hate it when you're with someone and then they see someone they know and just start chewing the fat without you introducing you to them first. It would have been better if these guys were nice at lease but they were no Romeos; the only thing separating them from the rats that live on the streets were their upscale suit jackets and expensive watches. And finally I just had enough.

I was trying to look tough around these guys, walking with my shoulders back and my chest all puffed out as I dragged her from the ice cream shop. She was right mad at me but I didn't care because I was mad at her too. I bet if she put that strawberry ice cream cone she was holding right up to my face it would melt in about two seconds, no joke.

"Stop Holden, you can't just do something like that!"

"Like Hell I can."

"No, Holden you don't understand, there are rules we need to follow. I have never been more embarrassed in my life. What did you think those guys thought of me when you dragged me out like that!"

Typical Sally, always thinking about herself and how she appears before others instead of what's actually going on around her.

"God, Sally you're such a, a-"

"A what Holden"

"A phony! You're such a goddam phony!"

I'm not going to tell you the rest of the story, like how we didn't speak for a while after until she called me up and I helped her move the furniture out of her room so she could redecorate it. But she was the catalyst, the big bang. After her I started seeing phonies everywhere. In the store, in bars, even in the goddam movie theater; they're everywhere. I swear, she's the reason why I'm so messed up.

Maybe I'm judging her too quickly. That what the nut jobs in here always say not to do, judge people too quickly. Apparently that's one of my problems. I don't know, I don't think I'm judging her too quickly, I've known the girl for a hundred years for godsakes and it's not like they ever met Sally Hayes. I hope to god they never do.