"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

― Calvin Coolidge

Dear Diary,

It has been one whole month since I wrote in you. Yikes! Mom said, "Just sit down, and do it!" a half a dozen times, as Mr. R. said we wouldn't get credit if we didn't 'stay dedicated' for at least the rest of the semester. But I don't have to worry about my language arts grade, right, Diary? I got an A the first half of the year and I'm getting an A- now. So, whatever.

Still, as Dad says, "Dedication is half of success," and he made some quote about persistence, by some old President. WhatEVER, Diary, I get so tired of their nagging. But most of the time life is pretty alright. It is February now and I got so very cold walking home. Morry is sitting on my feet, warming me up, like she does all the rest of the time, lol. But I know it's my own fault, because I didn't want to wear my jacket, at least not where the other kids on the bus can see me. I don't know when it became uncool to wear a coat and a hat, like maybe when I turned 12, but if it gets any colder I will just have to be uncool anyway, lol, so there.

I can hear Mom out in the kitchen. She is on the phone to Aunt Maggie again. If I sit still and listen and if Morry doesn't whine (or toot, lol) I will be able to hear what she says. I told Dad that I do this sometimes, and he just ruffled my hair and laughed. "You're a natural spy," he said. Whatever THAT means, lol.

I hear Mom saying, "Ruby and Josie," and that's good. My cousins are older, but I like them. They don't treat me like a baby, they never did. We don't look like we're related at all. My hair is curly and red, and they are blonde with brown underneath, kind of like Mom. I like to hang out with them. Ruby is a senior in high school and sometimes she ignores us. But sometimes she reads aloud from "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing," and plays NyanCat on her tablet and lets us watch, and usually Josie fools with my iPad, and we take silly selfies, and she lets me see the skins she puts up on Skinseed. Aunt Maggie and Uncle Bill let her do all kinds of things on social media that I'm not allowed to do – I have no idea why. Sometimes, I swear to God, it's like Mom wants me to not exist. I have no social media profile at all. She has killed my social life before it even started, lol. But Dad said it's "not negotiable." SIGH. So much for Snapchat, right, Diary?

Anyway. Josie is a Freshman, and I know she likes me. Because she hangs around and I know she likes to do girl stuff together. Sometimes she uses my American Kid Magazine guides and tries all kinds of new braids, but they don't usually work, lol. I'm just too curly, she says. Last year I wanted to dye my hair, a big blue streak down the side. It was different than darkening my hair all over, I tried to explain to Mom. But no way, "I'm not having it, Franny," she said, and then, "I'm not even discussing this." Then she went into the bathroom and shut the door.

Well, there's one place you can go and shut the door in someone's face. And that's the bathroom. But funny, I felt worse for asking, than I did for having the door slammed on me. It's my hair, but she made me feel like I'd asked for something horrible, like a cigarette or a face tattoo. Everyone, I mean everyone in my class has a piercing or two, and the hair stuff, well that's just temporary. But she said no, and locked herself in the can.

Fine with me. Really, I like myself just the way I am. The hair thing is sort of like makeup. And Dad said he wouldn't mind a blue streak, "Because you're always talking one, sunshine," and then he did a raspberry in my ear and hair and then we got in a tickle war. It was Mom who says, no. Josie and Ruby, they made me feel better about it though. At our last sleepover, Josie said, "We like your hair the way it is," and I could tell she really meant it. And Ruby stopped gaming long enough to say, "Yeah, if I could, I'd dye my hair YOUR color," and she really meant it, too. So, whatever. Like I said, last time, Diary, it's just hair.

Now I hear Mom talking about Uncle Virgil and Uncle Max. Uncle Max got a super cool girlfriend, did I tell you, Diary? Of course I didn't, lol. Max got out of his old job and started raising dogs, like I said, he's Morry's, well, I don't know. Breeder sounds weird, somehow, and kind of gross. Grandfather, maybe? LOL! Anyway, Max convinced a lady he worked with to leave that job too, and come work with him. That lady was Aunt Fara, and I guess Uncle Max got over being so super-shy, and now they are together. It's really weird, though. They were talking about why Fara left her old work, and I overheard Dad say it "didn't take much convincing," like he says when he's trying to be funny, but he knows it isn't. I guess that's because Aunt Fara got hurt really bad on the job, right before she quit. It still looks like it hurts sometimes, when she's walking, and she leans on Uncle Max's arm. I am sure she's much happier with the puppies, though, Diary. I know I would be!

Now we heard they are going to get married, and they say I can even be in the wedding! That news really made Mom and Dad smile. They aren't living together like most normal adults, though, Diary, because Aunt Fara's Dad won't let her. It sounds weird for an adult to "not let" another adult do anything, lol, but that's Aunt Fara's religion. That's why her Dad doesn't like Uncle Max, either. But we LOVE Aunt Fara. She is beautiful and has skin like the color of Dad's coffee when he puts cream in it. She is an amazing cook, and she does all the math for Uncle Max's business. When she visits, Mom speaks another language with her! But I don't know what it is, Diary. It's a long way from the Spanish I've been learning in Middle school. I think it sounds like something out of a movie. Even though Mom says it's not important, I'm getting curious about that stuff.

Now I hear Mom talking about something else, but I can't make out what it is. She and I had quite a crazy time last month at the airport, let me tell you. Aunt Maggie picked me up and Mom too, and I had to go because Dad was receiving a load at the store and couldn't be away from work yet. And I couldn't be home alone for that long. So off we went, to the airport to pick someone up, and guess who it was? My Grandma!

A grandma I didn't even know I had. I had thought she was dead, tbh. Dad said "She's dead to us," but I didn't know why that was, or what he meant by that. It sounded kind of mean. So I didn't know what to expect.

When she got off the plane, I can't explain it but, she didn't look or seem like a normal grandma. She had a guy with her, who looked maybe old enough to go to college or something. "This is Tim," she said, and tried to give me a hug. Mom barely opened her mouth enough to say, "He's your half-uncle," and she sort of leaned on the word "half," but when I looked, she wasn't smiling. Grandma smelled like the Vaporub stuff Mom puts in the humidifier when I have a cold. Aunt Maggie looked happy, and hugged her, and I gave her like the quickest hug you could possibly give another human, even though she tried to hold on longer, because old people do that. But Mom stayed back.

I didn't know why. The guy she called Tim took me over to the big row of vending machines, and asked if I wanted to play the claw.

I said, no way, my Dad says these are terrible games and they are all rigged, nobody who plays can win anything worth the money. Tim shrugged, a big "whatever shrug," and pulled out some quarters. In the background, I could hear Mom's voice getting louder. I pretended to watch Tim try to win a Minion toy for me – who even still watches that old movie? – and in the mirror behind the claw, I saw Aunt Maggie getting upset, Mom nodding like she does when she's getting really angry, and the lady I knew was my Grandma waving her hands in the air. She dropped both her hands to her sides, and I looked down at the claw, really quick, like I was interested. They didn't want me watching them. But the next thing I knew, Mom's hand was on my shoulder.

"Come on, Fran, we've got to go," she said, and as I walked away, Mom pulling at my arm, Tim tossed me the toy he had just won. It was a tiny kaleidoscope. "Thanks," I got to yell, and "Bye!" before I got pulled through the doors and back out onto the sidewalk. Mom stood there with a grip on the bottom of my turquoise winter coat, like I was just a little kid who might run into traffic. I shook loose, and told her she was wrinkling me up. The she looked down and sort of noticed me all at once, if that makes any sense. She ordered a Lyft and soon we were back in a car, going home from the airport, before I really figured out what was happening. Why had we even gone in the first place? Let me tell you, I knew better than to ask "what about Aunt Maggie," because Mom just gets this way sometimes.

Mom was looking out the window, not really sniffling, and I didn't even know how to ask a question. I used the kaleidoscope to look at the streetlights, and then back at the road signs, back out the rear window. "Dulles," one said, with a picture of a plane. That's my life, Diary: dull, dull, dull. I almost got to meet an uncle, half-uncle, I guess he was. But Mom got pissed, and then it was all over. Who even knows why.

I asked her if everything was alright, and Mom reached out and pulled me hard, trying to hug me. I told her to cut it out, the seat belt was pulling on me, and she let go. But then she said, "They don't deserve you." And pulled out her iPhone to text Dad. Aunt Maggie didn't call us for a whole month, I know that because all I could do was ask Dad to text Josie for me. He did, because he knows that I miss her, and not having my own phone TOTALLY sucks.

What in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks was that all about, anyway? I have no idea. Mom is weird and so is Dad, but overall, I can't complain, Diary. The main thing is, they love each other, and I know they love me (Mom is really weird sometimes though). What else could a kid want?

Well, lol, since you asked, Diary, I'll tell you. A kid could want more video game time! Sometimes when Mom works, like really late, I mean; Dad and I will make dinner together and clean up. Then I have a bath and we call Mom, and say goodnight. Dad says he's putting me to bed, which is sort of true, and I say I'm in bed with a book. Which is really true, Diary! I read every day, I read a ton of books. I wouldn't lie about that.

But then when we hang up with Mom, Dad waits a little. I hear him feed Morry, and check all the locks and turn on the house alarm. Then he sticks his head around the corner of my bedroom door, to see if I'm awake. Of course, I always am, lol.

"Ready?" is all he says. And I pop up out of bed, and we go login to Call of Duty: Ultimate Warfare on the PS6. Dad sometimes gets me ice cream too, he calls it "Frozen peas," like vegetables are some kind of a joke, and then we play video games for a while. Dad is a cool geek, lol, Diary. I'm so glad he's around and takes care of both of us. I swear sometimes, Mom needs a babysitter more than me! Lolol!

I better password protect this, Diary! If Mom got into this file, she would kill me, lol. Talk to ya soon!

-Franny