Entry #3 Thanks!

Dear Diary,

Emily and I have only gotten more close over the summer. The summer is basically ended, but for these last few days of sun and heat that we have, Ilse, me, and Emily try our best to "play" together until school starts again.

Sometimes, when I am bored and my mother has a queer spell or so, I like to tromp over to New Moon and call for her with a whistle that I have created just for her. Emily always comes to see me, which I am glad about; I like to think I have just a little power over her. She always tells me if I can stay; her Cousin Jimmy Murray sometimes wants to keep her… and steal her away from me, which is silly, because she really isn't mine. I mean, I hope for her to be mine one day, but she isn't now. Then again, Emily will never truly belong to someone else… she is only a servant to herself. Though if she did belong to me, I would never treat her as someone… lower than she is.

But if Cousin Jimmy doesn't want Emily all to himself that night, I like to come in and listen to Jimmy's stories and tales that he knows. When Ilse is here too, life feels complete, hanging around with Emily and Jimmy, listening to ghost stories about the Murrays or fairy tales… I like to draw by the light of the fire while I listen to Jimmy's childish stories…

Jimmy Murray is a childish sort, so he is one of us. That is why I'm not scared to share my drawings with him.

I always regret when I have to leave… I want to stay and listen to stories in the sunset all night.

We have added a new… boy to our group. His name is Perry Miller and he is somewhat of a nitwit. Emily and Ilse seem… a little infatuated with him. It's probably because he's new, but I don't understand what a big deal he is. I mean, he literally has no talent. He has started to work as a chore boy at New Moon.

Sure, Perry is strong, but I have the brains and the talent, if not the brawn. Emily says I shouldn't make fun of him because he could get mad and punch me in the face.

Sometimes, when I don't want to see Perry, I try my best to get Emily and Ilse to come to the Tansy Patch. They don't like my mother, though Emily is too nice to say so, but Ilse has done a good job of dropping hints from both of them. I don't take it to heart, but I wish that my mother would be more polite to them, as well as everyone else.

I feel bad for Emily. She wants to be a writer so very much and she just wants to read literature, but her Aunt Elizabeth won't let her read novels because they aren't "proper" for little girls. So I lent her some fairy tales that her Aunt just cannot object to. Emily thanked me and I am glad to have helped her career, although however minimal it was.

Emily and Rhoda Stuart have some sort of issue against each other that I wasn't there to see… I know a little, but there are still some parts I don't understand about their "feud."Perry and Ilse have been bombarding Rhoda in class, but I prefer to just draw terrible effigies of her and show them to Emily after.

I don't think Ilse has something against me, but I don't know if Perry would be smart enough. I carved my initials with Emily's on a tree, but someone, either Ilse or Perry, carved them out and I am not the least bit happy about it.

I hope to find another way to convey my feelings for Emily without straight-out telling her…

Teddy Kent