For the next four days, Lizzie just hung out at her house with
Miranda most of the time. Gordo went on a camping trip with his parents
like they always did the week before school started, so they could talk
about how much they were worried without Gordo nagging them about stressing
over nothing.
"So, when's Gordo coming back?" Mrs. McGuire asked Lizzie and Miranda on the fourth day he was gone. Miranda and Lizzie were seated around the kitchen table, braiding friendship bracelets, and Lizzie's mother had just placed a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven on the table in front of them. This had become a daily ritual of theirs since Gordo had gone camping. Every day, after lunch, Miranda would come over to Lizzie's house and they would sit at the kitchen table, braiding friendship bracelets to exchange, and eating Lizzie's mother's famous homemade chocolate chip cookies while they chatted about middle school...saying how much they were looking forward to it when Lizzie's mother was around, and talking about how worried about it they were when she wasn't.
"Oh, he should be home tomorrow morning," Miranda answered, taking a chocolate chip off of the plate.
"Yeah, we're meeting him at the Digital Bean tomorrow," Lizzie added.
"Oh, that's good," Lizzie's mom commented.
Animated Lizzie: I hate it when adults ask something for no reason at all. If they are going to talk to us, they could at least have something interesting to say!
"I can't believe that the three of you are going into grade seven," Mrs. McGuire said.
Animated Lizzie: That's not interesting, that's just worrying.
Before Lizzie or Miranda could reply, Matt's voice came floating into the kitchen from the backyard.
"Mom!" he shouted. "Dad fell off the hammock again!"
"Duty calls," Lizzie's mom said, darting out of the house.
"There it is again," Miranda said. "The 'I can't believe you're going into grade seven' thing."
"I know! I mean, people can only say it so many times before you get sick of hearing it," Lizzie replied.
"Or feel sick from hearing it," added Miranda.
"Yeah. I think I'm getting an ulcer from all this worrying," Lizzie agreed.
"We need to take our minds off of it for a few hours. Why don't we go shopping for school clothes?" suggested Miranda.
"Sure, but shopping for clothes to wear in the seventh grade isn't exactly going to take my mind off of it," Lizzie pointed out.
"Oh, yeah," said Miranda.
"Oh well. Let's go anyway. If we have to live through this nightmare, we should at least be styling," Lizzie said, getting up from her seat.
"Mom?" she asked, entering the backyard where her mother was trying to help her father to his feet while her little brother sat at the picnic table, sipping lemonade and watching.
"Yes?" her mother answered.
"Can Miranda and I go to the mall to shop for school clothes?" Lizzie asked.
"Sure, honey," her mom agreed. "Do you need a ride?"
"No thanks, we'll walk," Lizzie replied.
"Alright. Be home in time for dinner," her mom agreed.
Animated Lizzie: That's code for, if you're home one minute after the streetlights go on at six o'clock, you are so grounded!
At the mall, Lizzie and Miranda circled the racks of their favorite clothing store, trying desperately to find something that they considered cool enough to wear to junior high.
"No. No. No!" Lizzie commented, flipping through the clothes.
"Lizzie, I honestly have no clue what I am looking for, because I have no clue what is considered cool in the seventh grade!" Miranda told Lizzie as they searched through the rack. "Hey, look, there's Kate. She always been stylish, maybe she'll have a better grasp on the concept than we do," Miranda suggested hopefully, pointing to their friend, Kate Saunders, who was standing at a rack of clothing nearby with a group of girls Lizzie had never seen hanging out with Kate before.
Animated Lizzie: Last year they were the popular people. You know, the girls constantly bringing doctors' notes to excuse them from gym just because they didn't want to get all 'sweaty and gross', and the only ones in the entire grade who wore make-up. I don't know their names, and I really don't care. They were really snobby to us last year, so why is Kate hanging out with them when they treated her like dirt?
"Hey, Kate," Lizzie said as her and Miranda walked up to their long- time pal.
"We need some fashion advice," Miranda told her.
"I can see that," Kate remarked rudely, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she looked at their clothes.
"Excuse me?" Lizzie squeaked.
"You girls sure could use some fashion advice. I mean, just look at you! Too bad that we're too cool to be seen with you. We're pushing it just talking to you!" Kate sneered.
"Kate, who are those freaks?" Miranda asked.
"These are my friends," Kate answered.
"I thought we were your friends," Lizzie said.
Animated Lizzie: First Kate is hanging out with the cool people, now she is saying they are her friends? What's wrong with her?
"Think again, McGuire. C'mon, girls, let's go," Kate said, turning and sauntering away.
Animated Lizzie: Oh, I see. She got popular.
"Lizzie, I think we just lost a friend," Miranda said sadly.
That night Lizzie modelled the clothes that she had bought with Miranda that afternoon. After their encounter with Kate, they suddenly didn't want to look cool anymore, just in case they ended up like her, so they had just gotten clothes that they liked. Her mom and dad 'ooo-ed' and 'ahhed' over every outfit Lizzie showed off to them, while Matt just glanced up before returning to his video game.
After she had modelled all of the outfits, Lizzie changed into her pajamas, then sat down on her windowseat. The window was open, allowing the cool breeze to tousle her hair and blow against her face lightly. She looked out the window at the moon, which was a silvery crescent tonight, and thought about everything that was going wrong in her life. The Kate incident that had occured at the mall that afternoon had added to her stress list.
As she was thinking, she heard someone knock on her door three times.
"Come in, mom," Lizzie called. Her mother entered the room, and sat down next to her on the windowseat.
"Honey, I couldn't help but notice that you were distracted again downstairs, and I know you don't have a headache, and you were acting distracted while you were modelling your clothes, so what's wrong?" she asked.
"Today Miranda and I ran into Kate Saunders at the mall," Lizzie said.
Animated Lizzie: I am in stress overload. I don't care if my mom goes into an hour long story about her experiences in grade seven, I need advice and I need it now!
"Oh, Kate! I haven't seen her all summer! Where has she been?" Lizzie's mom asked.
Animated Lizzie: She's not making this any easier.
"She went to camp this summer, remember? Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that when Miranda and I tried to talk to her today, she acted totally blair witch to us!" Lizzie exclaimed. Her mom shot her a confused look. "You know, evil?" Lizzie added.
"Ohh," her mom said, understanding what Lizzie was trying to say now. Then it sunk in and she added, "What? Kate was mean to you and Miranda? But I thought you guys were friends! What happened?" she asked.
"At camp I guess she started hanging out with the popular girls-" Lizzie started.
"The ones who wear make-up and get doctors' notes to get them out of gym?" her mom asked, interrrupting her.
"Yeah," Lizzie answered. "Anyway, and I guess she just became one of them."
"That's really horrible, sweetie, but sometimes friends just have to go their separate ways," her mom said.
"Yeah, I know," Lizzie sighed.
"Well, honey, if you knew then why were you so bummed downstairs?" her mom questioned, once again looking confused.
"Because that's only the beginning of it," Lizzie replied.
"So, can you tell me the rest of it? Did Kate do something else to you and Miranda? Should I give Mrs. Saunders a call?" Lizzie's mom asked.
"No, it's not that, it's...junior high," she said, using the name 'junior high' so that her mom would get the full impact of the situation.
"What about it?" her mom questioned.
Animated Lizzie: Mom just isn't getting it, is she?
"I am so stressed out about it," Lizzie confessed.
"But, why?" her mom asked.
Animated Lizzie: Parents. You have to explain everything to them.
"Because everyone is putting so much pressure on me to act responsible and mature," Lizzie replied. "First, it was my elementary school teachers on the last day of school, getting all misty-eyed because we are all growing up so fast, then it was my future middle school teachers, who basically said that if we did anything wrong, we'd get a detention, because we are supposed to act like the mature, responsible young adults that we are, and if all that wasn't bad enough, Miranda's parents, and you, and dad, and even Matt keep musing about how I am growing up so fast, but what if I don't grow up fast enough for everyone? What if I am not responsible or mature enough for everyone? What if I let everyone down?"
"Honey, if that's the only reason you have been acting distracted lately, then it has all been for nothing," her mom said. "Nobody is wanting you to grow up too fast. In fact, we are wanting you to slow down, but that's not exactly an option, now is it? I am sorry if you feel that your brother and your father and I have been making you feel like you have to act more mature and responsible than you really are, and I'm sure that your teachers, and Miranda's parents wouldn't want you to feel that way, either. We want you to act as mature and responsible as you are, no more, and no less."
"Really?" Lizzie asked.
"Really," her mom echoed.
Animated Lizzie: I guess sometimes mom's advice can be useful, and not full of her past experiences.
"You know, I remember when I was in seventh grade-" her mom began, but was cut off quickly by Lizzie.
Animated Lizzie: Maybe I spoke too soon.
"Mom," Lizzie said in a warning tone.
"Sorry," her mom apologized. "I was doing the 'I remember' thing again, wasn't I?"
"Uh, yeah," Lizzie answered.
"Well, if that's all you needed to talk about..." her mom said.
"It is," replied Lizzie. "And, let me tell you, it feels so much better to finally get it out in the open."
"That's good," Lizzie's mom said. "Now you can go back to being normal old cheerful Lizzie again."
"Not so fast. I'll still be worried until the first day of junior high. Did you really expect me to be totally cool with starting middle school after one little talk with you? Sorry to disappoint you, mom, but I'm not Gordo. But, don't worry, I will only be stressing about getting a detention, or getting lost in my new school, not about being mature enough for everyone," Lizzie added.
"That's good to know, sweetie. Just remember, if you want to talk..." her mom started.
"I want to listen," Lizzie finished her mom's sentence perfectly. "Yes, mom, I know."
"So, when's Gordo coming back?" Mrs. McGuire asked Lizzie and Miranda on the fourth day he was gone. Miranda and Lizzie were seated around the kitchen table, braiding friendship bracelets, and Lizzie's mother had just placed a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven on the table in front of them. This had become a daily ritual of theirs since Gordo had gone camping. Every day, after lunch, Miranda would come over to Lizzie's house and they would sit at the kitchen table, braiding friendship bracelets to exchange, and eating Lizzie's mother's famous homemade chocolate chip cookies while they chatted about middle school...saying how much they were looking forward to it when Lizzie's mother was around, and talking about how worried about it they were when she wasn't.
"Oh, he should be home tomorrow morning," Miranda answered, taking a chocolate chip off of the plate.
"Yeah, we're meeting him at the Digital Bean tomorrow," Lizzie added.
"Oh, that's good," Lizzie's mom commented.
Animated Lizzie: I hate it when adults ask something for no reason at all. If they are going to talk to us, they could at least have something interesting to say!
"I can't believe that the three of you are going into grade seven," Mrs. McGuire said.
Animated Lizzie: That's not interesting, that's just worrying.
Before Lizzie or Miranda could reply, Matt's voice came floating into the kitchen from the backyard.
"Mom!" he shouted. "Dad fell off the hammock again!"
"Duty calls," Lizzie's mom said, darting out of the house.
"There it is again," Miranda said. "The 'I can't believe you're going into grade seven' thing."
"I know! I mean, people can only say it so many times before you get sick of hearing it," Lizzie replied.
"Or feel sick from hearing it," added Miranda.
"Yeah. I think I'm getting an ulcer from all this worrying," Lizzie agreed.
"We need to take our minds off of it for a few hours. Why don't we go shopping for school clothes?" suggested Miranda.
"Sure, but shopping for clothes to wear in the seventh grade isn't exactly going to take my mind off of it," Lizzie pointed out.
"Oh, yeah," said Miranda.
"Oh well. Let's go anyway. If we have to live through this nightmare, we should at least be styling," Lizzie said, getting up from her seat.
"Mom?" she asked, entering the backyard where her mother was trying to help her father to his feet while her little brother sat at the picnic table, sipping lemonade and watching.
"Yes?" her mother answered.
"Can Miranda and I go to the mall to shop for school clothes?" Lizzie asked.
"Sure, honey," her mom agreed. "Do you need a ride?"
"No thanks, we'll walk," Lizzie replied.
"Alright. Be home in time for dinner," her mom agreed.
Animated Lizzie: That's code for, if you're home one minute after the streetlights go on at six o'clock, you are so grounded!
At the mall, Lizzie and Miranda circled the racks of their favorite clothing store, trying desperately to find something that they considered cool enough to wear to junior high.
"No. No. No!" Lizzie commented, flipping through the clothes.
"Lizzie, I honestly have no clue what I am looking for, because I have no clue what is considered cool in the seventh grade!" Miranda told Lizzie as they searched through the rack. "Hey, look, there's Kate. She always been stylish, maybe she'll have a better grasp on the concept than we do," Miranda suggested hopefully, pointing to their friend, Kate Saunders, who was standing at a rack of clothing nearby with a group of girls Lizzie had never seen hanging out with Kate before.
Animated Lizzie: Last year they were the popular people. You know, the girls constantly bringing doctors' notes to excuse them from gym just because they didn't want to get all 'sweaty and gross', and the only ones in the entire grade who wore make-up. I don't know their names, and I really don't care. They were really snobby to us last year, so why is Kate hanging out with them when they treated her like dirt?
"Hey, Kate," Lizzie said as her and Miranda walked up to their long- time pal.
"We need some fashion advice," Miranda told her.
"I can see that," Kate remarked rudely, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she looked at their clothes.
"Excuse me?" Lizzie squeaked.
"You girls sure could use some fashion advice. I mean, just look at you! Too bad that we're too cool to be seen with you. We're pushing it just talking to you!" Kate sneered.
"Kate, who are those freaks?" Miranda asked.
"These are my friends," Kate answered.
"I thought we were your friends," Lizzie said.
Animated Lizzie: First Kate is hanging out with the cool people, now she is saying they are her friends? What's wrong with her?
"Think again, McGuire. C'mon, girls, let's go," Kate said, turning and sauntering away.
Animated Lizzie: Oh, I see. She got popular.
"Lizzie, I think we just lost a friend," Miranda said sadly.
That night Lizzie modelled the clothes that she had bought with Miranda that afternoon. After their encounter with Kate, they suddenly didn't want to look cool anymore, just in case they ended up like her, so they had just gotten clothes that they liked. Her mom and dad 'ooo-ed' and 'ahhed' over every outfit Lizzie showed off to them, while Matt just glanced up before returning to his video game.
After she had modelled all of the outfits, Lizzie changed into her pajamas, then sat down on her windowseat. The window was open, allowing the cool breeze to tousle her hair and blow against her face lightly. She looked out the window at the moon, which was a silvery crescent tonight, and thought about everything that was going wrong in her life. The Kate incident that had occured at the mall that afternoon had added to her stress list.
As she was thinking, she heard someone knock on her door three times.
"Come in, mom," Lizzie called. Her mother entered the room, and sat down next to her on the windowseat.
"Honey, I couldn't help but notice that you were distracted again downstairs, and I know you don't have a headache, and you were acting distracted while you were modelling your clothes, so what's wrong?" she asked.
"Today Miranda and I ran into Kate Saunders at the mall," Lizzie said.
Animated Lizzie: I am in stress overload. I don't care if my mom goes into an hour long story about her experiences in grade seven, I need advice and I need it now!
"Oh, Kate! I haven't seen her all summer! Where has she been?" Lizzie's mom asked.
Animated Lizzie: She's not making this any easier.
"She went to camp this summer, remember? Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that when Miranda and I tried to talk to her today, she acted totally blair witch to us!" Lizzie exclaimed. Her mom shot her a confused look. "You know, evil?" Lizzie added.
"Ohh," her mom said, understanding what Lizzie was trying to say now. Then it sunk in and she added, "What? Kate was mean to you and Miranda? But I thought you guys were friends! What happened?" she asked.
"At camp I guess she started hanging out with the popular girls-" Lizzie started.
"The ones who wear make-up and get doctors' notes to get them out of gym?" her mom asked, interrrupting her.
"Yeah," Lizzie answered. "Anyway, and I guess she just became one of them."
"That's really horrible, sweetie, but sometimes friends just have to go their separate ways," her mom said.
"Yeah, I know," Lizzie sighed.
"Well, honey, if you knew then why were you so bummed downstairs?" her mom questioned, once again looking confused.
"Because that's only the beginning of it," Lizzie replied.
"So, can you tell me the rest of it? Did Kate do something else to you and Miranda? Should I give Mrs. Saunders a call?" Lizzie's mom asked.
"No, it's not that, it's...junior high," she said, using the name 'junior high' so that her mom would get the full impact of the situation.
"What about it?" her mom questioned.
Animated Lizzie: Mom just isn't getting it, is she?
"I am so stressed out about it," Lizzie confessed.
"But, why?" her mom asked.
Animated Lizzie: Parents. You have to explain everything to them.
"Because everyone is putting so much pressure on me to act responsible and mature," Lizzie replied. "First, it was my elementary school teachers on the last day of school, getting all misty-eyed because we are all growing up so fast, then it was my future middle school teachers, who basically said that if we did anything wrong, we'd get a detention, because we are supposed to act like the mature, responsible young adults that we are, and if all that wasn't bad enough, Miranda's parents, and you, and dad, and even Matt keep musing about how I am growing up so fast, but what if I don't grow up fast enough for everyone? What if I am not responsible or mature enough for everyone? What if I let everyone down?"
"Honey, if that's the only reason you have been acting distracted lately, then it has all been for nothing," her mom said. "Nobody is wanting you to grow up too fast. In fact, we are wanting you to slow down, but that's not exactly an option, now is it? I am sorry if you feel that your brother and your father and I have been making you feel like you have to act more mature and responsible than you really are, and I'm sure that your teachers, and Miranda's parents wouldn't want you to feel that way, either. We want you to act as mature and responsible as you are, no more, and no less."
"Really?" Lizzie asked.
"Really," her mom echoed.
Animated Lizzie: I guess sometimes mom's advice can be useful, and not full of her past experiences.
"You know, I remember when I was in seventh grade-" her mom began, but was cut off quickly by Lizzie.
Animated Lizzie: Maybe I spoke too soon.
"Mom," Lizzie said in a warning tone.
"Sorry," her mom apologized. "I was doing the 'I remember' thing again, wasn't I?"
"Uh, yeah," Lizzie answered.
"Well, if that's all you needed to talk about..." her mom said.
"It is," replied Lizzie. "And, let me tell you, it feels so much better to finally get it out in the open."
"That's good," Lizzie's mom said. "Now you can go back to being normal old cheerful Lizzie again."
"Not so fast. I'll still be worried until the first day of junior high. Did you really expect me to be totally cool with starting middle school after one little talk with you? Sorry to disappoint you, mom, but I'm not Gordo. But, don't worry, I will only be stressing about getting a detention, or getting lost in my new school, not about being mature enough for everyone," Lizzie added.
"That's good to know, sweetie. Just remember, if you want to talk..." her mom started.
"I want to listen," Lizzie finished her mom's sentence perfectly. "Yes, mom, I know."
