Dear Diary,

Hi. My name is Carla. I'm six years old. And you are my diary now I guess. I've never had I diary before….

You see I just moved a few days ago and tomorrow I'm going to start a new school. Mom gave me this diary and told me to write my feelings down just in case I get sad about moving and stuff. She said it's supposed to help me feel better. But I don't need to feel better because I'm not sad at all. I'm glad I left my old home. It was a small apartment in the city. When I was REAL little I used to get sooo hyper active and run all around. Mom and Dad said that a little apartment in the city wasn't right for a person like me who needs lots of space to run around. That's why we moved upstate. There sure is a lot of room up here! I've got my own forest in my back yard! Complete with creeks and awesome climbing trees!

Maybe I shouldn't tell you this but ….you see… I have a problem… with my brain. Its when I get all hyper and can't pay attention to anything boring. The doctor says its called ADHD which stands for Attention Defecite Hyperactivity Disorder. He said I have to take special pills to calm me down and make me pay attention at school. I don't like to take them though… cause in class when I'm supposed to be paying attention I like to create stuff in my mind, which later I draw on paper. (I'm going to be an artist when I grow up!) Other times I just daydream about flying or me and Heather living in the wild together. Heather is my white tiger. I caught her all by myself! With a tuna fish sandwich. Tigers will do ANYTHING for a tuna fish sandwich. She became my best friend since no one else would. Everyone thinks I'm a freak with mental problems just because I went crazy ONCE and bit Audrey. But I don't care. I've got a tiger as my best friend and she could eat anyone who tries to bother me!

I hope tomorrow at school…. I might make some friends….

- Carla, the smartest coolest girl in the whole world.

I have never felt more nervous in my life as I stood there at the bus stop waiting for the bus to come. I looked around and hoped someone would come. May be if some one did come we could be friends and hang out!

Suddenly I saw a girl my age, also a brunette, walking towards me swinging her lunch box back and fourth. This was my chance! I could make friends with this girl who must live close by! I became so over excited at the thought of making friends that I forgot how to act normal.

"HI!" I practically screamed. "MynameisCarlaIjustmovedherefromthecity. Ilike tigers,drawing,an readingcomicbooks. Want to be friends?" Inside I smacked myself for acting like such a dork.

She gave me a weird look. I sighed. It was hopeless.

But to my surprise she smiled. "My name is Susie. And I'd love to be friends with you."

My face brightened. "Wow! REALLY?"

Susie was about to respond but never got the chance since what appeared to be a mushy apple chucked her in the face. I heard her grumble someone's name.

"YESSSSS!" I heard cheering from behind some bushes. "A direct hit ol' buddy!"

I turned to face Susie's attacker. I was prepared to defend my new found friend but I found my mouth would not move. There before me stood a small boy with messy blond hair and baby blue eyes. Next to him stood his fury tiger accomplice. I couldn't believe my eyes. This boy had a real tiger just like me! I wondered if he caught him the same way I had caught my own.

I forgot completely about Susie now fixated on this strange yet cute looking boy in front of me. He gave me a questioning look. "Who are you?" I saw his tiger whisper something in his ear. "Yeah, I've never seen her around before either, Hobbes."

I decided I wanted this boy as my friend more than Susie. I could clearly relate to this boy a lot more. So I stuck out my hand hoping he would do the same and shake it.

"Hi! My name is Carla. I just moved here!" I smiled trying my best not to sound like a hyper active freak.

He spied my hand suspiciously. "You don't have cooties do you?"

Cooties? What are those? Oh no! Did he think I was some diseased mutant freak? But before I could ask Susie interrupted us.

"Oh shut up Calvin! Girls don't have cooties! Actually there is no such thing. Cooties are fictional."

I was so confused. What the heck were cooties! I never really interacted much with other kids. Just with Heather and my parents on occasion. No one ever mentioned "cooties" before.

"Oh yeah!" Calvin protested. "Then how do explain this rash?" Calvin pulled up his sleeve to reveal a bumpy rash.

Susie rolled her eyes. "For heaven's sake Calvin! THAT is from poison ivy! You got that a few days ago when I pushed you into that bush."

Calvin began to whine. "Yeah I know! And it itches like crazy!"

I HAD to get a better look at that rash. I had never even SEEN poison ivy before. We didn't have much of it in the city. "Whoa…" I said in awe. "Does it ooze puss like when you fall and scrape your knee and you don't let your dad put that stinging stuff on it?"

Susie gave me a disgusted look. "You mean disinfectant?"

Calvin was gaping at me. "A-are you sure you're a girl?"

"Huh?" I was confused. "Don't I look like a girl?" I asked.

Calvin and his tiger exchanged looks "Well yeah…. Its just that girls don't really say stuff like that…"

I wanted to ask exactly what kind of things a girl should say, when the bus came rolling around the corner to bring us to school, the place I hated most. I sighed. I watched Susie hop on the bus and mutter something about being surrounded by weirdos. I turned to Calvin who was waving goodbye to his tiger. I smiled. Maybe I would become good friends with this boy...

Yay! I'm done! Boy I can't tell you how much I love Calvin and Hobbes! I've loved them since forever! hugs them both well tell me how this chappy was. Good? Bad? Let me know!

-cherry