Planet Middle School
Read Planet Middle School Online
Authors: Nikki Grimes
Planet Middle School
NIKKI GRIMES
Contents
For my young friend and surrogate daughter,
Sheila Northcutt,
whose middle name should be Joy.
The emergency-room doors
crack open
and I feel my heart split.
The hospital smell
leaves me dizzy,
or maybe it’s just my fear.
What if I got here too late?
What if my friend’s eyes
never open?
What if I missed the chance
to say I’m sorry?
Our fights seem silly now.
But then,
so do the last few months.
I guess the joke is on me.
Too bad I don’t feel
like laughing.
Joylin was my mother’s idea.
She says she swelled with joy
the moment she knew
I lay curled up
inside her.
While she waited
for my arrival,
she dreamed in pink,
imagined frilly dresses
and sweet tea parties.
Sorry, Mom.
Jockette is what
Caden calls me.
He’s so lame.
If he weren’t my brother,
I’d strangle him.
Just kidding.
So what’s the big deal, anyway?
So I’m not a girly girl.
So what?
Is there some law?
I don’t think so.
What does that
even mean?
And where did it come from?
And if there’s a Tom Boy,
how come there’s no Jane Girl?
I’m just sayin’.
I go to my closet
grab a T-shirt and jeans.
Which pair will I wear?
Long jeans, cropped jeans,
just so they are baggy jeans.
Dad keeps asking Mom,
“Where’s the girl
you promised me?”
Like he doesn’t love
our games of one on one.
Please.
Mom bugs me about
sitting with my legs
wide open.
But I don’t get
what she’s so worried about.
I’m covered up in blue jeans.
It’s not like anyone
can see anything.
I’ve told her this
a million times.
For some reason,
she just keeps
shaking her head.
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