The Sisters McGhee
Her powder-pink stiletto clicking on the sidewalk, she leaned back in to peck the driver on the cheek before lifting her left foot out of the car, adjusting her patterned, silk skirt, and slipping her wrist beneath the strap of her new, Genna de Rossi handbag.
"Be back here at 3:00," he said as she stepped out of the car, holding one hand on the door. Almost as quickly as she slammed the door, the car was halfway down the block.
It had been 7 months since her last visit. Sliding her rose-tinted sunglasses above her face and into her hair, she remembered the hot, summer sun that had burned the August sky. The sky now appeared to be a frozen, winter white. Her father's house was empty.
Now, here facing the tall, brick building, she fastened her thin hair into a low, loose, pony tail and made her way to the entrance. A sign on the door was labeled: Visitors to Daniel Boone Middle School, please check in at the main office. A thin, eager smile crept across her face as Courtney McGhee opened the large, glass door.
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The morning sun spread its rays through the open window and lit up the old, black chalkboard as Ms. Boring announced the morning journal topic of the day:
"If I were a superhero, my superpower would be..."
The 13-year-old's bright, blue eyes slowly spanned the chalk-written phrase... She never knew exactly what to write about for these things, but after all, Ms. Boring explained time after time that these journals were merely practice in creative writing.
"Expand your mind! Tap into your creativity! Writing takes practice... Practice, practice, practice!"
Okay, she thought, pushing her long, blonde hair behind her shoulders. Think, think. Super powers? Plain-Jane, Jayme. What super power could I ever have?
Jayme McGhee sat in the back corner of the classroom, cloaked in the shadow of Ms. Boring's tall bookcase. As she contemplated her journal topic, Jayme stared out from her shadow and through the window on the opposite side of the classroom. After coming back to school in January, she had been watching the tall, winter-bare oak outside the window slowly evolve into a luscious, green tree. The flourishing tree had also become the springtime home to families of birds and squirrels.
A head full of short, black hair bobbed in front of Jayme's window view. The hair could only belong to Kyle Foxx. Jayme sat up in her desk and watched Kyle consider his own superpowers. Her eyes combed through every feature of his face, which was now practically glowing by the sunlight. Jayme watched as Jessica Madison leaned over to the edge of her seat, discreetly passing a note to Kyle.
Jessica's short, blonde hair was different than Jayme's hair. Jayme's hair was dark, caramel blonde. Sitting in the shadow of the bookcase, she twirled a lock of her own hair around her fingers, comparing it to the bright, lemony, blonde hair of Jessica, which seemed to attract the warm sun. As Kyle looked up from the secret message and flashed a quick, brilliant smile to Jessica, Jayme, her chin resting on her loosely clinched fist, released a quiet sigh, secretly wishing that she herself could have been passing the note, a note, any note, to Kyle at that very moment. Regardless of proximity, there was something else that Jessica possessed that Jayme did not – that extra something that meant during lunch time, Kyle would sit at Jessica's table – not at Jayme's table. In fact, Jayme wasn't so sure that she even had "a table." Struggling to understand this social phenomenon, Jayme thought, How does she do it? How does she attract guys like Kyle? Suddenly, it came to her!
She began to write:
If I were a superhero, my super power would be the power of attraction!
~ Plain-Jane Jayme
Whatever it was that attracted so many friends – and boys – to Jessica, Jayme wanted that, too. She imagined the possibilities of such a power….
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"I watched the clock all morning. I thought you guys would never get here!" shouted Lizzie cheerfully at Courtney and Jayme as they strolled out the doors of John Battle Elementary School.
"She had to check me out first ya know," said Jayme, putting her hand on Lizzie's shoulder. Smiling, Courtney held Lizzie's hand as she asked, "What's new in the 5th grade?"
"This kid laughed at me in Art today, and I counted to ten like Jayme said. Lucky for him 'cuz I was pretty mad."
"What did he say exactly?" inquired Courtney.
"He made fun of my title," replied Lizzie. Jayme interjected, "Explain! Details, details… Remember, we weren't there. What were you doing in Art today?"
"Oh, Ms. Davis asked us to paint watercolor pictures, so I painted the pond. You know, the one behind Granna's house!"
"What a great idea!"
"Thanks, Courtney! And I picked the greatest title, too. Ms. Davis said to pick a title that represents our picture the best, and my title for my pond was Granna. And then, Arthur Morin laughed at me, and he said my picture didn't look anything like a grandma."
"Did you explain it to him?"
"Heck, no! You guys came in finally, and here I am!" smiled Lizzie as if her sisters had saved the day.
Putting her arm around Jayme, who was shaking her head at Lizzie's story, Courtney looked from Jayme to Lizzie as she said, "Hey, let's go see Granna and grab a bite to eat. I think Mom might even meet us for lunch today."
"If she gets off work," said Jayme. Stopping to kick off her pink heels and put them in her bag, Courtney said, "She'll get away. Gosh, I've missed you all! Let's go."
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