English 2 · Pahomov · E Band Public Feed
Monologue-Ahmed Ahmed-"Mommy I'm up"
“What? What? I’m up mommy! I’m up”
“What do you mean get dressed?”
(Looks at the clock)
“Mom it’s 12 in the morning. Where the hell are we going? Why the hell are we going to my uncle’s house?”
“Ok give me 5 minutes”
(Gets in the car)
“Mom, I have school tomorrow...well, later.”
“Yes!”
“Mommy! Are you crying?”
“Oh okay. I thought you were crying.”
She was definitely crying, right? No. Mommy is always happy, mommy is always smiling. She’s never sad.
“Hey uncle Aziz!”
“I’m good how are you?”
“Where’s Massawa?”
“Oh okay. Is he going to school tomorrow?”
“Aww man.”
“Okay. I think I'm going to sleep now, I’m really tired. Goodnight!”
“Wait why are we going to Eritrea?”
“OK.”
“Why are they yelling?”
“Ok, Ok!”
“Bye daddy!”
“Mommy. Where are we going?”
“What do you mean we’re going to Eritrea?”
“Mommy, it’s january, I have school, not that I want to go, I’m just reminding you that the summer hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Okay! Jesus Christ.”
“Yeah I have everything.”
“Wait why are we going to Eritrea?”
“Ohhhh Okay.”
“I know a lot about our culture. I know about Jesus christ, I know how to speak Tigrinya, I know injera, I know everything.”
“Now we’re going to eat injera everyday in Eritrea!”
“Yeah, I really like injera.”
“Grandma makes the best injera!”
(silence)
“Is daddy coming with us?”
“Why not?”
“Is he sick?”
“Is he going to go with us on our other vacations”
“Will he come visit us?”
“When are we coming back?”
“Mommy, I have school though.”
“I have to take the PSSA, and in fourth grade, we take English, Math, Science, and writing, so I have to take them.”
“Mommy, I don’t want to go to school in Eritrea!”
“I don’t know how to speak Tigrinya that good.”
“Mommy, why can’t daddy go to Eritrea with us?”
“He can work in Eritrea too.”
“Why are you crying?”
“Yes you are!”
“Mommy, I’m so confused.”
“What is happening?”
“So why are you crying if we’re going to Eritrea? Don’t you like Eritrea? All of your family live there. You should be happy!”
“Ohh, tears of joy!”
“I was so confused!”
“Haha, ok I understand now.”
(gets on airplane)
“Mommy, can I sit on the big massage chair.”
“Aww man!”
“Can I sit next to the window?”
“Yes!”
“Ok. Can I watch a movie first.”
“Just one then I promise I’ll sleep.”
“Thank you mommy.”
(gets off airplane and gets his bag)
“Grandma!”
“I missed you so much!”
“Uncle Hagos! Aunt Hiyab!”
“I’m good.”
“Where are Nigisti and Michael?”
“Yeah I remember them. Nigisti, Michael, Massawa, Russam, and Saba are my favorite cousins!”
“I can’t wait to see them!”
(gets in the car and is on his way to the house.)
“Hi, how are you?”
“Hey what’s up?”
“How’s it going?”
“There are so many people here!”
“Haha.”
“Yeah, I was planning on sleeping in a little bit anyway, but since tomorrow is Saturday, can I play with Russam and the others?”
“Thanks mommy!”
“Ok goodnight!”
“Goodmorning mommy!”
“Mommy, where’s my toothbrush?”
“Ok thanks.”
“Good Morning Michael!”
“Let’s go get Nigisti, Russam, and Saba so we can play tag!”
“Ok I’ll go tell Russam!”
“Russam!”
“Oh I think I hear him in that room!”
(Listening to his mother, aunts, uncles, and grandparents taking in the room)
“No way!”
“Nah ah!”
“A divorce!”
“Wait does that mean I won’t ever see daddy again?”
“Is that why mommy was crying?”
“Is that why we came to Eritrea?”
“Does daddy not love me and mommy anymore?”
“Why a divorce?”
“Am I ever going to see my dad again?”
Amaris's Monologue - Josh
Why are you doing this to yourself? You’re my best friend and I’m not going to let you put all of your energy towards some boy. He pays no attention to you and you keep pouring your heart out to him.
Stop telling yourself this. He is clearly entertaining other girls. At the end of the day I’m always the one you come running to when Josh isn’t responding and doesn’t want to talk to you. That seems to be the only time you’ve been talking to me lately.
You keep saying that. No, you haven’t been busy, you’ve just taken all of your time and put it towards him. I just can’t understand why you’re doing this.
I know you have work and school, I have to do just as many things as you do but I always make sure I check up on you and see how you’re doing. Not once have you checked up on me Sofia. Every time we talk it has to be about him. It's never about me or how I am doing. Your life revolves around him.
No, I don’t have an issue with you coming to me for help. You can always come to me with whatever you need. I just don’t like that fact that it's never about you or what you need, I want to know how you’re doing and what has been going on in your life, not what he has been doing. You deserve better. He is clearly causing so many problems in your life.
You think I’m jealous of you? That is not what this is about. I have no need to be jealous of you obsessing over someone like him. I don’t even know why you would say something like that.
I am the one causing issues? Do you not realize what he is doing to you? You should be on my side right now but you’re deciding to choose a boy over our friendship. Do our 8 years of friendship not mean anything to you Sofia? Do I not mean anything to you? For the past 3 months he’s used you for his own convenience. He talks to you when you’re there, and when you’re not, he moves on to the next girl. You’re just too absent minded to realize it. You get distracted by anything he does and it makes you forget about everyone else around you.
This isn’t about jealousy or anything like that, this is about your health. I am not going to let you continue down this path. If you trusted me and valued my opinion as a “best friend” you would not be sitting here thinking I would approach you about this because of jealousy.
If you honestly think this low of me then I don’t know if we can make this friendship work anymore. Josh has changed you entirely and you’re not the same person I thought I’d known for 8 years.
I am trying to say that if you don’t value my opinion in this situation and you want to choose him over our friendship then so be it.
How are you going to make it up to me? There is no way to fix how I’ve been feeling these past 3 months without you. Something like this that has been happening for this long can’t be fixed over a trip to the mall or taking me to the movies. You can’t just throw money at a situation and make it better. You have no consideration for how I feel.
What do you mean why am I walking away? I’ve already said how I feel, and if you can’t change, then just don’t involve me in any of this. I hope he was worth it.Raised by the streets
Its 1980. My names Jamal and I'm 16 year old black man. I'm busy as hell and 6’5 and I live in North Philly… pretty much the hood. I'm living in a world where it seems everyone is a G. Where everyone's a Thug and packing heat. Its pretty common to hear about gang warfare and gang violence and territorial disputes and a lot of times you'll hear shoot outs and drive bys and it's almost an every night thing to hear police sirens in the distance. I live life one day at a time and honestly life is rough. I need to put some money on the table so i'm out here slangin dope, my dad left me and my mom, my mom has resorted to drugs to deal with stress and to top of the cake i'm in a gang that I don't even know I want to be in. Now yeah, in my own ways and just my personality I have been called as a thug and been compared to one but i've never been in a gang. I've always just flown solo, just the lone wolf. But now I have been associated with people who are in one of the biggest gangs in town. They are my friends in school who brought me in but now that I actually see what they’re doing, see what life they’re living.I don't know if I want in anymore. There was not initiation that I had to do to get in and yeah if you're in a gang you have people who have your back and who are ride or die, But this might just be too much. But at the same time this is pretty much all I know. I was basically raised by the streets and the streets are what helped me put food on the table and keep money in my pockets. The one thing I could always count on was my music. But even my music gave me reasons to be a G or not to be. My favorite artist Like Eazy-E, Tupac, Big L, Big Pun, and Biggie Smalls were all Gangsta rappers and Eazy- E was in a gang himself and they're all very successful so why shouldn't I be like them? I've always been good with words, beats and rhymes. Maybe I can have the same outcome as them. Not only their success but their music and lyrics speak to me. They give reasons to want to live the thug life but I have to remember that throughout a lot of their music the express emotions on the life they live like in a lot of Tupac's music he expresses the struggles that the black race and young black males have to deal with like in his songs Changes, Me Against The world, and Ambitionz az a Ridah or in Biggie’s song “Juicy” Music is pretty much where I go to think and it helps my mind find answers but this time i dont think its working. The only thing I could think of was to just stop all this completely and start trying to be a rapper but I have no idea if i'd even get that chance to be big. I also have to worry about my reputation out here. Reputation can mean everything out here in the streets. But there's a part of me who likes the liv i'm living but I liked the life as a lone wolf the best. Make me feel like I can relate to Tupac's song “Me against the world”. If i'm in a gang that just ups my chances of getting poped out here by rival gangs flamin gats because of something some other people in my gang did. I can't have that happen. I just hope for whatever i decide I make the decision fast before it's too late and im not around to make that choice anymore.
Can, Can't and Will - Genero Accooe
Hey mom I’m home. Yeah my day was good. Okay let’s see what I have to do for tonight…What did you ask?... Sorry mom I can’t, I have a ton of homework. “Phew”. Feels nice to sit down after a few hours worth of walking, god I love my bed.
Man I can’t believe they’d assign me 3 projects, due all on the same day!?!? I mean c’mon man what the hell am I supposed to do all by myself. English is already hard enough having to write essays. I mean I have like… The worst writers block in the world. (Exaggerate)And I have to read on top of that, (chuckles) Nooo thank you. Jesus crisps cookies… why is this math so hard I can’t even look at it- (phone buzzes) Oooh shit, that new update for clash is up! No! I don’t have time to play it, ughhhh. This is exactly why I don’t like homework. What ever, I can’t afford to bomb these projects, not when grades are almost in. This is exactly why I don’t like homework.
(Phone buzzes again) Well... it’s only 7:50 so I should be able to get this done before the morning. No! Stay focussed!(Phone buzzes) Ohh but Idubbbz came out with a new vid- AND FRANK?!?!?! Hell yeah boi aww! I gotta watch this real quick(Starts to type fast for two seconds) Hahaha. (Uncontrollable laughter, puts hand over mouth) (Maybe six seconds later, video ends) (Sigh)Ahh god that was too funny man…(raises wrist to look at his watch) Ok, ok it’s 8:30. I still got some time left to finish but god my eyes are starting to hurt just looking at the work. (Yawn!) Man, and now I’m way too tired to do this. Fifteen minutes couldn’t hurt. (Yawn)… (Yawn) Jesus, 11:39? What the hell, I can’t believe I overslept, I KNEW this was going to happen if I took a nap (silent for a few seconds). I guess I gotta use my last resort.
(Starts typing fast) Dear - Mr. Dadadadada, with the mountains of assignments I’ve been given over the past week I have no other choice but to ask you for an extension. I know that I can’t get all of my homework and projects done before tomorrow. (Typing stops for about a second or so, Rich lets out a “hmmm”) If I can receive an extension that would be wonderful. (Mutters under breath)”hit Send”. (click) There, one teacher down three more to go. Alright (Breathes out).
Dear Ms.So’n’so…(typing stops briefly then starts back up) My apologies for not writing sooner but I wanted to know if I could receive an extension on the project that is due. I know that I have some fault in in this.( Quick pause) But you must understand, I’ve been given a ton of extra work that I know that I can’t finish in time on top of your assignment. I know that this could help my grade and myself personally if given the extension. I hope you have a wond-(Stop). (Firm tone) No. No, no, No! (Just a little quieter) Delete all of it.
(Fast typing) Dear Mr.Dadadadada and Ms.So’n’so. I’m sorry for not starting the project earlier but I have a problem… I’m not asking for an extension but to take it back. I never really needed it in the first place. I was too busy forcing myself into thinking that I couldn’t do the work when in reality, I just didn’t want to. I know that almost everyone gets writers block, or finds some of their work to be challenging but I can’t use that to justify my choices. I can see that receiving an extension would only damage my grade and my image towards you, the teachers. I can’t use all of these excuses to justify my actions, that would make me incompetent and hurt my grade and my education. I just want you to know that I will be trying my hardest form now on, no more waiting and no more excuses. Sincerely, Richard Bee. (Drawn out)And, send.(click)
https://www.soundtrap.com/playlink/9199a578-6a4d-40d2-924e-6450fd8e1480/
Suits Don't Come With Respect
A Strict Parent Makes A Sneaky Child
Okay, so it’s 4 p.m. on a school day. I should be going home, I know. But, my best friends Sophia, Emma, and Ava just invited me out!
“It’s just a little white lie,” Sophia said. “Come on, tell your mom that you have a club or something to go to. Just hang out with us for one hour, it’s not like we’re gonna do drugs or anything Mia.”
I wish I could go! With different programs and work to go to, I get home late, even on the weekends. Therefore, there’s not much time that I’m at home and I don’t get much time to hang out with my friends either because of our schedules always clashing.
For some reason, they think that I wanna distance myself from them, or that I’m too busy for them. But that’s not true! In reality, it’s just because I have a strict mom so I can’t really go out as often as I would like to. I don’t blame her, I mean, I’m her youngest child so she’s probably afraid of letting the little bird go. Plus, it’s tough now since it’s the middle of Fall, and daylight savings are kicking in, because everything is getting darker.
I’m basically in a pickle. Nothing I would do could satisfy everyone in the situation. An option could be lying to my mom and hanging out, or not being able to do something outside of school with my friends. It’s like having an angel and a devil on my shoulders. At that very moment, the devil is more persuasive.
So, what am I gonna do?
Oh no, my mom just texted me!
“Honey, where are you?” she questioned.
What do I do now? Casually say, hey mom, nothing, I actually lied to you and am hanging out with my friends. I can’t say that because we all know how that sounds.
I tossed my phone over to Ava and told her to respond for me. She told me that I wasn’t going to like what she was gonna say.
I was a bit concerned honestly. Like, what could she say? Oh, she said she would’ve been honest with my mom and simply say that I’m hanging out with her.
Well, in that case, NOPE. I quickly took the phone back because doing that would be equivalent to me asking my mom to be punished. Instead, I just told her that there were a lot of things to discuss at the club meeting today.
I know, lying is bad, and trust me, did I feel horrible. Even though they’re called little white lies, it doesn’t make them okay, but somehow, I just kept allowing them escape my mouth.
Well, since I already decided to do this, I should just give it my all and not have regrets while hanging out. If I want to feel regretful, that would be something to save for my midnight wonders.
We all decided to go to Chinatown and it was honestly so fun. We explored little shops even though we bought nothing, ate some noodles from Terakawa Ramen, and even got some ice cream because the cold doesn’t bother us. Okay, that’s a lie, it was freezing, but we still ate ice cream! Suddenly, I looked at my phone and boom, it was 5:30 already.
This day was the most I’ve laughed this week, taking the stress from home and school off of my shoulders, temporarily at least. It’s time for me to start heading home, so my friends walked to me the bus stop.
As soon as we got there, I heard a riiiiing riiiiing riiiiing and without even looking at the caller ID, I could already tell that it was my mom summoning me.
“Mia, where are you? Tell your teachers that you can’t stay too long!”
My mind was saying "Uhhh, my teachers wouldn’t keep me this long", but what actually came out of my mouth was,”Oh, hi mom, I’m at the bus stop now. I’ll be home soon!”
Emma smiled at me and shook her head. I said to her, “Oh, the things I do for you guys, but I love you guys anyways.”
Later, I arrived home to a very worried mom. She was just relieved that I made it home alive. You know what, I think the devil’s done his deeds today and the angel wants her part. I couldn’t hold it in anymore, I told my mom to pinky promise to not be mad about what I was going to say next.
She hesitantly stuck out her pinky and as soon our pinkies collided, I blurted out the truth. I could definitely tell she wasn’t happy, but she couldn’t be mad after seeing how happy I was afterwards. She wasn’t as upset as I thought she would be, I guess she understood where I was coming from.
Next time, if I do something like this again, I might use the same tactic which is the don’t be mad pinky swear. I gotta say, a strict parent makes a sneaky child.First offense
*Story starts with are main character in a car talking to his friends*
I'm ready yall do we really have to do this, you keep saying we do and i know Momma still doesn't have enough for the little ones but no one's starving. Don't y'all know that little B got sick, we need this money. No one knows what he got but it's serious and we ain't got healthcare so it's gonna cost us.
(Pause)
Whatever yo let's just get this over with. Im acting white? What the hell do you mean by that. I'm down to do this because this is necessary, this is for little B it's just i ain't trying to catch my first offense like Pie did.
(Long pause)
Why we even tryin to hit up a KFC they won't have that much cash anyway. Really man we doing this for the chicken, that's the stupidest thing I ever heard. If I go to jail over some stupid ass chicken i’ll be really pissed. Remember what happened to Tank when he went to jail? That fool came out gay and remember what happened to Ricky? When he tried to rob that gas station a gang pulled up on him and shot him straight in the back. Dead instantly. I ain't trying to have that happen to me i'm just trying to deal with little B. What you mean that's a myth i ain't stupid, RJ back there was the one who told me…..whatever. But seriously chicken? Can't we at least rob like a liquor store or something, at least make it a Popeyes they are better down here in Louisiana than a KFC, it's in their commercial. By the way what's the plan again man i always forget this stuff..
So you're saying that we just gonna roll up point are choppas at the clerk and roll out through the back alleyway? If you remember that's how Tank got caught. How the hell we even gonna escape if the ride is parked in the front. You haven't thought of that? Man I just wanna get this done, how bout we let RJ drive and park the car around back and then we go in and grab the chicken then we get the hell out. How is that a stupid idea? it's better than go in leave the car and run.
(Long pause)
We’ve arrived it's time to get The job done and put food on the table. And can we make sure we do this the right way, if I go to jail my family will really be in trouble. The only reason i'm doin this is because yall know I got laid off. I ain't out here to do anything gang related I'm just trying to make money for little B and quit it with calling me white.
(Semi long pause)
You know what? I don't need this. I got a job before I can get one now. Yall act like you need to do this but ya dont. This type of life ain't fun and it ain't for making money. I had to drop 300 for this damn gun when I could've spent it helpin B get better. It's time for me to go yall to slow for this crime game, peace.
McDoubled (Hours)
*Washing hands motion*
*Sigh*,
About 50 minutes left. I guess I can just stay for an extra 10 minutes, after all he’s made me stay overtime a lot recently. You could say that I deserve it then. I missed a part of my daughter’s graduation because of it too. And my wife’s anniversary. Yeah, I don’t think he’s ever treated me fairly at all. Thinking back on it, my wife’s being a struggle too. I need to say something to her. And I also need to say something to my boss. It’s time to stop acting like a pushover. I can’t keep letting him treat me like this.
*Walks out of bathroom and into seat.”
I will tell him. I will give him a piece of my mind. I will do it. Eventually. But what about my job? Should I just talk to H.R. about it? Well, Mr. Bossman is her boss too… No, I will do it, and even if I get fired, I’ll get my creepy uncle to hook me up with a pharmaceutical job. In the case he doesn’t fire me, I guess he won’t see me as a bitch anymore. *3 second pause*
Order number 79? Hey, that’s me.
*Walk over to stand and collects consumables.*
This feels a bit lighter than I expected. Huh. No pickles? No cheese? NO PICKLES?! NO CHEESE?! Where is the manager? I want to speak to your manager. Where’s my drink? Don’t tell me you forgot my drink! How am I supposed to eat this pizza without my drink?! This service is sickening! I am sick and tired. I am sick and tired of being treated like trash, like I’m some shitty burger found in the back of a McDonald’s, no offense. I demand to speak to the manager. You are the manager? Then manage things! I waited a whole twenty minutes for my food, and you only bring ⅓ of it. That ⅓ wasn’t even complete? Is everybody deaf, can they hear me? Do I have to scream? REEEEEEE! You know what? I don’t need this right now. I deserve better. I deserve a refund at least. Yeah, I want a refund, at this instance! Yeah, you take those bills out. I’ll be taking that.
*Walks out of store*
Now it’s time to go talk to Mr. Bossmanson.
*Walks signifying leaving establishment*
Ummm.. Mr. Bossdudeguy, I-I-I think we need to have a little t-talk. No I don’t want to do more overtime. It’s about the way you’ve been treating me. *Pause* As in matter of fact, I do have something to say about it. I want a raise. I want a change of hours. I need a little respect. That was all I ever wanted. No, that was all I ever needed. I want all of that or I quit! *Pause* Yes, I have the statistics for the quarterly revenue stream. It is on your desk, I finished it a few days ago. *Pause* What’s that? I’m fired? *Distressed voice*
English Monologue-Master of Self Doubt
Ok, today is the day, I’m gonna talk to her, I'm not gonna wimp out of it anymore. I want to meet her and get to know her so bad, I just haven’t had the courage to talk to her yet. She’s just so… perfect, there’s no other way to describe it. I mean you guys understand right, that one special girl that you just lay your eyes on and you are already on cloud 9. That’s who Anna is to me, that dream girl. I always see her and have classes with her, and I’ve always wanted to say “Hi,” at the very least but I could never build up the courage. Well, that all changes today! In about 3 minutes lunch is gonna start and she should be walking out of her History class. That’s when I make my move and just go up to her. No.. no I can’t… no there’s no point, she probably won’t like me or wanna talk to me anyways, I mean I’m a boring person and I’m sure as hell not funny. The only reason she would laugh is probably out of awkwardness. GOD WHY AM I LIKE THIS. Why do I have to be so self-conscious and put myself down so much… oh, wait I do know why it’s because my standards are too high. I don’t have a chance with her…. *bell rings and door to history opens, Anna is one of the first people to walk out*
*Whispers- Oh no there she is, it’s now or never.” Hey, Anna, what’s up? Oh, you’re going to lunch, nice, nice sounds like fun. What me? Oh, I’m just chilling you know, I’m probably gonna go get some lunch in a little bit but for now, I’m good. Yea it was nice talking to you too, we can definitely grab some lunch together sometime. *Waving towards the distance as if she was walking away* That was easier than I thought… or was it. No that was a good little conversation… oh, who am I kidding she probably thought I was a weirdo. I probably made that so awkward…. UGHHHHH GOD WHY AM I SO CRINGEY?! Why can’t I be like any other guy and be able to talk to a girl in the snap of a finger, no hesitation, no nothing?! WHYY!? Why do I have to be so weird? I just want to be able to talk to her, nothing more, and I can’t even do that. Mannnn… how can I expect to one day maybe get her to like me enough to give me a chance and go out with me if I can’t even talk to her? I should just give up right now and accept that I’m going to just be alone forever. *Looks over and sees Anna coming back towards him smiling* Hey Anna *nervously* Wait.. you want to go grab lunch right now? Yea sure that sounds nice, let’s go, I just need to grab something from my locker really quick. Yea I'll meet you downstairs. *Waves at Anna again* Did you guys see that!? I talked to her, this is amazing. I’m gonna finally get a chance to hang out with her. I mean seriously this is awesome, I’m going to go eat lunch with...Anna...by ourselves… that’s almost like a date. OMG! NO WAY! I’M GOING TO GET LUNCH WITH ANNA! WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!? *Begins to walk away from the camera/ audience* Oh right, gotta get my coat, almost forgot about that with all this excitement in me, haha.Pink
Dear Mr. President,
[should all be read quickly and eagerly, like a small child, sad parts slow down like a little kid too]
My name is Lexi, and I am 6 and 3 quarters. My birthday is February 15th and that’s one day after Valentine’s Day which is the day of love. My teacher asked me to write about something I love. But I love a lot of stuff. I love pizza and swimming, but I hate pink. Pink is for babies and I’m a big girl now. Never wear pink, Mr. President, because I won’t like it. My mommy likes pink though, especially when the sun rises and the clouds turn into cotton candy in the sky. I love my mommy. I also love my daddy. They love me too. They love me soooooo much that they’d do anything for me. They tell me that every day just so I’ll remember. I think that’s silly though because I’m smart, so I’ll remember it anyway. My teacher wants me to write about how much we love you, Mr. President. I think I can do that.
My mommy really loves you. She said that she voted for you a whole 2 years before I was born. Two years is pretty long if you ask me. She said that the White House was in serious danger because some really bad men were trying to live in it, and we needed a hero to come protect us. She said that you were different from all the other Mr. Presidents that came before you, and that you were the one who could save the day! You were the one who could change the world and keep our country happy and safe forever! When you won, my mommy cried big happy tears. In 2012, I went behind the blue blanket to help push the button with your name on it to make you win again. When you won, my mommy told me our country was still safe from the bad guys. The big tears happened all over. This year was really different. We didn’t get to push your name.
Why did you take your name away, Mr. President? My teacher told me it’s because you have to give someone else a turn, but you’re doing a great job keeping out the baddies, so it’s fine with me if you just stay. This year, Mommy wasn’t so happy to watch TV with me anymore. She would turn it off sometimes when this one man came on the screen. He had tiny little eyes and almost-gone hair like Daddy’s that was always rushing away from his face. Kind of like it was blowing in the wind but all the time. When he talked, his mouth got really small like he was biting a lemon, and he would move his hands around like he was my music teacher. The weirdest thing about him though was his orange skin. It was almost as orange as my friend Crissy’s hair, except by his eyes. Sometimes this man was hunched over behind a tall table, talking to a blonde haired woman that made Mommy smile. Other times, he was just talking to the screen. He was always yelling at Mommy through the box. He always looked angry. He always said mean things. I asked my teacher about the big orange man one day, and she told me that he was trying to get your job, Mr. President! Can you believe that? When my teacher told me that, I got really upset and I threw my notebook. She got stern with me, but I told her that you can’t just take someone’s job like that, especially not a hero’s! She still told my mom. Luckily my mommy agreed with me, so she didn’t get too angry. Mommy says the orange man has none of the experience that you need to be a good president for our country, and that he is mean to all of the people who don’t look and think like him. She said he would break our country. That sounds bad. Daddy doesn’t hate him like Mommy does. He says the orange man will make more jobs, and he needs one. He says he will run the country like a business, and make us all rich! I want to be rich too!...But Mommy says he’s a bully. Sometimes we watch the TV all together. Sometimes it’s not fun. Mommy gets upset and Daddy tells her she’s being stupid because of course the orange man can’t actually do anything that bad to the Mexicans, but Mommy says it doesn’t matter, it’s the fact that he says it at all, and I just sit there. Mr. President?
Last night, Mommy made Daddy and leave our house for the night. When I asked Mommy why he left, she said it was because the nice old woman didn’t get picked to take your job. She said the mean orange man did, and Daddy helped him. She told him that he was just as bad as the orange man himself. My dad threw something at the wall. I could hear it from my bed. I heard the door slam too. My mom crawled into my bed last night. This time she wasn’t crying big happy tears. These were blue. They were the ones that leave a big line on your face because they don’t stop for a while. Like when a boy takes your toy while the other kids are watching, but when you tell on him, they all shake their heads. And the teacher gives the boy the toy. And the kids walk away with him, laughing. And you know you’re all alone. Those kind of tears. When I woke up next to my mommy this morning, the sky outside was gray and still. The birds weren’t singing. Cars barely honked. The world was stiff and tired. Mommy didn’t smile today.
Mr. President, I know you aren’t going to have your job for much longer, but if you can do one last thing for us, can you please make the birds sing and the sky pink again? I think that will make Mommy smile.
Love,
Lexi
ENG2-022
- Term
- 2016-17