Love, Music and a Big Klutzy Dog: A Journal By Kari Nina Tanaka-Akers
Meanwhile, in Flashback Land...
My weird obsessed trace got interrupted when the door of the green house opened and a girl who looked way older than me came out. Really, it’s only a three-year age difference, but when three years is half of your life, it seems like a huge gap. So I watched the girl while she looked around her front yard, then started to walk down her driveway and across the street. She was really tall. Compared to me anyway, but I’ve always been a midget. Hooray for tiny Asian genes. Anyway, the girl had long black hair that came to about the middle of her zippered blue pull over that matched her superly bright eyes exactly. Other than that, she was wearing a matching headband, jeans with little purple butterflies at the bottom, and black tennis shoes. She was pale, which only made her eyes and hair look cooler.
“Hi.” She stopped on the very edge of our lawn and looked down at her shoes. “My name is Rain. What’s yours?”
“Kari Nina Tanaka-Ackers.” I always used both my parents’ last names. I thought it sounded cooler. “But I like yours better. It’s superly awesome.”
“No it’s not.” she wrinkled her nose like she was smelling something really bad. “It’s weird and boring. Yours is pretty.”
“Rain is so not boring!” I protested right away. “Rain is the coolest name I can think of right now, except for maybe Jasmine!”
She giggled really quietly. “You’re funny. How old are you?”
“I’m six years, four months and two weeks next Friday,” I said, real proud cuz, hey, six years of being alive is kinda a big deal. “You?”
“I’m nine.” She kicked at a rock on the side of the road. “My mother told me to come over to say hi because you were all by yourself. She would have made my little brother come with too, but he’s sick. She also said she would come over later to introduce herself to your parents. And maybe even drag my daddy with too.”
“You have a baby brother?” My mouth fell open. Ever since I can remember, I wanted a sibling. “Lucky duck!”
Rain wrinkled her nose again. “Yeah, but he’s a pest.” But I didn’t believe her because my mama always said that brothers and sisters always complain about each other. “His name is Zack and he’s seven.”
Really. Was it too much to ask for a few friends my age? Seven and nine? These guys were ancient!
But right when I was going to ask her who’s bike was in her driveway, I heard my mom yelling from inside.
“Kari!”
“Oh…” I looked around at the house. My dad was right, the movers had left while I was talking to Rain. “That’s my Mama. I have to go.”
“Oh, okay.” She waved a little bit. “Bye Kari.”
“Bye!” I turned around and skipped up the driveway and sidewalk to the door and pulled it open.
“Hi.” She stopped on the very edge of our lawn and looked down at her shoes. “My name is Rain. What’s yours?”
“Kari Nina Tanaka-Ackers.” I always used both my parents’ last names. I thought it sounded cooler. “But I like yours better. It’s superly awesome.”
“No it’s not.” she wrinkled her nose like she was smelling something really bad. “It’s weird and boring. Yours is pretty.”
“Rain is so not boring!” I protested right away. “Rain is the coolest name I can think of right now, except for maybe Jasmine!”
She giggled really quietly. “You’re funny. How old are you?”
“I’m six years, four months and two weeks next Friday,” I said, real proud cuz, hey, six years of being alive is kinda a big deal. “You?”
“I’m nine.” She kicked at a rock on the side of the road. “My mother told me to come over to say hi because you were all by yourself. She would have made my little brother come with too, but he’s sick. She also said she would come over later to introduce herself to your parents. And maybe even drag my daddy with too.”
“You have a baby brother?” My mouth fell open. Ever since I can remember, I wanted a sibling. “Lucky duck!”
Rain wrinkled her nose again. “Yeah, but he’s a pest.” But I didn’t believe her because my mama always said that brothers and sisters always complain about each other. “His name is Zack and he’s seven.”
Really. Was it too much to ask for a few friends my age? Seven and nine? These guys were ancient!
But right when I was going to ask her who’s bike was in her driveway, I heard my mom yelling from inside.
“Kari!”
“Oh…” I looked around at the house. My dad was right, the movers had left while I was talking to Rain. “That’s my Mama. I have to go.”
“Oh, okay.” She waved a little bit. “Bye Kari.”
“Bye!” I turned around and skipped up the driveway and sidewalk to the door and pulled it open.
♠ ♠ ♠
I probably should have made it clearer that the last chapter was back in present day. Oh well, I'm sure you smarties already figured it out. :)