Holding Back a Wallflower

Later that day, or the next, we got into small little groups to get to know each other. I was put into a group with a boy or two, this girl Christy, and another little girl, named Amanda Strum. We all talked to each other, except for her. She just sat on the small carpet in the reading area, not saying a word.

We became friends soon enough, although I don’t remember how. It turned out she lived really close to my house, and I had gone to her house once. We weren’t close, but it felt nice to have someone to talk to outside of school.

I had invited her to my birthday that year, and she had accepted the invitation. At the party, we raced outside (to which I was dead last), played games where you hide stuffed animals, and ate a Powerpuff Girl or Barbie cake from the Carvel down the street.

All except Amanda. She just sat in the corner and watched.

I guess you could say she was a wallflower. Maybe she’s the one that taught me how to just sit and observe, but I almost did the same thing when I was young. We both loved to take things in and just watch the people round us. Listen, but take no part.

Maybe that’s how we became friends.

But why would you hold someone back for being themselves?