The Rare Audacity of the Naive

A short memoir piece about meeting a good friend in grade school

The Rare Audacity of the Naive 

We are told from an early age that people change, and friends come and go.  I am a firm believer in this, having experienced it many times over my, seemingly short, school career. On the contrary, I believe every rule has an undeniable exception.  Morgan is that exception.  Morgan is a heretic, a conspiracy theorist, as well as a dinosaur-chicken-nugget enthusiast.  Even if I tried, I couldn’t get rid of her.  If I did however, I’m sure it would leave an extensive void in my life that could only be filled by midnight phone calls, followed by infuriated clamoring about the latest BBC show.  

In April of 2005 I moved to Clarkston.

Upon entering Ms. Comp’s third grade class, I was disappointed, having expected my new classmates and potential friends to greet me with open arms.  I glanced expectantly around the room; no one met my gaze, so I took a seat over in the corner where the window met the bulletin board.  

At lunch, I sat alone in a bleak corner of the cafeteria, and then began to eat my Goldfish. Laughter echoed off the pastel walls, making twenty children seem like one hundred kids, further molding my condition of solitude.   As I tore the crust off my jelly sandwich, I felt a tap on my shoulder.  I hesitated, then managed to turn around, despite my timid nature, to find myself facing a freckled girl with long matted hair, her teeth, seemingly too big for her mouth, beamed through her smile.  She presented a hand covered in magic marker.

“Morgan Geisler.” She said, while eyeing my fruit roll-up.

She then took a seat next to me and emptied five packets of honey onto her pancakes.  I social situations had never been my strong point, so I stayed quiet as she scarfed her lunch beside me.  Between gulps she pursued a conversation.

“Have you ever noticed how everyone, and I mean everyone, goes for the chocolate milk?  I mean, chocolate milks good ‘n all, but the strawberry milks where it’s at.”

“Y’know…” I mumbled through a bite of my sandwich, “I’ve never had strawberry milk.” 

We gathered back in the classroom, our faces flushed from the cold weather.  As we began to settle down, Ms. Comp introduced us to an upcoming project.  My eyes wandered around the room; from the board, to the colorful posters sticky-tacked above the door. I glanced around at my different classmates, all looking as bored as I was.  Across the room spotted the freckled girl from lunch.  She then pulled a honey packet out of her baggy coat pocket, peeled back the wrapping, and proceeded to suck out its contents through a coffee straw.  I watched in shock, a bit of disgust, and odd admiration as she continued to do this, several more times, throughout the rest of the day.

I looked anxiously at the clock, eager to go home and report an uneventful first day. As I packed up my books and crayons,  I noticed the girl from lunch attempted to stumble her way over to where I was standing, failing to maneuver around backpacks and over chairs. . . “Hey kid!” she called, “You’re pretty cool.”  

Once she reached the corner, where the bulletin board met the window, the bell rang. She then, in a hurried, awkward fashion, shoved a single honey packet into my hand and ran off toward the buses. 

Author's Note

alternative title suggestions are appreciated.

Reviews

[Geon Quuin]

This is actually pretty sweet. Writing is decent, the transitions are okay; overall it's not that bad. The innocence of the characters really made me smile. I liked it. For a short story like this, I'd give this one a 3 out of 5. Post more of your writings. I'm quite interested in the style your writing. Drop by my page and give a few of your opinion.