My homegirl is named Harriet. Harriet Owensby is my age, which is eleven, but she is so much more sophisticated than I am. She wears makeup and is allowed to see boys, whereas I am not.
I have known Harriet since we were, like, practically babies: we grew up together. Even though she is more mature than I am, she is still my best friend. We can talk about anything, and she doesn't judge me, which I greatly appreciate.
Harriet lives in the same apartment complex as I do. She lives three doors down from me. She has an older sister, Claudia, which is probably one of the main reasons why she acts so much older. Harriet also has two little brothers, Micah and Caden, who are both barely out of diapers: they're really little.
Besides the kids, there's her mom, and also her grandmother, Ruby, who has Alzheimer's disease and is bedridden. I think this is another reason why Harriet is so mature because she had to grow up faster than most kids.
When Harriet and I are together, we like to style each other's hair and paint our faces until we look like a pair of goofy circus clowns. I'd personally rather play with my dolls, but Harriet says that's baby stuff, which makes me mad sometimes.
She also likes to talk about boys, namely Presley McCabe, who looks like a junior version of Elvis Presley, the king of rock'n'roll. She has the hots for him, I think. I see her staring at him during Social Studies class; it's enough to make me want to lose my belly!
Other than that, Harriet is a very good friend. She's a great listener, and she lets me vent my frustrations about school (I'm not exactly book-smart) and getting grounded because I'd snitched $5.00 from my mama's purse. (I'd wanted a big bag of JuJu beans; I absolutely adore JuJu beans!!)
I just wish Harriet wasn't so sophisticated. I miss our doll-playing days together; we used to play with our dolls for hours! We also used to watch the classic Bugs Bunny cartoons; now she'd rather watch the stupid Disney Channel, which is nothing but a big waste of my time!! Or she'd rather talk about Presley Junior, fuss in front of the mirror, and act older than she really is! It's really a giant pain in my backside!!
Why couldn't we have remained little forever?? Why can't things be like they once were???? I miss the old Harriet Owensby real bad!!
