"You wanna start something, tough guy?"
I'm Not from Jersey. My Hair Isn't Enough
Quirky Doesn't Even Begin to Describe It
I'm In Need of Some Bad Medicine
Fiction: Very Slightly Off Balance
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
I Can't Guarantee You Won't Be Arrested
The Key to Living in New Jersey
Poetry Corner: Something's Fishy
Stuff That You Didn't Even Want to Know
Stuff That Doesn't Suck Like a Hoover
Off Balance
By Sarah Scribner
Picture in your head three teenage girls. Two are freshman in high school, and the other is in the eighth grade at a catholic school. Two are 14, and I am 15. Christy is tall, brunette, and the string bean type. She always has a smile on her face and laughter in her brown eyes. She's one of my best friends and is in most of my classes at Skyview. Kelti is my neighbor and other best friend. She is blonde with blue eyes and is the sweetest thing. She is also tall, not the string bean type, but not large. Then there is me. I'm Sarah, short, small with light brown hair and blue eyes, that's just me. Now, when we get together, things happen. We are the three locos, the three crazies, and the Three Amigos.
We each have our individual stories. One of us has sprained her ankle several times (five) in three days. Then fell and broke her leg. After that going up the stairs in crutches was too difficult, and she fell again, broke more bones and was then sentenced to a wheelchair. Another is Miss Slippery Fingers. A piece of glass in a room stands no chance. One touch and then BOOM! She's standing in a circle of tiny shards of glass. The last one has trouble with balance. Oops, she's at her locker and then the next things she's on the floor. How come she can't stand up? Oops she fell in the hall again. Let's point and laugh. (He He)
Even with the two of us it's dangerous. Watch out marble tables, Kelti and I will split you in half! OUCH! Mom, we only bumped it, really, it just fell over, honest! Another set have interesting dealings with horses. Cleaning up horse droppings with Christy becomes interesting when the horse decided to play. Try a lot of ducking under fences and screaming, not to mention being pushed up against the barn and having to sing on key as much as possible to calm the rampaging wild mare. Whew! Surviving that one was amazing! Now combo three should try to register for the circus. Oh, they failed at it. Oh well! While attempting to walk on the ceiling, a very hard trick we managed. Christy's arm gave out and she, well, ate carpet. She's ok, don't worry. Kelti, while laughing so hard at seeing her friend fall "up," she collapsed into giggles and rolled into a bookshelf knocking off books everywhere. Ouch, book in the forehead.
Now, with all of the three of us together, we've designated off-limit items. A few to mention are phones, cameras, and trampolines. We will never be in the same room with a phone again. Last time, two of us were humiliated (I'm not saying who) by having a different girl calling their crushes. A lot of asking out happened and friendships got rocky for a while. Cameras involved evil pictures. The kind of pictures that have you with that dumb face that you would kill if someone saw them? A lot were taken. Hostages were taken and locked in the bathroom without the camera. (HeeHee) Have you ever been on a trampoline with static electricity? That is sooo much fun. We build up enough shocking power and then have a war to see who shocks the best and who gets shocked the best. The winner gets to run around the block to avoid capture.
Now you know why we are the three locos. Throughout mishaps (though there are a lot) we stick together through and through. I couldn't ask for more in best friends. And we'll never be alone in the peanut gallery.
Sarah Scribner is a 9th grader at Skyview High School in Billings, Montana.
Mary Sue and Patty share a hearty chuckle about the current state of American politics.