10/22/94

“Ohhhh we’re halfway there!

WA Ohhh ohhhh!

Livin’ on a prayer

Take my hand we’ll make it I swear

Ohhh Ohhhh

Livin’ on a Prayer!”

That song just won’t get out of my head! Bon Jovi was on T.V., and me and Andy were having a blast! We were in front of her television again and singing at the top of our lungs. Her father had gotten home through the front door and he just shook his head at us, chuckling and muttering, “Girls.”

“Take my hand and we’ll make it I swear!”

I had grabbed her hand in mine while our free hands held microphones. Actually, they were pencils, but we pretended they were microphones.

“Ohhhh Ohhhhh! Livin’ on prayer!”

“Must you sing so bad.”

That’s what Andy’s mom said from the kitchen as she looked over at us.

“Yes we must!” Andy laughed.

“You wanna know what my prayer is? For you to lose some weight.”

  “We live for the fight and that’s all that you got! WOOOOH!”

I don’t think Andy heard her mom’s comment, but if she did she just ignored it. Heck, I did. That woman just can’t get the hint. Criticizing her daughter is not helping at all and I’m tired of hearing her. My mom agrees by the way. Her mother has been too busy to notice that Andy has actually lost two pounds. I noticed because of her attitude. She told me earlier that she was eating more fruits and less junk food like potato chips. I asked her about the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and she laughed.

“I’ll never give those up!”

~Sky

I went over to Andy’s house today ‘cause she called me to go on over. She sounded so excited so I asked my mom if she could drive me over and she did. When I got there Andy was smiling with her hands behind her back.

“What you got there behind your back?” asked my mom.

She grinned before shouting, “SURPRISE!”

I screamed when I saw her holding Bon Jovi’s newest CD album!!!! She had gone to the mall earlier and bought two of them, one for her and one for me.

“Well ain’t that sweet!” my mom reached over and took the CD. “This is the man from the poster you got her for Christmas isn’t it Sky?”

“Yeah mom. It is.” Like duh!

We almost died when my mother made fun of Bon Jovi’s hair. She said it was “too crazy and long” for a man, but that’s her taste.

“Where’s your mother Andy?” my mom asked.

“In her room. She’s not too happy with me.”

“Why not? What you do young lady.”

“I hate shopping,” said Andy.

“A girl who doesn’t like shopping. I didn’t think those girls existed.”

I just shook my head at my mom. It’s not too hard to guess why. My mom left me there for a few hours, so I asked Andy how her shopping trip went.

“I didn’t get a thing.”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t like anything and I don’t need anything either.”

“Oh,” I replied. “Why was your mom mad then?”

“I didn’t want to try on any clothes.”

She looked a little uncomfortable, but I continued to pry because I wanted to be a good friend. “Why not?”

“I just…” she took a breath, “it’s so annoying you know? My mom loves shopping and she can stay there for hours but I can’t! Plus-” She stopped and muttered, “Every time we go shopping she brings up my weight.”

I nodded. “I thought so.”

She opened up to me after that.

“I get frustrated ‘cause she gets out a pair of pants for me to try on and then they don’t fit and she reminds me why. God!” she huffed. “It aggravates me going to the mall with her. When the clothes don’t fit me either it just makes me feel like a slob!”

I shook my head. “You’re not a slob. Just chunky.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “But I do wanna lose weight.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “Just so I don’t have to hear my mom bitch anymore.”

We both laughed.

~Sky

Oh… my… Lord.

Andy will not stop talking about “The Lion King”. I’ll give it to her, it was a good movie, but she adores it. We saw it a couple of days ago.

“The music is AMAZING!” She said that at least five times today, which it is. Elton John’s version of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” is on top of the music charts.

Andy seems to be doing better in regards to her weight. I asked her if her mom was still bothering her and she just shrugged. That wasn’t too comforting.

There hasn’t been a repeat performance of what happened in the gym, which my mom is thankful for. She wasn’t mad at me for cursing, but she’d rather not have to go to another teacher-parent conference.

~Sky

We saw the new movie: The Lion King tonight and it was great. Andy liked it more though.

~Sky

Today was a horrible day for both me and Andy.

We were in gym class playing basketball and coach made us split into teams. I had a horrible gut feeling about the whole thing, or maybe I just say that now because I know what happened. Mike and Carly were made captains and had to choose people to be on their team. Andy was last to be chosen, but that’s only minor. It’s the fact that both of them argued over who’s team she should be on.

“I don’t want her. She’s too slow,” said Mike.

“I don’t want her either,” Carly drawled, in her annoying cowgirl accent. I know we live in Alabama and even I have an accent, but really, she just overdoes it for Mike (he’s from Florida and once mentioned how he liked her accent and since then she’s been trying too hard).

“Would you two shut up! Mike’s team needs another player, so she could go there,” said Travis. He was on Carly’s team with me.

“Yeah, put the fat girl on Mike’s team.”

I whipped my head around to see who had said that, but I still don’t know who did. I do remember everyone starting to laugh though. That’s all I heard. Laughter. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….. It made me so sick. They were laughing at my best friend.

I can’t forget Andy’s face. I could only imagine what she felt like. She was silent and took it all in stride, but I knew they were hurting her feelings. I can’t describe in words the about of emotion that welled up in my chest. This hot burning rage ran through me and I snapped like a pistol.

“You know what,” I said, “you assholes can play by yourself. Me and Andy aren’t playing with jerks like you!”

SCORE! SWOOSH! It just came out and I couldn’t stop it. Coach heard me curse and gave me a detention, but it was so worth it to see Andy’s face.

After getting my detention slip, I walked out of the guidance councelor’s office and Andy was waiting for me outside.  When she saw me she started to cry and wrapped her arms around my neck and whispered, “Thank you.”

Sometimes I wish I could shield her from the world.

~Sky

I pulled this off of the internet for our health class homework. I tried to find a teenager chart but I guess this is close enough. Our state of Alabama is the darkest blue. That’s not a good thing. It seems that more and more people are becoming overweight as the years go by, or at least that’s what the experts say.

~Sky

I finally spoke to her.

I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been. She’s been miserable this whole time but she’s been keeping it to herself.

After school we didn’t take the bus. We walked home, but this time to my house. She was still fighting with her mom.

“All she talks about is about me getting fat,” she told me. “I can’t help it. I don’t want to be overweight but I am. I just… I don’t know. I like food. I always have,” I think she was trying to make sense of it.

“I think your mom is making a huge deal out of it,” I said. “She’s been acting like a real bitch.”

“She has and she thinks she’s helping but how is that helping,” she was becoming exasperated. “I mean, do I look that fat to you?”

I told her the truth. “No.”

“What do I look like to you?”

It was such an innocent question. I looked into her eyes and I saw how vulnerable she was. I thought hard but I tried to think quickly.

I’m still happy about my reply.

“You look like my best friend,” I said, and I grabbed her hand like we used to do when we were little. “And I like you just the way you look.”

She smiled and a tear went down her cheek.

~Sky

Yesterday John Candy died of a heart attack. He was 43 years old. Andy and I were sitting in the living room and doing homework after school with the T.V. on and the news was talking about it. It’s so sad to think about. He was a really funny guy. He was in the movie “Home Alone” in 1990. I love that movie. They showed a clip from his scene there and from other movies too. He seemed to be a great, funny guy.

Later Andy’s mom came home and the first thing she said was, “Did you see who died? John Candy!”

Andy and I nodded our heads. But then she said, “You know why? Because he was fat. When you’re fat, you get heart attacks. I’d think carefully about how much you eat Andy.”

Come on! Really? I was so happy when Andy spoke up.

“Mom, I don’t eat that much. I’m only a little overweight.”

“A little? I see that belly right there.” I knew what she was referring to. I had noticed her belly hanging a bit over her waist, but not that much.

“John Candy was obese, and it’s not his fault he was fat.”

“Not his fault?” her mom laughed. “Nobody made him eat until he got to be hundreds of pounds.”

“I don’t weigh that much and I’m not obese. He was also losing weight. They said so on the news.”

“Are you losing weight? No, you keep gaining.”

What Andy said, better yet, shouted next took me by surprise.

“How can I lose weight with you constantly putting me down?!”

Her mother was stunned too. Andy’s never shouted at her mother since we were five years old and her mother had slapped her face for being sassy. “Putting you down? I don’t put you down.”

“You don’t help me either! Nobody helps me! You only criticize me! You and everyone else!”

“Who?” Her mom was shouting back now. “And I don’t criticize you! I’m trying to help you.”

“Well you’re not!”

With that said Andy got up, went to her room and slammed the door.

“ANDY!”

I left after that. I didn’t know what to do or say. I walked home but that was alright. I was shaking with anger for Andy’s mom, shocked by Andy’s reactions and confession, but most of all extreme guilt. I’ve been telling myself to talk to her but I haven’t. I’ve been an awful friend. I bet she was referring to me. She was telling me that I wasn’t helping her and that made me feel… words can’t describe it.

I got home crying and my mom saw me before I was able to get to my room. I told her everything and she told me that I wasn’t a bad friend. She told me that I should talk to Andy tomorrow at school when we were alone. I love my mom so much.

~Sky