The sun bore down on the pavement surrounding the pool. Bare feet pounded on the cement and chased each other in circles. The town park was always busy on summer Sundays. Kids splashed in the pool, and a pick-up baseball game was going on in the field. A group of young ten-year-old girls sat in the shade of an umbrella, chattering away.“My daddy’s getting me a doll for my birthday,” Christy bragged to her friends. “That’s better than any of your presents,” she said smugly. Her perfect golden ringlets bounced as she swung her head over to her father.
“Right Daddy? My present’s the best, right?”
Tracy watched the girls from the water. Usually being in the water and swimming alleviated all her worries, but right now she just wished she was back home and had never moved to a new town. Her plain features and southern accent didn’t fit in with these fancy girls and their rich clothing.
Tracy never wanted to move to begin with. Her parents had decided that farming was no longer a profitable business, and it was time to try their luck elsewhere. However, Tracy had had plenty of friends back home, but up here she couldn’t get these girls to like her. Christy and her cohorts refused to speak to her. Tracy had tried befriending them at the beginning of the summer, when they had first encountered each other at the town pool. She had greeted them with a wave and a huge grin on her face, and they just laughed and walked away. Their cruel nature had deterred Tracy from trying to make friends with anyone else at the pool. Now she just came to swim. Well, to swim and to see Charlie.
Right now Charlie was having a conversation with Christy. Actually, Christy was talking, and Charlie was looking longingly at the baseball field.
Charlie was only ten, but he knew he was going to play baseball for the New York Yankees someday. There was absolutely no question about it. He practiced every day of the summer, and right now Christy was cutting into his practice time. He didn’t care about what doll Christy was going to get for her eleventh birthday. Now, if Tracey was talking to him it might be a different story. Charlie thought she was really interesting. She was unique, coming from some place far away. Plus, she actually seemed to really care about swimming, just how he cared about baseball. The best part; she wasn’t obsessed with a stupid doll. However, she didn’t seem even the slightest bit interested being friends with him. In fact, every time Charlie went over to talk to her she ducked underwater and swam away.
“My dolly’s going to have a lacy skirt and a red dress over it, and her hair will be tied up with a bow. It’ll be a pink bow. Actually, pink and white. Pink with white polka dots. Oh, and her hair is blonde just like mine…” Christy said, while batting her eyes at Charlie.
“Charlie,” she whined. “Are you even listening?”
“I think that your doll is very, um, interesting,” Charlie said, while staring over his shoulder into the pool where Tracy was treading water. “I have to go now,” he said, and walked as fast as he could over to the edge of the pool nearest to Tracy. As he approached she dove underwater and swam away. Slightly disappointed, Charlie decided to return to his baseball game.
Tracy wished Charlie wouldn’t come over. He was obviously good friends with Christy and her buddies, and it was clear that they were planning something. I mean, who couldn’t tell, with the amount of time he spent glancing over at her, and the speed at which Christy was talking. Those girls should just leave her alone. Tracy wasn’t going to let them make fun of her again.
The crack of a bat, the yell of ‘CANNONBALL!’ and the laughs of children made up the song of summer. An ice cream truck’s jingle added to the composition. Kids flocked to the truck, hoping for something to lessen the heat of the day. The baseball game was broken up, and even Christy and her friends raised themselves from their shady spot to go get some ice cream.
Tracy realized it was an opportunity to get out of the pool undisturbed and go home. She dried herself off and pulled on shorts and a t-shirt, swung one leg over her bike, and began to pedal. She stopped at the sidewalk to wait for the ice cream truck to leave and for the flock of kids to diffuse. As soon as she stopped she realized it was a mistake. Christy and her friends menacingly approached her with their ice creams and vicious smiles.
“Oh, is the new girl too poor to buy an ice cream?” one of Christy’s friends teased.
“The farmer girl makes her own ice cream.” Christy replied. “She’s too good for our ice cream truck.’
“How does she make the ice cream?” Christy’s friend asked, playing along.
“From the cows.” Christy answered. “She’s good friends with the cows.”
Moos and giggles came from the group of girls.
“I think she is a cow!” called out one of the girls. “A big, ugly cow! Moooo!”
They walked back to the pool laughing, and left Tracy sitting on her bike, with tears in her eyes. This wasn’t fair! Tracy never did anything to hurt them; she had been as nice as possible. Why did they feel the need to be so nasty? And Charlie was coming over too. As if they hadn’t made enough fun of her for one day. Tracy hopped on the bike and pedaled as fast as she could.
“No, Tracy, wait!” Charlie called after her. “Tracy!” he yelled, and ran after her.
She stopped pedaling, and hopped off her bike.
“What do you want?” she said, with more coldness in her voice than she had meant.
“I, I mean I-,” Charlie faltered for a second, and then continued. “I just wanted to say that I think that it’s horrible how those girls are treating you, and that I don’t think you’re a cow at all. Actually, I think cows are kinda pretty. So I do think you’re a cow, because I think you’re really pretty. I mean, I don’t- oh, never mind.”
Tracy smiled in spite of herself. Encouraged, Charlie continued.
“Anyways, I like you a lot, and I want you to have this.” He offered his ice cream to Tracy. Now she was really smiling. Charlie actually meant what he was saying. Tracy took the ice cream.
“Thanks,” she said softly, and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed a vibrant shade of red.
“Ew, Charlie’s got cooties!” Charlie’s friends from the baseball team called from the sidewalk.
“Do not!” he said defiantly, and chased after his friends.
Tracy stayed by her bike and licked her ice cream cone. Maybe it wasn’t that bad living here. Maybe some people did like her enough to be her friend. She didn’t need everyone to love her, especially not Christy and her crowd. Tracy had a friend who liked her enough to buy her ice cream, and that was really all anyone could ask for.
