Dear America Books are FAKE!!!

When I was nine, there was nothing I loved to read more than those Dear America books for kids. My adventure-loving mind gobbled up every bit of the supposed diaries of real girls throughout history. A compulsive diary writer even then, I loved the thought of reading actual girl’s diaries. What a fascinating thought that their journals had been preserved so long.

Your life is nothing but a lie, Julie

One day, I picked up a book “written by a little Jewish girl during the Holocaust.” At the time I was very interested in the authors name printed on the inside cover of a book. That was mostly because I dreamt of someday seeing my own name printed on the inside of my own novel. After I read the name, I wished that I had never let my eyes drift past the pages of the book. The book was not written by a real little girl. The name was totally different than the name of the star of the book. For a moment I sat in shock. After rereading it, I had a sudden vision of a lying, sniveling insect of an old lady who pretended to be a little girl all for money. How could anyone stoop so low? I couldn’t even fathom it. I screamed and hurled down that grimy book.
Later that evening I told my mother about my horrific discovery, hoping that somehow I’d been mistaken. Perhaps she would assure me that the book really was written by a girl in history, and simply edited by an old lady. Instead, she confirmed my fears. Having been obsessed with the books, I felt that my entire life was a fallacy. The next few nights I couldn’t sleep. Instead I plotted revenge against that insect; I may have been small but I planned to make that con artist pay.
The realization that I was reading a lie denied every hope I had. I’d imagined my own diary becoming an epic novel which girls of the future would read. That dream gave me energy and a reason to write.When I found out my favorite true stories were fiction, my faith in myself was decimated.
Eventually my rage subsided and was replaced by a faint sickness in the pit of my stomach which was released whenever I was reminded of how I'd been fooled.
Sure, these books may be educational. They, when seen for their true selves, are a fun way of taking a peek into history. Yet I don’t think I can ever come to terms with those feelings of being tricked. I can’t see myself ever allowing a child to believe Dear America books were really a little girl’s diary.
So now you know why last week I was so upset at seeing my little sister reading a Dear America book about a little Jewish girl in the Holocaust.

Goodbye Earth, pt. 8

Goodbye Earth
Page Eight

“Huh?” Jerri answered.


“Can you come over today? Maybe you can sleep over. I just want to have as much fun with you as I can until I leave!” I said bravely.

“Oh thank you so much Star! My mom and I were saying I should sleep over! My dad will drive me over because he has to go to the bank by your house. I’ll be there in ten minutes!” Jerri replied.

“Okay, Jerri!” I said, and hung up. When I see everyone out the window of that rocket, it will be the last I see of him or her, forever, and ever. I sighed and went to talk to Peace.

“Hey Peace, what’s up?” I asked, finding her sitting on her bed solemnly.

“Nothing.” she replied.

“You know you should talk to me as much as possible before I leave,” said I.

“About what, Star?” Peace asked.

“Ask me anything, Peace, please."

“Do you think Joe Frisks is like, hot, or whatever?” Peace asked.

“Well…” I said, blushing. He was the guy I desperately wanted to marry back when I was nine. I do not like him anymore of course.   “I used to, but now strongly believe that he is a jerk,” I replied.

Peace turned white. She looked at me in disgust.

“I am like so totally going to barf! One of the kids at track told me you used to like him,” Peace said.

Then I was mad. The only person I had told that to was Jerri. In addition, she must have told her friend, Deckard, who incidentally was best friends with a girl on Peace’s track team. I could completely scream. I wanted to kill Jerri, but I suddenly realized I should not be angry for I would never see these people again.

I decided to talk some more with Peace.

“I was nuts about him for a while when I was nine,” I said, “Have you ever really liked a guy?”

Peace blushed in this freaky way. “I was just thinking about some guy who I realized is going to die before ever meeting me,” she said.

“Who?” I asked.

“Joe Jonas.”

I was now officially going to die. How could anyone give a hoot about Sharpie eye browed Joe Jonas? She didn't even know him! Nevertheless, I had to be mature about it.

“Well, you know what? I bet you I could arrange for you to meet him for real, in person, Peace!” I dug through my piggy bank, and pulled out my 500 dollars I had saved over the years. It was going to buy a car, but I decided to give it to Peace since I probably would not need it. In addition, Peace had 600 dollars.

"Combine this money with yours and buy backstage passes for the Jonas Brothers concert coming up on Monday, okay?” I said. Last night I'd seen on TV the backstage special for a Jonas Brothers concert down in Wytheville.

Peace’s face lit up. I had always seen her as witchy and annoying, but in fact, she was a cute girl with a lovely face.

“Oh thank you so much Star! I love you!”
 
Come back to bluepencildiaries.blogspot.com tomorrow for the next page of Goodbye Earth!

Goodbye Earth, pt. 7

Goodbye Earth
Page Seven

The guide was in tears.

"Everyone, we just can't allow pets!" she exclaimed, waving her arms in despair. Then she looked up. “I'm going to be left to die. So, for me, stop complaining about your animals. It just makes me feel terrible. Anyway, there will be animals on the ship raised for livestock,” she murmured, and left the room. I silently gave everyone a glance, and in an effort to make friends, I said to the girl, “I’m sorry about your bird. What’s his name?”

She barely looked up, and grabbed me in a hug, just as Jerri had done.

“His name’s Kakos,“ she said, wiping her tears away.

“My cat’s name is Chunky and I saved him out of a gutter,” I said.

“Oh really?” she forced a smile, “I saved my bird from a gutter too.”

“That’s great," I said sadly.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” said the girl. Quietly, I walked out of the complex and jumped into the backseat of the pickup.

“How’d it go?” asked Peace, turning toward me and trying to appear comforting.

“Horrible, just like everything else surrounding this. Everybody was sad and mournful,” I replied.

“I’m so sorry about that, Star. I really am,” she said, wrapping her arm around me. I leaned on her back.

My dad then brought up his 2 cents on the situation.

“It's not going to happen!” he shouted, and pounded the dashboard.

I looked down and thought in my mind angry phrases about my father’s weirdness. He was only trying to comfort himself by convincing himself that nothing was going to happen. I sighed and leaned back in my seat. A very quiet ride ensued. At last, we arrived back at home where Chunky walked up to me meowing happily. I petted him and pretended to be happy about seeing him. I mean I was happy, but it felt like I was seeing him for the last time. I went inside and swaggered into the small kitchen. I looked in the phonebook for Tarantelly. I dialed the number.

“Hello?” answered a woman’s voice, sounding strained and slightly angry.

“Hi this is Star Arusta and can I talk to Jerri? I think you met me at track,” I said.

“Oh yes, Star, I'll get her,” Mrs. Tarantelly replied, her voice sounding a little uplifted.

“Hello?” Jerri’s voice asked

“Hey Jerri, its Star,” I said.

“Oh hi, Star! Guess what? I can see you tomorrow! I’m so happy, even though I won’t see you again,” Jerri said excitedly.

“Yeah. Okay. Just come to my house at 9 in the morning so we can have time to hang out before a limo comes to pick me up and bring me to the lift off station at 12 P.M, okay?” I said.

“Mom! Can I walk over there for 9 in the morning?” she yelled. There was a pause.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll be there tomorrow,” Jerri said.

“See you later Jerri,” I said.

“Tra la!”

I put down the phone, and then hit the redial button.

Come back to bluepencildiaries.blogspot.com tomorrow for the next page of Goodbye Earth!

Goodbye Earth, pt. 6

Goodbye Earth
Page Six
Again, 2 days of Star's life are included in this page. Remember this in order to avoid confusion.

Jerri eyed me in the strangest way and I almost thought I had made a fool of myself. Then she grabbed me in a huge hug and said, "You know, you are my best friend, and I'm glad you're gonna live."


For the first time that day, I felt happy and carefree. I never would have thought that I would have a best friend. The best I could expect in my life was a person who did not just pretend to be my friend, because they wanted to use my badminton net, or whatever.

So that day I finally became real friends with Jerri Tarantelly, but also that day I did other things.

I learned the true meaning of what is going to happen in ten days.

I realized that I was best friends with someone.

I became a VERY stressed out girl.


Saturday, December 12, 2012

I walked through the parking lot of the NASA facility. My family was not allowed to enter the headquarters. I wore my hair in an excrutiatingly shiny style. I wore clean jeans, and a soft sweater. Upon my feet were my mom’s high-heeled black leather boots. Usually, I was not allowed to wear them, but this was a special occasion.

Upon entering the building a receptionist greeted me, saying,

“Miss Arusta? I am so happy to meet you! You are ten minutes early for the tour, but you should go into room 433 and wait for your teacher. There are two other people in there already, so just make yourself at home! These will be your friends and family when you go on the station!”

I smiled weakly and walked into the room. There was a teenage boy with glasses and a young blonde woman wearing a blue dress. I said hi, and they responded. I sat down on a hard metal folding chair. People poured in, mostly teenagers, scattered with a few toddlers. At last, the tour guide entered. She was a woman wearing a suit, skirt, and tie.

“Hello everyone. As you all know, you were chosen to live on a space station far away from home. Tomorrow you will set out on your journey on a rocket. You will be shot with a tranquilizing drug that will last you for most of the trip, up to the last 3 minutes. The journey to the station will take 4 days, and then you will cross a vacuum-sealed bridge. Some people find the trip across the bridge frightening, as it is made of clear plastic. You will be wearing a space suit of course so you can breathe. Space suits will be very heavy and you may feel exhausted and hot. However, after you cross the bridge, you can board the dock and strip of your suits. In the space station, there is a video arcade, bedding quarters, a cafeteria, a pool, and various other places to pique your interests. I’m going to pass out some papers telling what you can do at the dock,” she said, and passed out the papers. I felt excited for a moment, and then felt deep sorrow because my cat was going to die, my parents, my sister, my friend…” I could go on and on about all the people whom I was betraying. Then the woman continued.

“I must remind you that there are stem cells in a special room. When we are certain that everyone is comfortable in the space station, we will give birth to these children. In addition, there will be marriages in the space station. Everyone is required to, at some point, marry and reproduce. I understand some of you may already be married. Nevertheless, since your spouses will be dead, you will be a widow or widower. Every one of you married folks will definitely be widowed by April.” At that point, a sort of sad gasp emanated from the group. One woman started crying. The sound of her sobs made my eyes water.

The guide cleared her throat. “Soo that is our lesson. Go back home and say goodbye to your loved ones. A limousine will come to each of your houses tomorrow morning and pick up you, your family, and who ever else wants to watch you leave. Questions anyone?”

A teen boy spoke up. “Can I bring my dog?”

“No sir, we have size limits. Your dog cannot come.”

I felt the urge to ask if Chunky could come. “Ma’am, I think it’s absolutely unfair not to allow people to bring any personal belongings. I truly cannot leave my cat alone to die!” A chorus of yells came up in the group.

“I want to bring my pet rat!” one little girl shouted.

“My bird!” yelped a girl my age.

Soon the group was aloud with shouts of what pets they wanted to bring.
 
Come back to bluepencildiaries.blogspot.com tomorrow for the next page of Goodbye Earth!

Goodbye Earth, pt. 5

Goodbye Earth
Page Five

“Hi!” I exclaimed, as I jogged onto the track field.
I looked at Jerri Tarantelly, a girl who I hung around with at track.
“Hey, Star!” she said, her infectious smile beaming, “Today is game day at track and we just play soccer and tag!”

“Wonderful!” I said, rubbing my legs, “I’m exhausted!”

“I had a tiring day too. I went swimming all day at the Nautilus!” Jerri replied as I grabbed a soccer ball. Jerri’s friend Deckard came running over and the two girls danced a weird dance.

“I have got to go back to my team Jerri!” Deckard breathed between giggles.

“I'll call you later, Deck!" Jerri called.

“Umm, Jerri?” I asked.

“Yeah?” she answered with that same huge grin on her face.

“Have you heard of the Mayan calendar?” I inquired.

“Yeah. And it ends on December 21st this year, right?” she asked, rolling her eyes and kicking the ball between her legs.

“Yeah. Guess what else happens on that day? A planet that is usually far away from Earth will pass through our solar system, close and cause awful things to happen, like fires. People think that when it passed a long time ago, it may have caused Noah’s flood. There will also be a polar shift that will make people, like, drop down dead!” I said.

“Oh my gosh!” Jerri exclaimed, “That is the weird huge star I have been seeing lately? I thought it was Venus!”

Then she laughed. "It is Venus, isn't it?"

I shook my head with foreboding.

“Well, Jerri, there is a part that I haven’t told you about yet.”

"What?" she asked quietly, making the ambience one of bizarre horror.

“I’m going to live while everybody else dies,” I said, shrugging.

“What, did some wacko tell you that?" Jerri asked, regaining a smile to her face.

“No, NASA did. You see, a group of people is going to live on a space station way up in the sky where they can survive! You have to be invited to go, and I was invited.” I explained.

“Is that really true?” Jerri asked doubtfully.

“Yes! If you want proof come the day after tomorrow to see me go off in a rocket!” I said.

“You’re inviting me?” Jerri asked excitedly.

“Yeah, sure, why not?” I replied.

“Oh, thanks so much!” Jerri exclaimed.

“No problem,” I said.

There was silence out there on the field at George Wythe High School.

“Star?” Jerri asked, “Are you just going to abandon your family, and your friends?”

I had a sinking, disgusting feeling in my gut.

“Yes, I am.”

Jerri looked at me strangely as if I were doing something wrong.

“I guess I’ll go to heaven before you!” Jerri forced a smile.

Then suddenly I realized something. For the first time in my life, someone thought of me as a friend. Jerri really thought of me as her friend and I only thought of her as the girl I talk with at track.

“Jerri, you are such a great friend!” I said, smiling, “I won’t forget you. I’ll never forget you.”

Come back to bluepencildiaries.blogspot.com  tomorrow for the next page of Goodbye Earth!

Goodbye Earth, pt. 4

Goodbye Earth
Page 4
She was in the basement doing laundry.

“Mom, I have to tell you something,” I said.

“I’m not going to hear anything about the end of the world, Star,” warned Mom, glancing into my eyes. I felt annoyed, as if she was denying my intelligence or bravery or some silly presumption of stupidity. Nevertheless, I needed to do this.

“I am not talking about that. I wanted to tell you that, well, I am a woman.” I suddenly felt flushed. How could I have said IT?

“Star, Congratulations!” she yelped, spreading her arms to embrace me.

“Well, Mom, I don’t have it right now. I wanted to tell you something else,” I said gravely.

“What, sweetie?” Mom asked tenderly.

“Well, this has been for almost two years,” I muttered.

Mom looked aghast.

“But you didn’t even have…a chest then!” Mom whispered.

“I know,” I said, feeling strangely guilty.

“And you didn’t tell me?” Mom asked. I think I saw tears in her eyes glistening.

“We went to shoot the .22 that day,” Mom murmured, her eyes looking far off.

I remembered that day with dread.

“You probably didn’t even have sanitary supplies!“ Mom yelped, hugging me. She brushed aside one gray hair, and tenderly smiled.

I wondered if I was red, green, or white.

“I'm proud you told me about it, Star,” she smiled, and let go, “I don’t mind.”

“Mom,” I whispered, “Can I go take a bath?”

“Oh, I guess I am crowding you! Sorry!” Mom smiled nervously. I started walking upstairs.

“Star?” Mom called. I looked back. “Star, remember. I love you!” she called.

I nodded and walked up the stairs. I drew a deep, hot bath and slipped in. I tried to envision myself wearing a bulky space suit, and living in the same place forever. Well, not forever, just until I died. Whatever. Peace suddenly barged into the bathroom, her 11-year-old face looking disgusted.

“Mom told me the good news!” Peace said, with fury.

I could die. If mom had told Peace WHEN I got it, I would so totally shoot myself. Because you know what Peace would do? She would scream her head off and be all like, THAT WHOLE TIME YOU WERE HAVING THAT? What can I say? I do not want that to happen.

“Umm, yeah isn’t that nice news?” I said.

“Oh yeah it is! First I find out you’re going to live while I suffer and die and then I find out you’re a menstrual monster!” Peace exclaimed, “I hate you! I really hate you!”

I burst into tears.

“Y’know Peace, I have been having a really stressful time with this whole thing, okay? It has not been good for me. Do you think I enjoy the thought of you, Mom, Dad and Chunky dying? I am not completely brutal! I’m really sorry about this!” I shouted.

“Okay, Star. I guess I am being a little unfair. However, I feel like I deserve to live. I do not want you to abandon me. Star, we have been so close in the past years. I don’t want you to leave me to die,” Peace sighed, her arms still crossed.

“Apology accepted,” I said, “Now can you leave?”

“Sure,” Peace replied, with a giggle.

I pulled some shampoo off the rack and squirted a pile of it on my head. I could not believe that tomorrow I would be visiting the NASA headquarters for an orientation, and that the day after that I would be boarding a rocket to the space station. I sank back into the bathtub, and tried to relax.
 
Come back to bluepencildiaries.blogspot.com for the next page of Goodbye Earth!

Goodbye Earth, pt. 3

Goodbye Earth
Page 3
This page will include two days of Star's life. Keep that in mind to avoid confusion.

Shocked, I put down the letter and held it pinned to the bed. What should I do? Perhaps it was a joke. I ran my fingers over the letters precariously. Picking up the letter, I ran into the basement. Everyone was putting away the groceries and replenishing our winter storage. Swallowing tightly, I handed the letter to my mom.


“Read this,” I muttered.

Dad sauntered to Mom's shoulder, a grocery bag in his hand. He looked over Mom’s shoulder at the letter. Mom placed her hand over her mouth and tossed the letter on to the floor. She grabbed me, and pulled me close. I put my head over her shoulder and then tugged my self out of her clutch.

“Oh Mom! I don’t want it to be this way!” I sighed, holding her svelte shoulders at arm's length.

“Star, it just isn’t going to happen,” she smiled, shaking her head, “there is not going to be an end to the world! It’s all just silly nonsense.”

"But, Dad said, "You can go to get it out of your system."

I had a horrid feeling in my stomach, as if nothing was going to be the way they said. I just felt it in my gut that life was not as good as they all assumed. I sneaked up the creaky green stairs into my bedroom and grabbed the cell phone my sister and I shared. I dialed the NASA phone number, and took a deep breath.

Friday, December 11, 2012

I sat down quietly on my circle chair, my little "comfy cove". However, that day, I was not feeling comfortable. I opened up the internet on the laptop and typed in, Niburu. A representative from NASA had recommended it. Scrolling down the blue hyperlinks, I clicked a link to Youtube. All the videos I saw were generally disturbing and they altogether filled me with sorrow and pity for everyone who I had to leave behind. My cat, Chunky leaped onto the chair and climbed under my legs to get warm under the computer. He was a cute furry white cat whom I had rescued off the side of the road one stormy night when I was nine. I had run outside to grab my coat to keep it from getting wet when I heard a cat meowing from somewhere in the street. I looked around and finally saw two furry white paws clawing from inside of a gutter. You know those gutters without grates that kind of go under the sidewalk? Well that is where the cat was. I crouched down, grabbed those paws tightly, and pulled him out. He was a nasty little cat, all wet and ugly. However, I dried him off and the next day he was dry. He was wearing a little jingling collar, and a tag. He belonged to the people of the house down the street, which a dreadful fire had consumed. All the people had died in the hospital. That little cat has been my lovely pet for 3 years now. Could I leave him to die while I lived on a space station somewhere in space? Most certainly not! That would be absolutely worse than being abandoned out on a stormy night. I put down the laptop and just cuddled Chunky. He squirmed and jumped out of my clutch. I just lie back and let out a sigh. I looked up at the ceiling and thought, “Oh my gosh.” It seemed just so weird to be actually witnessing the end. This must be the end of life. This must be the end of the world. Perhaps it is wrong to survive. If God wanted me to live, he wouldn't have made the end of the world. I then realized that I had ten more days to live on Earth. I would make the rest of my life the best of my life. I placed the laptop on the floor, stood up, and went to the basement. There was something my Mom needed to know.
Return to bluepencildiaries.blogspot tomorrow for the next page of Goodbye Earth!

Goodbye Earth, pt. 1

Goodbye Earth
Page One

Thursday, December 10, 2012
I collapsed to the grass exhausted after the exercises at track.

“I am no track chick!” I panted to Jerri, who sat next to me likewisely bushed.

“Me either,” Jerri replied.

“I can’t tell that. You do hurdles so well,” I responded, smiling at Jerri. She rolled her eyes.

My teenaged coach sat up. “Okay girls, you can all go home now,” she said in her husky voice as her brawny boyfriend wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck.

“Eww,” Jerri whispered.

“The sky looks like it is going to snow, maybe track will be called off tomorrow,” I said, looking up at the cloudy sky.
"That'll be a relief," sighed Jerri, standing up.
I lifted myself off the ground with a grunt and plucked up my bag.

“Bye!” I said to Jerri, noticing my family waiting on the bleachers.

“See you!” called Jerri, running across the field.

I walked back to my parents. My mother stood wrapped in blankets, looking chilly and tired.

“Let’s go home now!” she whispered, puffs of steam emanating from her mouth.

“Awww, Mom. It isn’t that cold,” I said, “I’m wearing a T-shirt”

“A cup of hot chocolate awaits me at home!” Mom murmured as we walked back to the car. Our rusty pickup shivered as Dad turned the key. Mom turned on the heater. I realized how cold I was and snuggled next to my sister, Peace. Peace pushed me away.

“Geez, it’s not like I want to be near you!” I exclaimed.

“Okay, okay. Just don’t act so lovey,”

“Umm…That wasn’t lovey.”

Peace sighed. “Whatever.”

I sat back in my seat, and tried to keep warm. Mom turned on the radio and out blasted the noise of a talk show. I heard the word apocalypse and turned my ears to the noise. At the words, “December 21 is the day! Prepare to see the Messiah!” my dad turned off the radio. Silence filled the car.

“Uh, what does that guy mean?” I asked quietly.

“Nothing, sweetie,” my mom said, “It’s just something people think is going to happen. It is just a silly rumor.”

“Well, Mom I think I should know about this!” I yelped.

“Well, people say that a planet will pass Earth on December 21, 2012 and cause cataclysmic occurrences. That probably won’t happen, though.”

Come back to bluepencildiaries.blogspot.com tomorrow for the next page of Goodbye Earth!

Ramblings

I realized something last night that I think might help me with my writing. It's that I should write how I think. I imagine up glorious stories in my brain,  with fiery dialouge and thrilling events. The things that I write just don't have that pizazz! (At least not usually.)
Most of my family and I visited the grocery store yesterday.Most people, I imagine, find a trip to the grocery dull and uninteresting. I, on the other hand think of it as an adventurous way to watch people and think of what may be happening in their life. To watch strangers going about their lives has much scope for the imagination to wander and think up a long tale on their imagined lives.
Writing about this reminds me of a game my sister and I used to take part of very often as children. It was called "the Brothergame." We'd pretend to be people living in our imagined land-there were the towns of Honkersville, Babysville, and even Madysville. This game could occupy us for hours. Writing about Sally, Henry, Bob, Mary, Miss Violet, and many other characters was one of my favorite pastimes.
My younger sister created many drawings of the characters, and I struggled to draw things as well as she did, but she had  a gift even at 5 or so which enabled her to draw better than even children older than her.
A few years ago, I read about the Bronte sisters and discovered that they, too, made up their own world to write stories about. Perhaps this is the start of all creative minds- maybe someday I will have writing success such as the Bronte sisters!
Well I'm tired of this now so I'll go!