Time Machine

I hated private school. So I decided to go to public school. Third grade was hard on the first day. It was my birthday and i was all alone. Everyone else seemed to have known others from the second grade. I was not regretting going to public school. “hi!!!!” The tall slinky girl said jumping up and down. “I’m Cameron, I like horses. Do you like horses too?” cameron screamed excitedly. “I like horses ok I guess.” I said shyly. “yes, yes, yes! Let’s be friends!” “Ok! Today’s my birthday you know.” I wanted to let her know. “Awesome! That sucks it’s the first day of school.” “Yeah.” I said regretting I told her. “Let’s play hopscotch!” Cameron ran outside to the playground with me skipping behind her. “you know I think I’ll go play with my friend Taylor.” I wanted to get away from this nutcase. Cameron looked sadly down at the floor. “ok, whatever.” she said walking off to play with some other kids.

“Taylor! Your stupid you made me cry! I hate you!” I yelled meanly at taylor. Fourth grade taylor and I started having problems... “I’m sorry Alice.” Taylor said whimpishly. “I’m going to go play with Cameron Perry right now!” I scream running away from poor taylor, who I easily took my anger out on. Taylor a sweet girl, let me yell at her constantly boss her around. It was summer and Cameron and I wanted to play a game. “we’ll hide in the bushes until they take their shoes off and then run at them!” WE each whispered gidishly. “1,2,3!” We screamed our warrior cry! WE picked up all the ditzy gymnastic girls shoes and hid them in the trees. “Yes now everyone will get in trouble but us.” we screamed together. Cameron and I became best friends. “ Let’s write a play.” I said dramatically. I completely believed at the time that I was William Shakespeare long lost great grandchild. I had read and watched every play. “Let’s call our characters Helena and Hermina!” “Yes, yes, yes! It’ll be about princess’s and a sexy king!” For the record Cameron really didn’t know what sexy meant. Neither did I, all we knew was that when we called her dog sexy he would stop barking and shut up for once. The next day at school we choose our actors, and got to work. We had the play at Cameron’s house up by the reservoir. We gave our actors Cameron’s famous peanut butter cookies and chips. Later on in the day one of our actors ran away crying because she didn’t like her part. The play was then Terminated. Something you should know about cameron and I was that we go through fazes easily. That summer we decided that we had been reincarnated from the 60’s. I distinctively remember riding around on Cameron’s little pink motorcycle singing the Beatles. “Cameron you know you might want to wear a bra.” I said timidly. “No Alice you don’t understand.” Cameron laughed at my innocence. “I’m a hippy, we don’t wear bras.” “Oh right I knew that . . .” I felt really stupid.

“Cameron, do you think I’m fat?” This is how it all started. Cameron and I were both the tallest girls in the school in fourth grade and that made me self conscious. “No why would you think you were fat?” I stopped eating, stopped drinking. “Alice you gotta eat something you know.” Cameron said to me with concern one day. “No i’m too fat, I said at sixty five pounds, bags under my eyes wishing I was dead. I screamed at everyone. I hated them I hated me.
“Honey we’ve decided to send you to a camp where you get to ride horses do art and stay away from home. Doesn’t that sound fun?” My mom said lying to me. “Yeah but what about school?” I marveled. “you’ll learn school there too.”
So it was decided. I said goodbye to Cameron saying I’d be back in probably a month, got in the car and drove for four hours down to “my camp”.
“Bye mom bye dad!” I said waving goodbye standing on the steps off a small building with bars on the windows. Ding dong. “Hi i’m here for the camp?” I said. “Oh are you Alice?” the fat woman said at the door. “Yes I am!” I walked inside already wishing I was with my parents who had abandoned me. “lets go down stairs and unpack.” We went down a winding set of stairs leading to an underground living space. 7 girls stood smiling up at me. the next time I was able to leave that horrible place Cameron and I were really different people after the trauma of my disorder. I wasn’t just a little hippy anymore.