Keep Rolling Girl

First Day of Camp

Today was the first day of camp and though Amanda was going to be there she couldn't dampen my spirits.  I was sure she would make a ton of snobby friends in 5 seconds anyway.

My mom dropped me of at camp at exactly 10:00.

"Listen Leah," Mom said. "I know you and Amanda are not BFF's and that is totally fine with me, but I at least want you to try to make friends with her.  Okay?" Mom asked.

"Okay. But I won't like it," I said irritated.

As I got out of the car, I saw my mom crossing her fingers. I walked into the door of camp to my favorite roller-skating rink in the world: Roller World.  Girls and boys from ages 10-11 and occasionally 12 were already playing roller tag.  It's like tag, but while you are on roller skates.  I was putting my roller-skates on while sitting on the carpet, waiting for a counselor to call me over to the rink.

"Hi."

 I heard a familiar voice.  I got up and spun around to see Amanda.  She was wearing her usual French braid hair duo.  Her mom did it for her.  I always thought Amanda had cool brown hair, but in roller-skating gear it looked awesome.  Amanda's peach skin wrinkled with her nose and hazel eyes as she waited for a response from me.  I would have ignored her, but my mom had begged me to become friends with her, so why not start now.

"Hi.  Um listen I usually wouldn't be talking to you," I started. "But my mom said I should try being friends with you.  So that is what I'm going to try to do.

"Same here.  By the way I didn't mean what I said last week.  I was really upset, because I didn't have any friends.  That is usually why I am mean to you.  I just put my aggression into others instead of talking about it or writing in my diary and all that," Amanda said.

"I'm sorry too.  I guess I should have tied to talk to you about why you were always mean to me.  Can we try talking more often?" I asked.

"Sure," Amanda said.

For the next 10 minutes Amanda and I chatted, until a counselor called us over to the rink. 

"Alright kids," she said. "It is time for some introductions.  I'm Ms. Stacey and I got to Lincoln High School.  I will be in my 2nd year starting in September.  Okay kids, today we are mostly going to do fun stuff, but I will be taking notes to see how you do.  I will be trying everything I can to get you guys to improve over the next month.  Who's ready for camp?" 

"We are!" The kids and me shouted.

For most of camp we did free skate.  I surprisingly skated with Amanda.  We had been enemies for years and all of a sudden, we were friends.  Life was weird like that, but what I did learn that day was to forgive people, no matter the case.  I couldn't wait for camp the next day, but I knew we would start getting down to business.