The Secret Life of Malia Dallas

Chapter 27 - S'endormir

"Hey guys its Malia. I don't know how long it has been since I made my last video. I am trying to make them weekly. However I felt I should make a video because I feel as if I haven't in a while. Okay so you are probably wondering what this big thing on my arm is. Well I am playing the role of Taylor Caniff for the next few weeks. My arm is broken. A lot of you have been asking how I broke it and I will tell you that I myself did not break it. Cameron tackled me to the ground and I landed on my arm in a funny position so yeah. Thank you Cam. Don't worry Cam didn't mean to and I forgive him. You may also be wondering where I am. This is not my room. I am currently in Matt's house. Yes, as in Matthew Espinosa. We are staying here for a week before we all fly out to Chicago. But yeah. So I have a list of videos I need to make so we are going to pick one and that I can do quickly before dinner is ready."

I move and grab my phone while keeping it in its charger and find the notes where I had written out my list of videos to make. I saw rules of grammar and I decided why not.

"Okay so today we are going to be discussing grammar. While I may seem like a very intellectual person," I say popping my fake collar. "I suck at grammar. I am going to put that out there," I tell them very clearly. "I understand how to use a period and stuff like that but when it comes to semi-colons and all that jazz I am completely lost. I remember John Green did a video where he read people's tweets and corrected their grammar. Well not to discriminate against John Green but when you have 180 characters or less to type your thoughts out you write it out with the punctuation but realize that you are 20 characters over. So then you start getting rid of the punctuation and when that isn't enough you misspell the words and get rid of some of them but leave the important ones and in the end your tweets don't sound anything like how you wanted them. That is probably where the term 'bae' comes from. Someone didn't have enough space in their tweet so they got rid of the extra 'b' in babe and then bae was formed. I know that is not actually how it was formed. It means before anyone else or before anything else. While it sounds sweet and everything to me bae just sounds really trashy, something you would say as a joke or only in a caption for a picture. Maybe it's just me," I say to the camera.

"However the only thing I actually have a problem with in grammar is punctuation. As far as I know the way I use my words is correct. I don't know if that was grammatically correct but whatever. I think my spelling is pretty good. I occasionally realize that the word 'label' isn't spelled L-A-B-L-E but L-A-B-E-L. Nobody's perfect."

"Queue Hannah Montana music," I say to the camera and then I start randomly dancing. I then sit back down on the bed. "Yeah so I guess grammar and I are pretty close. Punctuation is like a frenemy. Sometimes they are like yeah this will work others it's just not okay," I say in all seriousness. "But I have a pet peeve when people misuse the words good and well. People are like 'You did good,' and I'm like NO YOU DID WELL! I mean yeah I understand that, that expression is now grammatically accepted but it isn't grammatically correct. But yeah I am sorry that this video wasn't as long as you would have hoped but yeah I am not a very creative person but hopefully sometime next week in the midst of all of my Magcon chaos I will find the time to make a video! Don't forget to subscribe and give this video a thumbs up. I will put my social media in the description so you can follow me on there if you want. So yeah, see you my NAFIANs!" I say with a wave and then I blew a kiss. I then turned off the camera. I took out the SD card and put it into my laptop and started editing. I didn't have to do much. I put in the Hannah Montana Nobody's Perfect music where it was necessary then I put in some background music. I took out little clips that weren't needed and moved some things around until I was satisfied. I went onto twitter.

@MaliaIDallas: just filmed a new video about to upload it to THE YOUTUBE so be ready!!

I tweet out. I then upload the video. I add all of my social media links in the description while it is uploading. The video took a total of 6 minutes to upload and I titled it: how bae came to be | ft. the purple arm. The video uploaded and then I went on twitter once again.

@MaliaIDallas: okay the video is out go give it a thumbs up and SUBSCRIBE if you haven't already J www.youtube.com/MaliaIDallas

I sent out the tweet then I laid down on my bed. Today was fun but exhausting. I take out my books that I bought from Barnes and Noble with Matt and I set them on my shelf. I decide to continue on with The Help. I opened up to chapter 5 and began to read.

I DRIVE MY MAMA'S CADILLAC fast on the gravel road, headed home. Patsy Cline can't even be heard on the radio anymore, for all the rocks are banging the side of the car. Mother would be furious but I just drive faster. I can't stop thinking about what Hilly said to me today at bridge club. (Kathryn Stockett, The Help)

I am about halfway through the chapter when the door to my room opens. I look up from my book to see Matt standing there. I smile at him and he comes in.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Well dinner is almost ready, just thought you should know. You're reading?" He asked even though he didn't have to ask to know.

"Yeah, you want to join?" I ask. He nods and makes his way over to my bed. I move over so he can lay next to me. I pick up where I left off and start reading out loud.

"The first time I was ever called ugly, I was thirteen. It was a rich friend of my brother Carlton's, over to shoot guns in the field. 'Why you crying, girl?' Constantine asked me in the kitchen. I told her what the boy had called me, tears streaming down my face. 'Well? Is you?' I blinked, paused my crying. 'Is I what?' 'Now you look a here, Eugenia'- because Constantine was the only one who'd occasionally follow Mama's rule. 'Ugly live up on the inside. Ugly be a hurtful, mean person. Is you one a them peoples?' 'I don't know. I don't think so,' I sobbed. Constantine sat down next to me, at the kitchen table. I heard the cracking of her swollen joints. She pressed her thumb hard in the palm of my hand, something we both knew meant Listen. Listen to me," I read out loud to Matt. His head was leaning on mine and his arm was around me. While I was reading my mind was elsewhere. I was thinking about Matt. Of course I was thinking about him, how could one not. He was amazing.

"Do you want to read?" I ask him as I finish the second page from where I left off. He takes his arm away from around me and holds up the book and I lay on his chest and listen to his voice.

"A summer month could stretch on for years, out on Longleaf. I didn't have friends coming over every day—we lived too far out to have any white neighbors. In town, Hilly and Elizabeth spent all weekend going to and from each other's houses, while I was only allowed to spend the night out or have company every other weekend. I grumbled over this plenty. I took Constantine for granted at times, but I think I knew, for the most part, how lucky I was to have her there," He read out loud. I closed my eyes and just listened to the sound of his voice.

And all that was running through my mind was the quote from John Green, "as he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly then all at once." (John Green, The Fault in Our Stars)

What did y'all think? I know it was really short but I felt like this chapter was more of one of those necessary chapters and even though I would like for it to be longer I couldn't not end it like I just did so comment your comments and vote!

S'endormir means to fall asleep in French.