By JoyBaker

Friday, September 18 – Maelynn Beaufort

“Alright, class! Today, I have decided to change the morning routine a bit!” Davi smirks, rubbing his hands.

“After attendance, we will start with everyone sharing at least one interesting thing you did this week or will do over the weekend.. Or anything else ya want to share!”

Oh no. I’m not good at talking on the spot. 

Unfortunately or fortunately, my name is at the top of the list because of my last name. (Beaufort) 

“Ahhh, we’ll start with you, Maelynn! Maelynn, right?” Davi’s warm smile calms my nerves a bit.

“Yep, you got it right!” I beam. 

It’s the first time Davi pronounces my name correctly.

“ Hi everyone! Ummm … Well…My thirteenth birthday is on Sunday, and I am.. Uhhh … I’m inviting all of you to my party.”

“Ooh!” I hear someone whisper. 

“Wow! You’ll officially be… A teenager. Ooh, a birthday party sounds fun!”

“Yeah. I guess if you’re interested in coming, you can talk to me after school,” I say looking down.

“Ok! Great! Thanks for sharing Ma-ee-line? Next up…”

Now I’m positive Davi is just doing that to be funny! He just said my name correctly like 30 seconds ago! I chuckle.

My mind wanders (something it never does), and I don’t register anything anyone else says. 

Until Davi shouts, “OKAY!” 

He always does that before actually starting the class.

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Ping! Ping!

It’s unusual for people to message me, so I pause practicing my harp and pick up my phone, expecting to see messages from my best friend Greta. 

Guess what? I see a new friend request from -Leave_Me_@lone-

Who could this be? Ugh, probably some random person I don’t know.

I deny the request. Then, I decide to send a text to Greta since I already have the phone and I haven’t talked to her in a few days. I put down the phone and go back to practising. Two minutes later, my phone ‘pings’ again.

Oh, yay. Greta replied to me! That’s fast!

I pick up the phone again. Only to see that -Leave_Me_@lone- is requesting friendship again. I roll my eyes. A message comes in from the weird person.

 -Leave_Me_@lone-: hi Mae

Should I reply? Uhh… I guess I’ll ask who this is. If I do not know the person, I’ll block him.. Or her.

-Maelynn B-: Hi! Who is this please?

-Leave_Me_@lone- sorry, this is ava from school

-Maelynn B.- Hi Ava! Sorry I didn’t know it was you! What’s up?

-Leave_Me_@lone- im ok, im kinda concerned about hannah

One of my pet peeves is when people use incorrect grammar, spelling or punctuation. Ugh.

-Maelynn B. – Oh, she seems nice! What happened?

-Leave_Me_@lone- she said her parents are getting a divorce & it has been hard on her

-Maelynn B.- Oh, wow I didn’t know that. I’ll be praying for her. Oh I have to finish practising my harp now but I’ll talk to you later!

-Leave_Me_@lone- oki bye

After saying a quick prayer, and finishing practising my harp and flute, I go downstairs.

Hannah needs good friends to help and support her through this time. But I don’t know if anyone else knows about what’s happening… I wonder if Hannah has any friends other than D.K…. Silly thought. A beautiful girl like her must have friends. She’d never want to be my friend anyway. Little, shy, silly, dull, boring, ugl-… Ach, never mind. I should go downstairs and see what I can help with.

My mother is cooking dinner. I automatically get some vegetables and start cutting them up to make a salad.

“Mom?”

“Oui, Cheri?”

“Umm… You know D.K’s friend, Hannah?”

“ Hmmm.. The Hispanic girl?” 

“ Yeah, that’s her. Ava told me that Hannah’s parents are getting a divorce and it’s really hard on her. I said I’d pray for them, but I’m not sure what to do, or even what to pray..”

“Mom, I’m hungry! When is dinner going to be ready?” Sabina whines, bounding into the kitchen. 

“ Soon. Go pack up your toys, s’il vous plaît,” My mom Hélène replies.

“ I suggest that you don’t try to get involved in the situation, especially since it wasn’t Hannah who told you. Right now, the best thing to do is just pray.” Hélène continues, in French.

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I hear a knock on my bedroom door as I fold and unpack my clothes and books.

I glance out the window and start daydreaming about Quebec and thinking about Ava, Hannah, D.K, and random things that pass through my head. 

“Mae?” Percy calls.

“Yeah?” My mind snaps back to the present.

“You left your phone downstairs… Oh, and Greta called. She wants to talk to you.” He slowly opens the door and hands me the small phone.

“Oh, yay! Thank you!” 

I quickly dial my best friend’s number and wait.

Less than 2 seconds later, I hear a voice.

“ Hiii! Mae!”

“ Hi, Greta!” Although I’m so excited and happy to talk to her, my voice doesn’t sound as enthusiastic as hers. 

“ How do you get so much enthusiasm in your voice? I always sound so boring!” I chuckle.

“ You sound fine! I think you need more confidence though. If you’re nervous, you won’t sound as loud or happy I guess.” Greta demonstrates how to have more enthusiasm.

“Okay, let me try again… Hi! Greta! It’s so nice to talk to you!!” I try again, and Greta laughs.

“ That’s much better!” She chuckles. “Maybe a bit too exaggerated though.”

We laugh. 

“How are you adjusting to the new school?”

“ It was ok. I met some nice children. But, there’s this boy who is always staring at me and sometimes following me. It’s very weird.” 

“Oh, wow… That can only mean one thing!” Greta whispers and I can hear the smile in her voice.

“Ummm.. Let’s not think about that!” I chuckle.

“Haha! Okay! So what time is it there? Do we have the same time?”

“Nevermind. Yeah, we have the same time. It’s 4:37 pm.”

“Yeah, same!” 

“What would you do if you had a friend whose parents were getting divorced?” I ask, slowly.

“ Umm… I have to think about that. Why?”

“Uhhh… Well, I’m just wondering what the best thing to do or say would be.”

“ It depends. Just being their friend can help. Do you know someone in that situation?” 

What should I say?

“Uhhh, kinda…”

“Ohh.. Well, do you mind sharing a bit?”

“Well, a friend from school told me. I don’t know anything much, but recently, she seems more closed, I guess? Like, she hardly talks at school and she usually leaves quickly.” 

“Ohh… Well, just pray for her, and be a friend. I’ll be praying. I’ll tell you if I think of something else you can do!”

“Okay! Thanks!”

 “Mae!” I hear my mom call.

“Oh, Mom’s calling me! I’ll talk to you later!”

“Ok! It was nice talking with you! Keep in touch!”

“Later!”

 “I’m coming, mom!” I jump up and scurry down the stairs.