(Peggy is narrating)
“May I say goodbye to my friend who saved me?”
The social worker nodded at me with a smile.
The next day during lunch period, the principal beckoned me to her office, where Martin was already waiting. “I’ll be on the other side of the door,” she said.
I faced this wonderful, young man. Nothing could be too good for him! I took a deep breath. “Good news or bad news first?”
“My dad taught me to ask for the bad news first,” Martin said.
I felt nauseous. “They’re moving me to Spokane, across the state line!” Tears fell down my cheeks. “I won’t see you in school anymore. I’ll miss you so much!”
Martin smirked. “You’re not going to the other side of the country. Spokane is sixty miles west!” He shrugged. “And the good?”
I felt so relieved, but in not seeing him daily my own childish heart still felt it would be losing him forever! I placed my hands on his shoulders and stared straight into his face. Love seemed beyond my reach, but I found it today. As I drew even closer to him, my world began to sparkle.
As I closed my eyes and gave him my first kiss, I even heard a measure of sweet music, like from banjos strumming slowly in harmony. It seemed a sleeping angel rested in my heart all along, and now it was almost as if she was choosing this very moment to stretch and turn in her sleep. She has so much to give, I thought.
I let my lips fall away from his. From the surprise on his face, it seemed to be his first kiss also. “You won my heart.”
“Friends forever?” he asked.
“Definitely! Let’s stay in touch.”
Martin smiled. He scribbled his phone number on some paper I tucked in my shoe. I grinned at the principal on my way out. The social worker then drove me to Spokane Tech’s faculty housing. She never met Dr. DuQuesne, so she introduced us formally.
I was surprised to see him again. “How do you do today, sir?”
“Fine, thank you,” Dr. DuQuesne said. “Margaret, your tests and achievement scores say many good things about you.”
I grabbed my suitcase. “I don’t see how I’m good for much.”
He laughed. “All children are good by definition. It’s adults who get wicked sometimes.”
This got a chuckle from the social worker. “I think I can handle it from here,” he said. She then walked to her car, and drove away.
I dragged my suitcase to the living room. “Why me, sir?”
“Please sit down. What do you know of IQ tests?”
I sat on the couch, then shrugged. “A hundred is average?”
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