Well, let me just say one thing; I have been pondering over that moment when Greg walked away and pumped his fist. Honestly, something's up with that boy. I mean, we have been best friends since diapers and all of a sudden, he walks away and pumps his fist into the air after hugging me?? I was sitting in bed one night, just replaying that moment over and over. What did I say? What did I do? What happened that day that would excite Greg that much? And if so, why wouldn't he start doing the happy dance in front of me? Why did he have to wait until he was down the street? People these days, gosh!
And here's the even weirder thing. Layla always throws this huge New Year's bash where she rents out the country club and its basically all ours. It's from 6:00 pm New Years Eve to whenever you feel like leaving New Years Day! So, I'm usually all phsyced for this, but something told me this year was going to be different. So, here I am, walking in to the Country Club with my mom, dad, and Sam. We all have on our fancy dresses and suits, and bathing suits in case we want to go swimming. I walk in and find Layla standing by an air hockey table, so I play a few games with her.
"Greg's not here yet, I wonder why," she says, standing on her tip toes looking around.
"Maybe we should go look for him," I suggest, after she comes back saying that he checked in.
So, that's how I found myself traveling the halls of the prestigious Country Club trying to find Greg. I walked past the hallway to the tennis courts when I saw him leaning against that wall with his head in his hands.
"Greg, are you O.K.?" I asked.
He immediately looked up at me and said he was fine. We walked back to the party in silence.
He wouldn't tell me what was wrong for the rest of the night, but Greg looked nervous. It kind of scared me a little bit too. Finally though, the time came for counting down to the new year. We were all gathered on the observation deck room place counting down. 10...9...8...7...6..5...4...3...2...1! Everyone was cheering and clapping and hugging. Greg turned to me, and took in a deep breath.
"Emily, will you be my first hug of the New Year?" he asked.
I bit my lip and hugged him, sensing his smile on the other side.
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So, as you can see, something weird is up with Greg. I don't know what, and if I ever ask him about that night by the tennis courts, he just shrugs and says he didn't feel good. Wow, that really narrows it down. But my mom keeps telling me to just forget it, he could have eaten bad sushi at the party! So then I say, but if it was bad sushi, then why couldn't he have just said, its bad sushi! Then she says, Emily, go work on your homework. Then, I go upstairs and work on homework.
Honestly, this New Year isn't really starting off to be so great. About a week after the party, I'm sitting in Layla's room lacing up my skates to go ice skating and we're talking.
"Emily, I think you're making a big deal out of nothing. Maybe Greg did have bad sushi. But wait, we didn't serve sushi. Maybe he had bad shrimp!" Layla says to me.
"Greg doesn't even like shrimp," I say, "and like I told my mom, if it were bad sushi..."
"Shrimp," Layla says.
"OK, shrimp, sushi, tuna, its all seafood! If anything he had was bad, then why couldn't he have told me it was just bad food! Honestly, I've been his best friend since diapers! He has told me everything, why couldn't he have told me that the seafood was bad? Did he think he would get kicked out? I don't judge him based on his cuisine likes and dislikes! He should know that by now!" I said, practically screaming at the end.
Layla just took my hand and brought me out to the lake behind her house, and told me to skate and clear my mind. So I did, I just skated. I left every little problem behind me. I forgot about everything that has recently happened with Greg, I forgot about school and things like that. I took a deep breath and skated. It smelled like pine in Layla's backyard. I closed my eyes and inhaled the pine goodness. But when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a pile of snow with a throbbing pain in my left shoulder.
"Layla," I croaked. I sensed her gently scooping me up and screaming for her mom to call 911. It's gonna be a great New Year.
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Sorry this posting is so short, but just wait until February! I have a feeling that you guys will all enjoy February. A lot is starting to make sense to Emily John since in February she will be 12 and a half. Please leave your comments in the comment section of my blog and come back soon to see one of the biggest events that will occur in Emily John's thirteenth year!
