December 12, 1996

I kissed Danny Thompson. His breath tasted like hot dog crap. So gross, ugh! It was my first kiss minus the one Devin stole when we were five. Anyways, kissing may not be my thing. It's nothing like in the books or movies. Plus, I'm not sure if God approves...I know my mom sure doesn't!

February 3, 1997.

Charlie attempted to unlock my door again, but I kept locking it back. Good thing he was drunk because I'm sure he would have caught on after the first five times we played twist the lock back.

February 14, 1997.

I overheard Charlie discussing Valentine's day plans with a woman over the phone last night. I told Mom, but she said that it was probably Sheryl. I'm sure it wasn't, but I'll stay out of grown-up business from here on out.

April 15, 1997.

Devin helped me out in a major way. He went in search of a maxi pad for me. I guess I owe him one. We hugged for a long time, and my heart felt like it was going to explode like gushers or something. Devin is one of the kindest guys I know and yet it's hard for me to tell him that. Instead, I take all my frustrations out on him. I hate myself for it. What am I supposed to do? Mature? I want to treat Tae the way he treats me—with kindness.

May 1, 1997.

Rumor has it Devin is dating psycho Janice. He's such a dummy. I loathe Tae and his stupid decisions.

May 3, 1997.

I miss Daddy. I hate Charlie!

Last Day of School

So I got into a fight with Janice and got an in-school suspension for the first week of ninth grade. Booo! When Tae touched my face I got an extreme case of butterflies. Why?

June 26, 1997

Mom grounded me for a month and forced me to volunteer at Cellos—a community center for disabled children for the summer. She said it will keep me out of trouble as if I'm a trouble maker now after one fight.

It's not too bad volunteering at cellos. I was stuck with an eight-year-old girl named Michelle, a.k.a Shelly. She's mute and uses a notepad to communicate. It's not that she can't speak but something happened to her and now she refuses to speak—or is afraid to.

I do like Shelly. She is feisty and likes to do everything herself. She is great at art. Such a cool kid. I plan on volunteering there again next summer.

August 3, 1997

I heard Tae got into a lot of fights over the summer. He's a nutcracker. I also heard Huan made him join the swim team at the Aquatica center. I've only seen him, Maylee, Trey, and Leandro a few times over the summer. Seems like everyone was busy.

August 5, 1997

Lord, please forgive me for everything I've done over the year. I was not the best person to people. Help me to change, Amen.

August 14, 1997

Maylee got a new boo, Stephan Burke. He's cute enough, but his attitude is funky like a pair of sweaty gym socks. I hope they work out.