The Girl in the Window by Bailey Garcia

I walked down the sidewalk checking the ground for struggling worms. The rain stopped about an hour ago, I always liked to go and search the sidewalks for worms, hoping to save them before they dried up in the sun. I found one, it was starting to dry out, but still alive. I quickly grabbed the little fella and put him in the dirt by my house under our shadiest tree, then I poured a bit of water into the dirt. Once I felt satisfied by my work, I was back on my way down the sidewalk. 

I loved being outside, the weather was warm, but I could still smell rain. It was the last week of school before summer. Most of the other 10-year-olds in my class were excited about that… but not me. Summer means I’ll be home every day, my siblings will fight, my mom can’t be bothered, and my dad coming home is not exciting anymore. 

But I have decided this summer will be different, because I’m going to make friends with the girl in the window. 

It all started on the first day of the school year.  At 7am, I was walking down my block past all the tall houses, always rushing by my neighbors who liked to yell at me for running through their rocks; and that’s when it happened. I looked up into the window of my neighbors, three houses down from mine, and I saw a girl standing in the window. She had long brown hair just like me, she was wearing a blue T-shirt with a dog on it. I liked dogs so that seemed perfect to me. I thought she had to be my age. She was watching me walk by, so I waved at her. She waved back, but she didn’t smile at me. I thought that was weird but maybe she was shy like me. When I walked home from school that day, I saw her again, this time she didn’t wave back, but I didn’t mind. 

Over the school year I saw her almost every day, sometimes she waved and smiled, sometimes she didn’t. Even though she was inside, and I was outside, I knew that she was always watching. She always cared about what I was doing. Even when my mom would not leave her room, or my dad was too angry to hear me, she always did. I bet that’s the type of friend she is. 

Today while I look for worms, I imagine that she is standing there cheering me on while I save them. I have to save every last one for her. That way, on the last day of school she will definitely want to come outside with me because I am the type of person who saves worms from hot sidewalks. 

It’s finally here- the last day before summer. I slipped on my neon green shoes, even though a boy in my class always tells me they’re boy shoes. I don’t even know what that means, and I don’t care. Today is the day I make a new friend, with the girl in the window. Before I walk to school, I look in the mirror, I wore my favorite yellow shirt. It had a black cat wearing headphones, I think the girl down the street will love this shirt. I brushed my hair today even with all the tangles. I asked my mom to help, but she didn’t seem to hear me. But that didn’t matter, as soon as I make my new friend, I bet we could brush each other’s hair. 

After I slipped on my plain black almost ripping backpack, I ran out of the door ready to wave to my soon to be friend. As I approached her house I realized I didn’t see her. How could she not be here on my last day? I stood there for a few minutes, hoping she would appear.  I suddenly heard someone yelling my name, was it her? Wait how would she know my name.. I heard it again-

“Ellie, get to school you’re going to be late!” It was my mom, standing in our doorway. I was surprised she was up, I wanted to wait longer but I knew if my mom was up, she meant business. When I finally got to school, all I could think of was the girl in the window. 

Why wasn’t she there today? Is she okay? Will she be there when I’m back? If she isn’t my whole summer is ruined. Who will I save worms for? 

After what felt like forever, it was finally time to go home. I almost started running toward my block, until I remembered that the girl wasn’t there this morning. I started walking slower than I usually walk. I couldn’t handle the idea of Summer without her. Then I decided, it was like ripping off a band aid, its gonna hurt worse if I go too slow. So, I just have to rip it off and run. 

So that’s what I did. I closed my eyes when I got close to her house, I couldn’t look. When I finally got the courage to look, my heart felt like it went into my stomach. She wasn’t there. In fact, there were two old people with a giant moving van bringing all their stuff inside. Into the house where she lived. Filling my friends house with all their old people stuff. 

I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. I felt tears filling up my eyes, but I quickly wiped them away and ran home. I was almost 11, I was too old to be crying over a friend I never had. 

When I got home, I slammed my front door shut and ran into my room. I laid face down on the bed for hours, or I guess what felt like hours. I knew without that girl in the window, no one would care if I saved the worms, no one would care how fast I ran to school, no one would care about the songs I sang or the ideas I had when I played outside. Where could she have gone? When I told my sister, she told me I was crazy, I was a weird kid who needed real friends. She said no one lived in that house. I didn’t believe her. She didn’t care about the worms, the girl in the window, or me. 

A few hours later I heard our doorbell ring. There was no way I was answering it. Summer was ruined. At least that’s what I thought.