Chapter 2:
Tonia stretched out on the wet grass under the big tree in the park. It was early in the morning on the last day of summer break, and she was planning on what to. Play with fire? No. Let a stray dog loose in church. Haha. No. She had to think harder than usual, because she wanted today to be special. Her mom had finally stepped across the line and signed her up for private school. As annoyed as she was, Tonia had to admit that she was sort of looking forward to going to a private school. She’d always gone to public school, and was getting a bit bored of it. The teachers didn’t care much and let her do what she wanted, or just shipped her of to detention. If Tonia made a big enough ruckus, she’d get suspended. Tonia laughed out loud. That had to be the stupidest thing anyone had ever thought of. Once, she was suspended for two weeks, on account of truancy. Her truancy officer had a FIELD day with that one. Ughh. Tonia’s truancy officer was a thorn in her side. (expand. Who is this person?)
Tonia didn’t care for school, except as a way to entertain herself. She did learn a lot, but not from the teachers. What people didn’t know is that, while her grades were near or at failing most of the time, Tonia actually knew most of the information backwards and forwards. She did just enough work to get pushed up to the next grade. Sometimes though, all she had to do was act up enough, and the teachers would just send her up anyways. Her dream was to go into politics or law enforcement, ironically, but she figured that no one would hire her as a police officer. Once, she told Shannon that she wanted to be the president, and Shannon had laughed at her. It was one of the only times that Tonia had been a reason for her mother to laugh. Tonia got up from the grass and swung up to one of the low hanging branches and let herself hang upside down. She had yet to figure out what to do. Suddenly she got an idea that was sure to cause a comeuppance. Tonia grinned. Payback time.
Tonia the great charged the castle, Astronaut, leaping over the moat. All of the citizens ran, screaming away from such a formidable foe. “Where is the one they call Cynthia?” Tonia the Great demanded. Suddenly, a shadow eclipsed the sun behind Tonia the Great. “I am here.” Came a voice almost as commanding as her own. Tonia the Great turned to see a tall, lean, muscular woman glaring at her through tough, leather body armor. Tonia the Great was undeterred. It was only a matter of time before, even so great an adversary would be brought down. It was simply a matter of timing.
“Cynthia!!! Where is my tie?” Mr. Waters yelled to Mrs. Waters inside the house. Tonia ducked, and none too soon, beneath the window in front of Mrs. Water’s house. The eggs in her hands were getting warm. It was now or never. Tonia snickered as she backed up and drew her arm back to throw the first egg. This would teach that self- serving, holier-than-thou family to get her into trouble. (what trouble?)The egg hit the side of their house with a satisfying smack. A few dozen later, aimed strategically at windows and the handmade sign welcoming visitors, and the job was done. Tonia wiped her hands on the grass and walked away. She knew that she would be caught, but that was half the fun. She wanted them to know who had defaced their perfect life. She may have been only ten, but no one messed with her life and got away with it. No one. Suddenly, the front door opened, and Mrs. Waters stepped over the threshold. Tonia froze and half slipped in the grass.
Mrs. Waters noticed Tonia on the grass and also froze.
Church. Dress. Not. Ruckus. Wet dog. Painful ear grabbing. Yelling. Shannon. Blah. Example. Hearing problem. Drawing. Attention span. Sunday school. Incident. Fidgeting. Cleaning the bridge. Background story.
Chapter 2: Sunday
Tonia enjoys the sun and freedom of the last day of winter break before resuming school, until Mrs. Waters (Maria’s mom) decides to take her to church. This is followed by the very large problem of getting Tonia ready and presentable before they go. Once Tonia is ready to go (i.e. the Waters’ family gives up), they head off to church, were Tonia tries to do everything in her power not to go inside for worship. Normally, she would go to Sunday school, but Mrs. Waters doesn’t trust her….and Tonia is banned from the classes after an incident with another child. Once in the service, Tonia enjoys the music, but has trouble sitting still, until Mrs. Waters gives her a paper and pen to draw with. Amazingly, after the service, Tonia remembers absolutely everything that was discussed, even better than Mrs. Waters does. Once they get home, Mrs. Waters insists that Tonia and Maria try to scrub off as much of the paint as possible. Mrs. Waters briefly considers making them repaint the bridge, but after daydreaming of the results, decides to forgo the idea.
Chapter 2: Sunday
Tonia lay sprawled out on the grass in the park soaking in the rays of the afternoon sun. She smiled to herself, and mused. When was the last time I was truly this simply happy? Nothing to worry about and no people to interact with? She took in a deep breath of hot summer air and held it. Today was the last day of summer and she knew that it was the last day of laziness. Mind you, she knew as well as anyone that doing her homework was the issue. That was never going to happen. The issue of course was the fact that once school started, Tonia would have a whole new set of school related people trying to get her to conform.
