out a warning before she comes in. It gives you enough time to put away whatever you were doing so she doesn’t have to officially catch you.
(My mom is everyone’s favorite teacher.)
Diane and Rhonda dropped their cigarettes and stamped them out with their saddle shoes. It meant they couldn’t move their feet once my mom came through the door, but she pretended not to notice.
“Hello, girls.” Mom looked at each of us, her eyes widening a little when she saw me before her face slipped back into her usual unaffected-teacher expression. If she was exhausted after worrying about Peter all night, she didn’t give any sign of it. “The bell rang. Why aren’t you in class?”
“We’re sorry, Mrs. Hawkins.” Rhonda bobbed into a tiny curtsy, which looked especially ridiculous since she couldn’t move her feet.
“Well, get a move on.” Mom glanced at me, but looked away just as fast. “You don’t want Sister Catherine to catch you out here.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Hawkins,” the others chorused as Mom stepped outside.
We moved fast after that, Diane and Rhonda flushing their cigarette butts before we headed to study hall. It took me almost the whole period to write this down, but there are ten minutes left in the period so I guess I might as well get this pen pal letter out of the way now. More later.
Yours, Sharon
Wednesday, June 8, 1977
Dear Tammy,
I guess I’m your new pen pal. Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry we’re about to be juniors in high school and we’re stuck doing a project more appropriate for eight-year-olds.
Here’s my first answer from the question list:
Describe yourself in three adjectives.
Today? I’d say tired, overwhelmed, and ready for school to be over.
But if I’m supposed to be making a big statement, I guess I’d go with confused, lonely, and out of place. (Is out of place an adjective? Maybe it is if I put in hyphens? Out-of-place, then.)
I guess that’s it for now. Sorry I couldn’t come up with a better answer. I’ll try to be more interesting next time.
Yours truly, Sharon Hawkins
Thursday, June 16, 1977
Dear Sharon,
Your letter made me laugh. I totally agree, this is a ridiculous project, but I guess we’re stuck with it.
Here are my three adjectives: Tall (or, well, tall-ish). Blond. And overwhelmed, the same as you. I’m glad this school year’s over, too.
Sorry if that doesn’t give you much to write about in your report. I’ll try to do better in my next letter.
Yours truly, Tammy Larson
P.S. This isn’t in the list of questions, but I was wondering—have you ever listened to Patti Smith? I just got her album Horses and I’m obsessed. No one I know listens to that kind of music, but I thought things might be different in San Francisco.
Wednesday, June 22, 1977
Dear Tammy,
No, I don’t think I’ve heard of Patti Smith. What kind of music does she play?
Here’s my answer to the next question:
Who are the members of your family?
It’s just me, my mom, and my brother. My mom’s a teacher at my school, and my brother, Peter, is one year older than me. I have a father, too, but he left when I was a baby and I haven’t seen him much since.
What’s your family like?
Yours truly, Sharon Hawkins
Wednesday, June 29, 1977
Dear Sharon,
I’m really sorry about your dad.
My family will take longer to explain, since there are a lot of us.
First, there’s my parents. They met in Ohio. My dad had gone out to buy some toothpaste and my mom was working at the drugstore. When he went up to the register to pay, he thought my mom was pretty and asked for her number. My dad was a big shot then, a college football player, and Mom says it was as if a famous