Sarah+P

=Jenna=

Just for the record, I never wanted to move to Cleveland. I was perfectly happy living on a blueberry farm in Michigan but no, apparently this was a "great oppurtunity" and it was "too good to pass by". It wasn't my idea to have my dad too busy to even come home on most weekends and to have my mom stressed out about how to pay the bills and how I'm failing school. I hate the Cleveland weather, the brisk wind in the fall and the gray snow that falls in the winter, which turns into polluted slush when it falls on the busy streets, nothing like the bright colored trees in the fall and the fluffy white snow back in Michigan. The spring in Cleveland is even worse. The winter seems to try to hang on forever, it doesn't matter what the groundhog does. The polluted slush in Cleveland seems to stay there way after when it seemed that spring should've come. I hated how it seemed like there was an invisible line through the middle of Cleveland, with my family and all the other whites on one side and all the african american people on the other. I hated how it felt uncomfortable whenever you crossed that invisible line.

It was one of those slushy, windy and just plain cold days when I went on a walk. It's always so tense at my apartment, with my mom silently typing on the computer and pressuring me to do my homework. My dad is hardly ever home. To keep his job he has to work crazy hours and it feels like he's never home. But if he doesn't he might get fired and who knows when he'll get another. We would probably have to move which was a-okay with me since I don't have any friends anyway. I usually just wander around in the evenings to avoid my mom's glare.

Well, this day I took a different route. I noticed a bunch of people bending over and talking in some old abandoned lot. I wandered closer and saw that the people were actually hoeing and planting seeds. I was actually interested. I wanted to make something grow, too. I decided that I wanted to grow blueberries, since that was the only thing that I knew how to grow. I ran all the way back to my apartment, sprinted into my room and grabbed my bag of blueberry seeds that I had hid in my closet and sprinting back out of my apartment, before my mom could ask me what I was up to. I ran all the way back to the garden and claimed my own square, panting from my run. I tried to plant my seeds, but the ground was too hard. I decided to wait until next week.

The week seemed to go by so slowly. When it was finally a week since the day when I discovered the garden, I came back and planted my blueberry seeds on my little patch of land. I came back every day to water my plants and watch them grow. One day when I came, there was a new kid. His name was Jack. I gave him a few pointers on how to grow his seeds. He let me have one of his strawberry plants. I gave him a little blueberry plant. We've helped each other with planting and growing the plants ever since. We also help new kids feel more comfortable by giving them pointers and talking to them.

One night at dinner my mom was getting a little suspicious.

"Jen, where are you going all the time?" my mom asked,"You come home dirty and late. Also, your grades are improving a lot."

"Oh, there's just this garden," I replied casually,"No big deal."

"Ohhh, a garden, that sounds fun," my mom announced," Can I come down there sometime and help you?"

"I don't know," I answered. I really did not want my mom to come. She'll totally ruin my friendship with Jack and all of the other gardeners.

But of couse she came with me the next time I went to the garden. I totally thought that she was going to ruin everything. But when we got there, she seemed really cool, helping me out and giving me tips. Now she comes with me all the time when I go to the garden. Maybe my mom isn't all bad.

Now, it's winter again. I can't wait for spring when I can work in the garden and trade plants with Jack once again. Maybe Cleveland isn't that bad after all.