Polka Dots and Pink Laces

by Sam Dow, Staff Writer

Illustrated by Tess Lyons

It was the twenty-sixth day of my fifth October
I was wearing my new navy Converse sneakers
you know the ones with the polka dots and pink laces? 
They were my favorite shoes.
I was trying to learn how to tie them because daddy said 
“big girls ought to learn how to tie their own shoes”
I wanted to show him I was a big girl
I made knot after knot until finally one day
I created my very own bow tie with my pink laces, 
when mommy and daddy saw what I had done,
they picked me up and spun me around like a princess. 
They were so proud of me.
I was so proud too.

It was the twenty-sixth day of my eleventh October
I was wearing my navy Converse sneakers
they weren’t the ones with the polka dots and pink laces
I was walking into school when some girls came up to me 
They showed this magic thing called makeup
They said I could be pretty if I put it on my face
and all the older girls in magazines wore it
I wanted to show them that I was a big girl too
They said they could give me a makeover in the bathroom
It would only take a minute so I let them
 When they finished I gasped
I rose on the toes of my beat up sneakers and gawked at my reflection in the mirror
All the other girls smiled and giggled. 
They were proud of me
I guess I was proud too?

It was the twenty-sixth day of my sixteenth October
I wasn’t wearing my navy Converse sneakers
you know the ones with the polka dots and pink laces? 
I was wearing 4 inch stilettos bedazzled with jewels
you know the ones with the metal clasp and invisible knives that stab the back of your heel?
I smelled like hairspray and perfume from Victoria’s Secret that gave me a headache
My friends said I looked great as I stumbled blindly into the school dance 
They were all dancing with some random boys
I just stood trying to hear myself think in the midst of chaos
I tried to push my way out of the mass of bodies closing in around me 
but my heels wouldn’t budge
they wouldn’t let me get away. 

I really wished I was wearing my old navy Converse sneakers
you know the ones with the polka dots and pink laces?