Peter's Going Away Party

Yesterday everyone went over to Peter’s house for a little party in his honor.  He’s going to be gone to summer camp for six weeks and I miss him already.  Anyways, I had only been to Peter’s house once before the party because he lives way on the other side of town and has to be bused to school while all my other friends live more or less in walking distance.  I finally got to meet his mom, Dr. Beaumont, who is a respected veterinarian and I met Peter’s best friend Anthony.  


Actually, let me back up and tell you everyone who was at the party.  There was Peter (of course) and his sister Zuzu, Ashley and her sister Alice, Me, Quinn, Nicki, Taylor, Anthony, Zuzu’s best friend Angela, and Ryder and Max, a couple of Peter’s Boy Scout and 4-H friends from Shafter.


I’m not sure why, but I felt really shy when I arrived.  I mean, I used to be pretty shy but I’ve gotten better the last couple of years… but man, I felt like such a wallflower at the party.  I’m not like Nicki, who loves boys and couldn’t decide between Anthony, Ryder, and Max so she tried to flirt with all of them.  I’m not like Quinn, who can find common ground with anyone.  I’m not like Ashley, who can make anyone laugh.  I felt really inferior.


Zuzu, Angela, and Anthony stayed in one little group and the rest of my friends were in another little group.  Ryder and Max, who really only knew Peter and Anthony, stuck to themselves.  Nicki went around from boy to boy, and Peter tried to be a good host and went back and forth between all the groups.  And then there was me… and I didn’t feel like I fit in with any of the groups.


Peter didn’t seem to want to talk to me, and when he did, he seemed really annoyed with me.  Once he snapped at me because I offered him a brownie… once I said something and he actually sighed and rolled his eyes.  He was so unlike himself!  I’ve never seen him be rude to anyone… especially not to me…


So after a while, I went and sat on the porch swing out front.  A moment later, Ashley came out and sat next to me.  She seems to always know what’s wrong and what to do to help, because she just put her arm around my shoulder and didn’t say anything.   After a while, we both went back inside and I sat with Ashley and Zuzu while we ate dinner.


Before the night was over, Ashley was mad at Nicki for flirting with Anthony (who Ashley has a big crush on, though she’ll never admit it), Zuzu was mad at Quinn for making herself the center of attention (which she didn’t really do, but I didn’t want to get involved in that argument), and I was mad at Peter for being mad at me.


When everyone was ready to go home, I was the last to be picked up.  I had gotten a ride there from Ashley and Alice’s mom, but they were sleeping over with their cousins so I had to call my dad to come and get me to go home.  Once everyone but the Beaumonts and I were gone, I went and stood outside by myself.  A few minutes after I went out, Peter came and stood beside me.  I didn’t want to talk him… I didn’t even want to say goodbye, but there he was.


He was the first to break the silence.  “Did you have a good time tonight?”
I rolled my eyes to get him back for earlier.  “What do you think?”
“I didn’t think so,” he said quietly.  “I guess I should apologize for that.”
“Why were you so short with me?” I asked.
Peter shrugged.  “I guess I was just… I don’t know… annoyed.  I mean, out of everyone here, you were the only one I really wanted to talk to… and you acted like you didn’t want to be here.”
“I thought you were mad at me,” I said, sighing.  “I just felt sort of… out of place.”
“You’ll never be out of place here or anywhere else where I am.  I’m sorry I didn’t really make you feel like that earlier,” Peter said, blushing ever so slightly.
I smiled and looked away, suddenly too embarrassed to look him in the eye.  “I guess I could have tried harder to fit in.  I was just having a hard time because… I’m going to miss you…”
“I’m going to miss you, too,” he said.


Then he held my hand.  It was really nice.  I don’t know how long we stood there, hand in hand, but we stayed like that until we saw my dad driving up.  Then we both got embarrassed and let go really quickly.

Before I got in my dad’s car, Peter stopped me.  “Hey,” he began.  “My parents gave me this whole roll of stamps… and I was wondering if it would be okay if I wrote to you this summer.”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” I said.  As I turned around, Peter tapped me on the shoulder, took his lucky blue baseball cap off and handed it to me.
“I was sorta hoping you might keep that for me,” he said.  “I mean, I’m not gonna need it at ranch camp, so someone should get some use out of it.”
I smiled, put the hat on, and said, “Bye, Peter.”

So, Peter’s gone to camp and I’m still wearing his hat.  After all of this, I still don’t understand boys… but I guess it wouldn’t be so exciting and interesting if I did.