JEM’S PHONE
From: Jemma Dutton
To: Olivia Freeman
Subject: prepare yourself
Hi it’s me.
This is an apology. The biggest sorry in the world.
I was awful to you. I sucked. I ruined it.
All this summer I’ve been writing to you. Because bff. Best friend forever means forever. You were the one who always listened, all those years of my “you knows” and my “I can’t explain it buts.”
I don’t know if you’ll read all of them. The emails I’ll send after this one. If you want to write back that would be so great. If you don’t, if you don’t even feel like reading them, that’s ok. I mean, I get it. Writing them was worse than social studies essays. Reading them won’t be any better.
First day of school. I was kind of famous because of what happened. Everybody coming up and asking me, Whoa, what was it like? So only a few kids wore #mayflower shirts. (if you read the emails, you’ll get all this.) I sat with Annie at lunch, and kids kept coming over and sitting with us and dragging chairs over until we were so crowded we started throwing pretzels at each other and that’s when they made us stop. It was cool.
Mom and Dad will be moving. Not together, no. No chance of that! Which means I will be moving, too. Yeah, that’s the big news and if you want to know why you’ll have to read the emails.
I fell in love this summer. Or thought I did. He was too old for me and he lied to me and treated me like shit and even stole a watch I think—I mean, it disappeared and he was there when it did and now that I know him better I think it was him—and I had to lie about it and in the end he was the biggest coward you ever saw.
I almost blew away this summer, Ollie. There’s something about almost blowing away that makes you see everything different. Like, I’m not scared of moving to the city or whatever we have to do. I kind of want to. You did it. Let me know how it was, and this time really tell me.
I ran out of friends this summer. I got a few back today. I’m hoping maybe I have another one and that’s you.
So. Start with Memorial Day. Labor Day requires a conversation. I’m pressing Send on the summer. Here I go.
xojem