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TITLE: Too Much Moving? By Elizabeth Budd 08/10/08 |
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Tiffany lay in her brother’s treehouse with Alyson and Katie. They had been together all Friday afternoon, working on their final projects for geography. The reports were typed, the pictures printed, the maps drawn. Tomorrow they’d glue everything to their tri-fold boards and be finished.
Now it was almost midnight, and the only lights were the stars and the dim glow of the TV set from her parents’ bedroom. Pizza crusts, an empty popcorn bowl, and several finished soda cans littered the floor near their sleeping bags.
“We leave for Germany two weeks after school’s out,” said Tiffany. “I hate Dad’s job. Every two years –”
“Can’t your dad find a different job?” Katie interrupted. Everyone at school wondered about his job. “What’s he do, anyway?” she asked.
Tiffany shrugged. “I don’t know - something for the government. I hate moving all the time.”
“So where else have you lived?” asked Alyson.
She and Katie flipped onto their stomachs to watch Tiffany count the places on her fingers.
“Well, I was born in Israel, moved to Massachusetts, then Bolivia, California, Kenya, Virginia, Japan, and now here.”
“Wow – the farthest I’ve ever been is Disneyworld,” said Alyson. “I’d trade places with you any day!”
“Yeah, me too. I’ve never even seen the ocean,” said Katie.
“You’ve never –” Tiffany started. She rolled her eyes. “Well, I’d love to trade. I’ll stay here and you can try making new friends every two years.”
“We’re not going to stop being friends just because you move away,” said Alyson. Katie agreed.
“That’s what you say now, but I know better,” answered Tiffany. “I’ve done this before.” She flopped onto her sleeping bag and stared at the stars.
Two years ago, she’d left behind Japan and her best friend, Aoi. They emailed about once a month, but it just wasn’t the same as being together. Two years before that, she’d moved away from another friend, Melody, in Virginia. She couldn’t remember when they’d last talked or written. And back and back and back. It was always the same – two years someplace and move again. What was the use of making friends?
On Monday morning, the geography classroom was crowded with tables and tri-fold project boards. Each board visually screamed a country’s name and featured reports and pictures. Tiffany leaned against a wall. With her arms folded, she watched the others roam between the tables, inspecting each project.
“Come on, Tiff,” Alyson said. She and Katie pulled their reluctant friend away from the wall. “Are you okay?”
“I guess.” They walked around and stopped in front of her project on Japan.
Mrs. Proctor was there with her grade book. “Tiffany,” she said, “your project is outstanding. Do you notice anything different about it?” When Tiffany shook her head, she said, “Really? Look around again.”
Whatever, thought Tiffany. But she wandered through the room again, looking at each project. Suddenly, she saw.
Hers was different. Her pictures were from her mother’s digital camera, not the Internet. Her favorite showed her having dinner at Aoi’s. The family was seated on cushions on the floor around a low black table. Everyone had laughed as Tiffany dropped more rice in her lap than her mouth. But she’d finally mastered eating with chopsticks. Her map was one her dad had picked up in Tokyo on a weekend trip. All the writing was beautiful Japanese calligraphy. Tiffany had even included a Japanese newspaper, which she could read – sort of. Everything about her project said she’d actually lived in Japan.
That evening, Tiffany sat in the treehouse, thinking. She thought about Alyson only traveling as far as Disneyworld and Katie never seeing the ocean. She thought about why her geography project had been different from everyone else’s. Would she really want to trade places with her friends? No - she had lived places, met people, and experienced things her friends had only read about. Her life was richer because of the very thing she hated.
She didn’t like moving and probably never would. But she did like that moving allowed her to see more than just one little piece of the world. She climbed down the ladder and headed to her bedroom. First she’d call Melody and email Aoi. Then, she’d begin packing.
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