Meet Naomi

Meet Naomi! She has pale skin and beautiful, silky yet curly hair. Naomi is a middle schooler at The Peretti School. She loves the color yellow more than anything, and her favorite food is grilled cheese. She beats to her own drum. Naomi is a smart girl; however, she does not always feel smart. This is because she has to work hard at everything. Naomi has always felt like she had to grow up faster than she wanted to.

Naomi’s memory is impeccable. One day at school, Naomi took a fall. As the hall monitor walked over to her, a memory suddenly overcame her mind. With fog surrounding the image, the flashback remained vivid in her mind, right in the center of her forehead. She pictured herself as a young girl, holding a tray of play food. She was walking over to a small boy in her preschool class and said, “Honey, it’s time for lunch… ‘boom.’” Just like that, with a tap of black, Naomi had a gash that was gushing blood from the center of her forehead. She didn’t remember how, but somehow, she ended up in the lap of her teacher, a very soft-spoken, strong woman with strawberry-colored hair.

In that moment, love felt infinite, and chaos was vigorous. “Which band-aid should we give her?” one teacher shouted. “Maybe the butterfly,” another teacher suggested. Naomi was so afraid. The teacher with strawberry-colored hair remained calm and was a rock in the chaos. Naomi then got up and continued with her day, though she had a sad demeanor. She didn’t know how she was going to get through the rest of it. She often looked within and daydreamed. Daydreamed of the love she longed to receive and the strength that was buried deep inside her. She daydreamed of the teacher she so desperately wanted a hug from and wished she knew what had happened to her. She wished she was safe.

Naomi went to her next class, and with a slap of the rubric paper, Naomi was met with a C. “What?” she said. “I’ve worked so hard,” tears welling in her eyes. Naomi called her mom. “This is garbanzo! I got a C on that project about Andrew Banana.”

-To be continued…