Jealousy

Just so you know, I am no longer jealous of LW. Converse sneakers make my feet look like clown feet. That's a bad, bad thing.

February 28, 1987
I got back from L's birthday party. it was okay. I think she liked my punk/pink rabbit (I can't read my own writing!) LW aggravates me so bad! She bought yellow high-tops at the mall today and just me seeing them made me so mad! I dont' know why, though! She's always first: 1. to get contacts, 2. to get a perm
That makes me so angry!
Allison!

Little did I know that in a few short months, I'd get my hair chopped off and it would begin to grow curly, rendering a home perm pointless. The sneakers were yellow. I have never liked yellow on clothing. Why I was so angry, I don't know. Perhaps it's the Walker Gene that makes one fly off the handle at minor events.
My friend L. was the oldest of...well, at this point, 4 kids. By the time L. skipped town, there were 6 kids in the house. Her mom was always smoking, drinking and pregnant, yes, all at the same time. Is it any wonder the kids were all kind of slow?
I liked going to her house because they had cable, and didn't mind if we kids watched Eddie Murphy comedy videos. I remember the baby at the time falling asleep with the TV blasting in his room. Their TV was always on, which never happened in the Walker household. They also had lots of junk food, which was also a stranger to my house. When LH came over, she would remark on how quiet it was.
Her stepdad was a skinny, stubbled asshole. I have no shame in writing this. He'd make fun of her acne and rough up the other kids in front of her friends. From what I could gather, she was the maid for the family. They might have had a lot of kids, but their house was clean, thanks to L. One time she came to school with a big scratch on her face, and claimed it was from a pin that had somehow (Stepdad) appeared on her pillow. Thinking about it later, I realized the things I thought were fun and amusing were actually abusive, and it was no wonder L. always wanted to sleep over at my house.
I wish I could remember the exact details of her departure from New Hope, PA. I was in 10th grade or so. She moved across the river to Lambertville, New Jersey to live with?? A relative? A boyfriend? I've got it all written down in my 1989 diaries. It was a monumental thing, and I think I even took notes during our phone conversation so I could tell H. all about it.
Long story short-she called me once, years later. L. was in New Orleans, enjoyed heavy metal bands such as Krokus, drank a lot, smoked a lot, and had HAD SEX. I think she even dated a black guy, which was unheard of in our parts. After all, there was only one black guy who went to our school, Tom, and he thought she was a skank. He was right.