Her Name in the Sky

by Kelly Quindlen

Hannah sings quietly under her breath, keeping her eyes on Baker the whole time, watching her tuck her hair back behind her ear. Toward the end of the song, Baker raises her eyes to the bleachers. She meets Hannah’s eyes, and Hannah waggles her eyebrows and grins as big as she can, and Baker

Bake, Here are my suggestions for your speech today. I think you’ll find this list comprehensive and inspiring. Ten points to you for each one of these gems you manage to work in— -Deliver the entire speech with your eyes closed. Never explain why -Ask for volunteer Tributes to come forward -Shake the microphone cord at Mrs. Shackleford and tell her you challenge her to a jump rope competition. Loser has to do body shots off of Manceau -Interrupt yourself halfway through, make your eyes go wide, and shout, “OH MY GOD! I JUST SAW JESUS UP THERE IN THE STANDS!”

-Tell the student body we are going to “clobber the fuck out of those Mount Sinai douche-bitches” -Call Fr. Simon “Mother Simon,” then pretend you just got confused -When Clay speaks, stand at the back of the gym and shout, “He doesn’t even go here!” -When Hot Little Mary runs in, tackle him/her/it to the ground, then yell for back-up -End the speech by invoking prayers for the football players’ herpes outbreak; proclaim your faith that their discomfort will not prevent them from winning Good luck, you’ll be awesome. PS please don’t lose this note, as it might result in my being suspended and/or expelled. PPS now that you’re 18, you might actually be held accountable for this stuff…so keep that in mind. Happy birthday!