Flipped

by Wendelin Van Draanen

back off

She barged and shoved and wedged her way into my life.

mutters,

The world is her playground,

knock-down-drag-out

don’t snap at the bait. Let it dangle.

lure

pain-in-the-rear

pumped up

clobbered

t...

true to form,

bait

s...

booted.

settees

make friends with her.

Unavoidably

squeals.

tackles

take-’em-down tackle.

shook

br...

je...

still hot on my trail

to ward Juli off?

gem

goo-goo eyes

scrutinized

one look at him and I became a lunatic. It’s his eyes. Something in his eyes.

they’re dazzling. Absolutely breathtaking.

I thought I would die for wanting to be with him.

dandy

being the truly sensible adult that she is,

I had that feeling. You know, like the world is moving all around you, all beneath you, all inside you, and you’re floating. Floating in midair. And the only thing keeping you from drifting away is the other person’s eyes. They’re connected to yours by some invisible physical force, and they hold you fast while the rest of the world swirls and twirls and falls completely away.

might have been.

I couldn’t seem to stop myself from following him, from sitting by him, from just wanting to be near him.

The sight of him—the thought of him—still sent my heart humming, but my legs didn’t actually chase after him anymore. I just watched and thought and dreamed.

ninny.

whiny,

sweep

bugged

shimmy

dandy

swirly

unravel

if I let other people work out their own dilemmas,

The facts spoke for themselves.

visually challenged.

scourge