My Name is Geraldine
For my sister Cha Cha
My name is Geraldine.
I live in building 154 apartment #7.
I have a hamster, a lovebird, two turtles, and a goldfish.
I wanted a cat but you can’t have a cat when you live in an apartment, it’s against the rules.
Also my dad is allergic to cats.
I wanted a gorilla and there’s nothing against gorillas in the rules, but my dad is allergic to them too.
I am the oldest.
I have a little sister and a baby brother.
My sister’s name is Channing but we call her Cha Cha for short.
She copies everything I do. She is not as good at drawing pigs as me.
My brother’s name is Andrew.
I wanted to name him Marcel but we had to name him Andrew so I named my hamster Marcel instead.
Next door there are a bunch of Australians. They are the Wells family.
They say “sofer” instead of “couch” and all play musical instruments.
They get up at 6:00 every morning to practice.
Eleanor plays the cello.
Catherine plays the piano.
Loise plays the viola.
Olivia plays the violin.
Roland plays the trumpet.
All the Wellses are tough. When it is winter they build snowmen wearing only bare feet.
Roland is exactly 3 months and 3 days older than me.
He is good at climbing trees and always gets to the top lickety-split.
We like to play outside.
Sometimes we chase rabbits but mostly we like to build forts out of sticks.
Sometimes my friend Frances comes over to play.
We like to draw pictures of pigs or play in the mud outside.
Cha Cha always likes to tag along.
We have some clubs and one is called Junk Monsters.
We collect junk around building 154 and build a town to keep it in.
One time we decided to build a spaceship in order to go to Outer Space. We needed more supplies so we had to go looking through the dumpster.
When my mom found out we were in BIG TROUBLE and Frances had to go home so we didn’t get to finish our spaceship.
Which means I still haven’t been to Outer Space.
Today it is raining so Roland and I play upstairs in the lobby.
There is a box in the lobby right now because someone in building 154 had to get a new refrigerator.
It is good for hiding in but not if you are playing hide and seek.
It might be good for building a spaceship though.
Roland says it is a boat and we will be rescued if it floods.
Just in case we bring along a snack of butter and Saltines.
I bring Marcel and my lovebird, who is named Bruce, and my two turtles.
I don’t bring my goldfish because she can handle the flood.
We decide to bring all of Roland’s sisters and my brother too.
And Cha Cha because she can’t swim as well as me.
When it is nighttime Roland’s mom comes to fetch all of the Wellses.
They go back to apartment #8 and we go back to apartment #7.
We are having lentil soup again for dinner.
We sing the Johnny Appleseed song and say “Bon Appetite” at the end because we are French.
Before bed I feed Marcel and Bruce and my two turtles and my goldfish their dinner.
I wonder if all that gorillas eat are bananas?
I brush my teeth with sparkling blue toothpaste that has a white stripe so I won’t get cavities.
My mom reads us a bedtime story and tucks us in and sings us each our goodnight song.
Andrew’s is the shortest because he is the baby.
Cha Cha’s song is called “The cow’s are in the barn” and is about a bunch of animals in a barn that go to sleep.
My song is the Goodnight Geraldine Song and it is the best because I am the oldest.
When she is finished my mom turns out the light and we all go to sleep.
The End.
©2008 Hillary Swanson. All rights reserved.