Friendship Over (The Top-Secret Diary of Celie Valentine)

by Julie Sternberg

  Friday, November 19

  We did it! Lula and I slid our Trina-wants-to-marry-skinny-jeans note into her locker this morning. I don’t think anyone saw us. But Trina will probably know it’s from me. I hope she’s scared.

  I hope we don’t get in trouble.

  I just had a worrying thought. What if we end up in Friendship Forward with Trina? Yuck. I never, ever want to dig deep about Trina.

  Saturday, November 20

  We’re about to go shopping. Dad and Jo and me. We’re just waiting for Jo to finish talking on the phone to a girl in her class named Amber. She’s always seemed nice.

  They’ve been on that call forever. But I am waiting very patiently. Because Jo needs a nice new friend.

  When we finally leave, we’re going to pick out pretty sheets and a comforter for Granny. I think they should be blue and white. To match her tablecloth. Which I’m planning to get nice and clean and then put right over Mom’s desk.

  We’re still not sure exactly what day Granny’s moving in. But I’m going to ask Delores to make her famous brownies for her, whenever that day is.

  I know Lula will ignore Granny’s forgetting, the way I’m planning to ignore her parents’ fighting.

  None of us cares one bit if Granny freezes pink sponge curlers or talks to the dead. We’re going to make her a home.

  Here’s a look at Celie’s next adventure,

  JOURNAL

  PUT THIS JOURNAL DOWN RIGHT NOW. DO NOT TURN THE PAGE.

  IT IS PRIVATE.

  That especially means you, Josephine Rosalie Altman. If you do not put this right back where you found it and walk away, I will tell your whole grade that when you eat strawberries you get a rash on your tushy.

  I am not kidding, Jo.

  No, I definitely am not.

  In this new book, Celie discovers that keeping secrets is hard . . . really hard.

  And even though she tries her best, she runs into some sticky situations. Like:

  That time she ends up with her best friend Lula’s private notes, even though she probably should have left them where she found them (unread and in the trash)

  Or when she reads her sister Jo’s texts (and finds out Jo is going on a date! A real live date)

  Or, worst of all, when something really bad happens and she has to lie to her mom and dad (but only to protect someone she loves!)

  What do you do when it feels like everything around you is just getting more and more complicated? And who do you turn to when you’re keeping so many secrets from everyone?

  It’s a good thing Granny bought Celie a new diary. Because it feels like this is the only safe place for her to try to figure everything out.

  Want to get to know

  the FUN, FABULOUS author?

  Just read my English assignment.

  (I got to interview her. I’m NOT kidding!)

  ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT

  Our school librarians have been working very hard to line up author interviews for you! Please take very detailed notes during your interview. Then try to write it as accurately as you can in the space provided below.

  Be sure to note who is speaking in the conversation. For example, if I interviewed Señora Santacruz, I would write:

  Mrs. McElhaney: Good Morning, Señora Santacruz. How are you?

  Señora Santacruz: Fine, thank you.

  I know this is a big assignment. Do not hesitate to ask for help if you need it.

  Name: Celie

  Date: Mon., Nov. 29

  I interviewed Julie Sternberg. I asked her to talk VERY SLOWLY so I could take my notes. I think I got the whole conversation. Here’s what we said:

  Me: My dad gave me a punching bag and a diary for my tenth birthday. What did YOU get when you turned ten?

  Ms. Sternberg: I don’t remember everything, but I do know I got half a cake and half a party. My sister’s birthday is the day before mine, and we never got our own cake or party. (We’re not twins—she was born two years later. We look a lot alike, though.)

  As for presents, my parents usually gave each of us a sweater. Which isn’t nearly as useful as a punching bag and diary. Punching bags are the perfect way to take out frustrations, and diaries are the perfect place to sort out feelings.

  Me: Can you draw me a picture of you and your sister? So I can see how much you look alike?

  Ms. S: Oh, no—I’m sorry. I can’t draw at all, not even bubble letters.

  Me: I could definitely teach you bubble letters.

  Ms. S: That’s very nice of you, but I’m afraid it’s hopeless. I’ve been trying for a lifetime.

  Me: Did you keep a diary like I do—except without pictures or bubble letters—when you were ten?

  Ms. S: Unfortunately, I was the kind of kid who loved the IDEA of keeping a diary but never managed to actually do it. Now I wish I had! I’d love a record of my childhood thoughts and feelings.

  Me: Did you write stories? Instead of writing in your diary?

  Ms. S: I should have! Instead I read and read and read. I read during recess, I read at sleepovers, I read on the floor of my closet when I was supposed to be sleeping.

  Me: You shouldn’t read at sleepovers. That’s not nice.

  Ms. S: You are absolutely, positively right. I should not have done that.

  Me: Did your friends start being mean to you after you read on the sleepovers? Sometimes my friends are mean. And my sister, Jo, used to have the meanest friend EVER.

  Ms. S: My friends were understanding about my reading, but I’ve certainly had friendship issues in the past.

  I think friendships can be challenging in different ways. Sometimes two friends are good together generally, but something goes wrong. They need to work to get the friendship back on track.

  In other instances, friends are just not well matched. There are a lot of different friendship problems, and a solution that’s good for one might not work well for another.

  Me: Jo’s bad friend Trina is not well matched for ANYONE.

  Ms. S: It sounds like Jo is better off without her.

  Me: Yes, she is. But I have more questions. What’s the BEST thing about being an author?

  Ms. S: I love spending my days trying to tell a good story. And I’ve always felt so happy in the world of children’s books, first as a reader and now as a writer. It’s nice having a chance to talk with kids like you, too, about writing and reading.

  Me: And bubble letters. We talked about those, too.

  Ms. S: Yes, that’s true—we did.

  Me: What if I want to be an author someday? What should I do?

  Ms. S: All you have to do to become a writer is write and then keep fixing and fixing and fixing what you’ve written, until it feels true.

  Me: I can do the writing. I don’t know about the fixing.

  Ms. S: I have a hunch you’re pretty good at storytelling without too much fixing.

  Me: Thank you.

  And that was THE END of our conversation. (I did those bubble letters. Not Ms. S.)

  JULIE STERNBERG is the author of Bedtime at Bessie and Lil’s and the best-selling Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. Visit juliesternberg.com

  JOHANNA WRIGHT has illustrated several books, including her own The Secret Circus and Bunnies on Ice. She lives with her family in Portland, Oregon. Visit johannawright.com

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