Simple Liz

Everybody called her simple Liz. But she wasn't really simple. I mean she could really have done something with herself, if she wanted to. That was it! She didn't care about her looks. And what a personality! This girl went out of her way to be mean, nasty, bitter, and downright ugly.

She lived with her mother and five young sisters in a small apartment, on the same block that I lived on. She was in the same grade I was in. we had lots of classes together. When she first moved in, I tried to make a friend with her but it didn't work, as hard as I tried.

I showed her my collection of movie magazines. She said she hated movie star. I showed her my collecting of paperbacks. She said only idiots read stuff like that. I showed her my jewelry, especially my gold-plated bracelet. She said it was the ugliest thing she ever saw.

At school nobody would have anything to do with her. I mean, who wanted to hear nasty things like that every time one said hallo to her.? And I really mean every time.

She was even mean to her own sister. Her mother was always away working, so simple Liz had to do all the work at home. She made breakfast for the kids and they

got slapped if they didn't eat everything she prepared. And they had to eat fast, too, because simple Liz had to wash all the dishes and get everybody to school in time.

She did all the housework. After she scrubbed the kitchen floor and entry steps, nobody dared to walk near them or she would scream and yell. Just dare to sit down on the sofa after she had vacuumed it, and you would hear about it till your ears would ring. Her poor sister didn't know what to make of it.

She made supper for the kids, too .and they got the same treatment if they didn't eat everything she put in front of them. She had everything cleaned up by the time her mother got home. And on top of all that, three days a week simple Liz worked evenings at the five-and-ten store.

I figured the poor girl just never had time to have any fun. That would make anybody mean. So I decided to do something about it. A bunch of us meet at somebody's house once a month. We talk and exchange magazines and have fun and have refreshments.

When it came my time to be host, I invited simple Liz. At first she wouldn't come. She had a million excuses. Then she said she didn't associate with riffraff. Real insulting. But I insisted that we would be really pleased if she would come. So finally she said she'd do me a favor and come to my 'childish party', as she called it.

Well, believe me it would have been the best meeting of the year if she hadn't come. But dumb me, I invited her.

Everybody brought something to eat. Several of the kids brought the very latest records... my mother had borrowed a gigantic punch bowl, from a woman she works for. I mean it held a about a gallon of punch.

Simple Liz brought herself. That's all. When Jane came, I introduced her to all the kids. She didn't even say hello to them. She just sort of glared at them. Then my best friend, mercy, asked her to come over to the punch bowl and have some punch.

Well, mercy went up to her took her by the arm to sort of guide her to the punch bowl. Simple Liz pulled away like mercy had touched her with a hot iron. Or something. Now what do you make of that?

That's not all. After that, listen to what this crazy girl did. Without looking at anybody, very quietly simple Liz went up to the punch bowl. I was just going to get her a paper cup when she reached out and got hold of the ream of the bowl and lifted it and spilled all that beautiful punch all over the table and on to the rug. The kid screamed and simple Liz marched out of the apartment with tears in her eyes. Can you beat that?

Simple Liz wasn't in school the next two days. The day she finally came back, I saw her coming down the hall. I pretended not to see her. I sure wasn't going to say hallo to her after that! But I sort of looked at her out of the corner of my eye and she started to come over to me. Just as she came up to me, I called down the hall to friend of mine. I ran off and left simple Liz standing there looking like a dope.

Now, that was a mean thing for me to do. I know. But look how she had ruined my party! By math class, though, I had thought it over. What if she had been coming over to apologies? But she didn't. Know what she did? She asked me if I would walk home with her tomorrow and listen to some new records she had bought. And then she said she d like me to stay for dinner because she was going to make her special spaghetti dinner.

By Edward Ombaka Adeny