Thursday, January 21. 2010 Dear Ruby, Today was PE. Again, I was already fed up with one lesson. However, we had swimming instead. I am sure I would love swimming, if only I could swim in the deep end. I am almost thirteen, yet I still swim in the shallow end. Shame on me. Anyway, today was our first swimming class, so therefore we had to be tested. Even when I told the coach I couldn’t swim, he still made me try to swim in the deep end. I started off fine, but then I made the BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE. Do you know what I did? I stopped in the middle. I forgot that in the deep end, I’m too short to touch the bottom of the pool. The next thing I knew, I was drowning. I don’t remember anything else, but Debbie told me exactly what happened. John dived into the pool and grabbed me out. Then he began to kiss me. The kiss of a life. Then, when I woke up, I went hysterical. Shouting, raving, and ranting. John stared at me. I think he expected a thank you. But I didn’t care. I was fed up with sports! Don’t blame me, please. I can be a nice person! Goodnight, Carter Friday, January 22, 2010 Hey Ruby, Guess what? Debbie invited me over for a sleepover at her house. Finally. It was my first weekend at my friend’s house. George’s party is on Saturday from about six p.m. to nine p.m. in the evening. I’ll be going with Debbie. I am sure it will be just great! I think this is actually the shortest diary entry in this entire book because there was no school today. Actually, there was school, but I was ill. I’m on my way to the hospital, Ruby, so tomorrow there will be more. Lots of love, Carter Saturday, January 23, 2010 Dear Ruby, The party was horrible. But before I tell you all the details, let me tell you exactly what happened at Debbie’s house. My mum dropped me off at noon. But Debbie was still asleep. I was not surprised at all. I was talking to Samantha in the living room; she seems very nice. The exact opposite to the way Debbie had described her. She was actually very nice and joyful. After about half an hour, Debbie came out. She was dressed beautifully, as always. We advanced to her bedroom. On her laptop, we watched John Tucker Must Die. It is a very interesting movie. For lunch we had a feast. Sausages, chicken, chips, pizza, and pasta. It was delicious. We also had some orange cream soda to drink or water. I ate like an elephant because I love food. We proceeded to do makeovers. I was going to wear a blue dress while Debbie was going to wear a black-and-white skirt with a white top. Our make-up was subtle but absolutely perfect. Debbie looked beautiful while I looked like a baby trying to grow up. Why does my face have to be so plump? We arrived at the party extremely early. There was nobody around, so we decided to take a walk around the estate. Then we ended up being the last ones to arrive. Inside the building, there was a lot of loud music that I disliked. I don’t know why people seem to like Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z and the rest. Another thing I noticed were the other boys and girls at the party looked older than fifteen. And they all seemed to be coming with alcohol and cigarettes. George was nowhere to be found. His parents were out, and George’s sister Minnie was meant to mind us. Unfortunately, she was out with her boyfriend. Suddenly, George appeared. He didn’t look like he was turning thirteen, rather more like sixteen. There was a lot of smoking and drinking. If I wasn’t strong, peer pressure would have taken control of me. People were drunk, and there seemed to be vomit everywhere. Debbie dragged me out of the party. I was meant to stay till tomorrow, but I ended up crying. Well, I’m tired. The sun is already rising. Goodnight, or should I say ‘Good Morning’? Carter Sunday, January 24, 2010 Hi Ruby, I was really upset about the way the party ended. George is a really stupid boy. And his parents? Irresponsible. His sister Minnie is such a fool. Today has been the first and probably the last Sunday I haven’t attended church. Also, George says on Monday he might do something really stupid. I am definitely not looking forward to school tomorrow. Things had better not go from bad to worse. Yours always, Carter. Monday, January 25, 2010 Hey Ruby, Remember when I told you that I thoroughly disliked the headmaster, Mr. Ogene. Well, these are the reasons I despise him. While we were lining up for assembly, Rachel was standing behind me. I was writing in my homework diary when the line started moving. But I didn’t know. So Rachel pushed me. As I am a Christian, I shouted ‘Jesus Christ!’ Guess what? Mr. Ogene tells me I’m swearing. Please! Since when is saying ‘Jesus’ swearing? We say his name a lot. In church, in prayer, and in praise or even in speech. Sometimes, I think that man is seriously disturbed. I think Nigeria has changed his way of life. Sometimes, Mr. Ogene acts like an animal from space. I will pray for him, so God can touch his life and heart. God help him. Carter Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Dear Ruby, Astonishingly, George performed his act of the devil today. He was meant to do it yesterday, but he was ill. So today George came to school with a bottle of vodka and a bottle of Coke. As soon as I saw him in school, I sensed trouble – serious trouble, I mean. I think George proceeded to the bathroom and mixed the Coke with vodka. Can you imagine? He then went about the school telling people it was Coke. He went to John, he drank some. Meg, Lucy, and Mo also had some. However, when he gave some to Debbie, she slapped him. Very soon, we had some drunk people around the school. Frustrated and annoyed, I ran upstairs to the language room. Inside the room, I saw Miss Kenyon and the new Latin teacher, Miss Heather. I was so happy to hear at the end of the day that Tony, John, and George were suspended Y’all might think I’m crazy, but that was the correct thing to do. Yours always, Carter
June Eric-Udorie is 13 years old. From a young age, she has always wanted to be a writer. She currently attends Downe House in Berkshire. She lives in Nigeria with her parents and her sisters. Her favourite subjects are English and Biology. Her hobbies including, reading, writing and cookery. She decided to write Madison High, based on the things that were going on around her at that point in time. She wrote it because she wanted young children and teens to know exactly what the world is like, and also what some children have to go through at Middle School. Madison High is her first book.