in my fiction class at pre-college, we had to bring in a picture and describe the scene she picked in a photo book from the person in our picture's point of view.

The Old Garage

(07/00)

"This room has personality," I declared, looking into the garage. We were sitting on two worn out metal folding chairs, waiting for our car to be repaired. Megan looked at me as if I was nuts.

"Are you kidding me? It's a disaster! I can't even stand to be in such a mess. The grease'll ruin my clothes. At least it stopped pouring. Maybe we'll get home sometime soon."

"Well, since the car broke down, we have no choice. There's nowhere else to go, unless you want to go back outside. At least in here we have somewhere warm and dry to sit. Anyway, its not so bad."

"Yeah, right. `Not so bad' like a bee sting."

"Think of it like…like a little girl." Megan rolled her eyes. "A little homeless girl!"

"You've lost it, Melanie." She shook her head, but continued to listen.

"The ropes on the ground coil like the messy ringlets that fly in her face because she only has rags to pull it back with. The fluorescent lights are her bright eyes looking at you as you cross the street in your $100 jeans. Her face is smudged with dirt and grime, but she still smiles and welcomes you, asking you and her ratty doll to tea." Megan sighed. "Her dad doesn't know how to be a father. Half the time he's not there, anyway, and her mother is long gone. When he actually is around, she asks him to brush her hair like mommy used to, and he spends hours trying to untangle the curls with his grubby fingers. The garbagey toys she plays with are lined up around her, and she never lets them out of her sight, just in case someone might try to take them away. Someone took away her toys once before, when they took her house and her mom away. She gets sad when she thinks about that night, and tears run down her face making the dirt run down it in streaks…" I look around the room again, lost in dreamy thought.

"How do you do it, Melanie?" Megan asked, staring at me with amazed eyes.

"See, its not so bad, is it?" I answer softly.

"I just don't know how you see all that in a smelly old garage, but you certainly do bring the place to life." I smiled and looked at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"Toldya so." I giggled.

"C'mon, lets get out of here. The car's ready." As we turned to leave, I took one last glance at the room and waved goodbye to the little girl I'd created. Megan grabbed my arm and pulled me back outside. It was raining again.

"See, she's sad to see us go." Megan just shook her head and pulled up the hood of her sweatshirt.