Free Diary of Latoya Hunter by Latoya Hunter Page A

here, it was so pretty. The houses were covered and the ground was like a big white blanket. It was gorgeous. I loved it. Now when I walk home from school in the snow and it’s like ice, and it stings my face as it blows, I say it’ll be better if I was in Jamaica dreaming about it.
    I’ll have to tell my teachers about me leaving. I guess they would want to give me work to do to keep up while I’m gone. I’m going to miss a major Social Studies test and Reading but I’ll make them up when I get back. My mom isn’t on it all the way for me to go because she thinks I’ll miss too much work but I begged her so she said okay. She could be cool sometimes.

April 13, 1991
    Dear Janice
,
    J ust last week I was a princess for a day in that beautiful dress and parading in a limo. This week I’m just a plain, boring twelve-year-old. Yuck!
    I wouldn’t mind doing it again. Michelle says so too. She said her dress is way too expensive to put away forever. I agree. I want to feel like a princess for forever and a day.

April 15, 1991
    Dear Janice
,
    E ight days left until Jamaica. My mother got me some summer clothes to wear while I’m down there. I’ll be in 90 degree weather in less than a week and now I’m in 30 degree weather. It’ll only take like four hours to reach from here to there. Thank goodness for technology. We’ve come a long way since the day of horseback.
    I can’t wait for these eight days to be over. Here I go again, it’s like the wedding—until it comes I think of nothing else.

April 17, 1991
    Dear Janice
,
    E ven though I’ll miss a lot of school, at this point I don’t care! All I want is to be there in Jamaica. Kids I told at school that I’m leaving envy me. While they’re busting their brains I’ll probably be on the beach. Lucky me! Poor them! I’m really happy for myself.

April 19, 1991
    Dear Janice
,
    J amaica doesn’t seem too far away now. Rondah and I confirmed our tickets today. In the beginning Rondah wanted everyone to go, but it ended up working down to just me, her, and Devoy. It will be so nice to get away from this place for a few weeks. I don’t think I’ll miss anyone to be very honest. Maybe I’ll miss the presence of them but not the idea of them. I definitely won’t miss my parents telling me what to do and what not to do every minute. That’s exactly what I want to get away from. It seems like everything I really want, not always material things, but things I want to do or experience, I never get. I know they have their parental reasons, but I have my adolescent reasons.
    Like today I was talking on the phone and my mother just grabbed it and was about to say something to really embarrass me. Before she had the chance I just hung up the phone. It was Derek and I guess she knew. Embarrassing isn’t quite the word I should have used. By the way she grabbed the phone she was going to say something like “get off the phone” and then hang up.
    I know she doesn’t approve of him or anything but come on! She wants me to respect her but she doesn’t respect me. When I’m doing innocent things like talking on the phone, and she makes me feel like I’m doing the worst thing in the world, it makes me want to go out and really do something! She sits on top of my every nerve. Today I just felt like leaving, that feeling is becoming a regular thing for me.

April 20, 1991
    Dear Janice
,
    D erek got jumped today. They took his jacket and his money. When I first called, he was like, “I can’t talk right now.” I was mad because I thought he was just trying to get out of talking to me. I said something like, “Don’t call me back,” and hung up. When he did call, I found out the reason he couldn’t talk was because he was bleeding. He said he was walking home by himself and about six guys attacked him. I felt so bad. He tried to play tough guy, but I know hewas shaken up. All I could say was I’m sorry. He didn’t want to talk about it, I suppose he wanted to