My name is Jenny. Right now it is the end of World War Two. I suppose I should start at the beginning. At the beginning of World War Two my life was changed. I lived with my mother, father, and two brothers. I was 12 around the time the war started. I have long black hair and emerald green eyes. This is my story and I am telling it because not many people know what the families back at home felt.

I never really fit in with any of the girls at my school, the only friends I had were guys. Their names were Sammy, Eddie, John, and Jason. Sammy had curly brown hair that was always just above his blue eyes that were deep and intelligent, Eddie had straight fiery red hair and beautiful hazel eyes, John had black hair that framed his face perfectly and mischievous brown eyes, and Jason’s hair was wavy and blond and he had dreamy and sparkling sea blue eyes. They were all very athletic and smart.
They were the only people who understood me other than my brothers, Jack and Tom. There was only one secret I kept from them, and that secret was that I loved to read. At school no one thought much of someone who read a lot.

“Hey Jenny!” Jason called “Do you want to hang out after school?” He was standing with the rest of my friends.

“Sorry,” I called back “I have other plans. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Shure,” He said dejectedly. “You’re always too busy for us these days.”

I felt guilty for making him upset. Out of all my friends he was the one I was closest to. He was almost like a brother to me. I walked over to them.

“I’m sorry guys,” I said even though I was talking mostly to Jason. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings it’s just that I’m busy today.”

“Come on Jenny, why can’t you hang out with us today?” Sammy asked.

“Sorry, I just can’t today” I replied and went into school
When I got home that night the house was strangely quiet. Usually my house was full of noise and life.

“I’m home!” I called.

“We’re all in the kitchen!” A voice that I thought was my mother’s answered.

I put down my back pack hurriedly and ran as fast as I could towards the kitchen. Unfortunately for me I tripped and fell. Only then did I realize that I had tripped over three army uniforms. A growing dread filled me. I knew now why the house was so quiet. I got back up and ran into the kitchen.

“Sit down.” Said my brothers in unison. Jack, who was 20, and Tom, who was 18 both motioned for the only empty seat. But I did not want to sit. I had conflicting emotions, both sadness and anger. Eventually anger won out.

“How could you?!” I yelled “Are you just going to leave me and mom alone?!!!!!” Then I ran up to my room.

Sometime later Jack came up to check on me. I was so upset that I was crying. (Which I hardly ever do.)

“Hey kiddo. How are you?” he asked. When I didn’t answer he just sighed. “Hey, this is going to be hard on all of us. It will be hard for us to leave and it will be hard for you two to stay.”

I lifted up my head to look at him. “I want you to promise me that you will keep this with you for luck.” I took my lucky necklace from around my neck and put it in his palm. I could tell that he wanted to argue but he saw the look on my face and knew that it was no use, so he just sighed and put it around his own neck. He stood up and left my room.

No one bothered me for the rest of the night. I fell asleep late. My mom didn’t bother waking me up in the morning because I was so upset. I didn’t go to school that day. My brothers and father left that evening.

The next morning was too quiet without my brothers to make noise. I didn’t go to school that day either. Later in the day the boys came to see what was up. They all tried to comfort me but none of them could. The next day was Saturday and I was feeling a lot better. I met the boys at the edge of the woods near my house like always.
We went exploring and we fished in a clear, lovely river. Jason pulled me away from the rest of the group. “I really am very sorry that your brothers and father went to war. I know how you feel, my dad just left too.” He looked into my eyes with those beautiful, sparkling, dreamy eyes and I knew he meant it. He pushed a strand of my hair that had come loose behind my ear. Was that love I saw in his eyes? We quickly pulled away from each other.
I was so confused. Did he love me? I mean I love him a little but I would probably never tell him that. Did he want to be more than just friends? These thoughts quickly washed away all the thoughts about my family.
The last week of school passed in a blur. I hung out with my friends every day. We played games, talked, laughed, explored the woods, went swimming, and went fishing. I soon almost forgot about that day by the river, but I never truly forgot. These were the things that cheered me up.
When I got home I saw how care worn my mother had become. She hardly ever smiled, and if she did it never reached her eyes. We had less and less to eat. We did not have much money either. One sunny August morning a letter came from my father telling us that Tom had been shot and that he had died. I didn’t go to meet the boys that day because I was too upset. They knew that something had happened. Later Jason came by to see what had happened.
He held me and rocked me back and forth while I cried. He told me that everything would be fine and that everything would get better. I believed him.
I listened for updates on the war on the radio. Things at home just kept getting worse. There was so little food and money. People could hardly live in these conditions. People were getting sick and much skinnier.
The school year started and I went just like everything was fine. The truth was that nothing would ever be the same again. Mother was too skinny and Tom was dead. The only thing that made life worth living was my friends.
Five years passed in this fashion and nothing got any better, if anything things got worse. There was hardly enough food to get by on. Then suddenly my mother fell deathly ill. Nothing I or the doctor did would help her.
The next day a letter came, it was from my father. In it he said that there was an explosion and that Jack was paralyzed from the waist down and was coming home. I quickly ran to Jason’s house to tell him. I ran through the door to his house and burst into his room. I threw my arms around him and he twirled me in a circle
“What are you so excited about?” He asked on the verge of laughter.
“Jack is coming home!” I cried. He picked me up and twirled me around again.
“Is the war finally over?” He asked excitedly.
I frowned “No. Jack was hurt so badly that he had to come home.” That instantly dampened my spirits.
“At least you won’t be alone anymore.” He commented.
“I never was alone while you were here.” I replied slyly.
The next day my brother got home. He told us the state of things over there. He said that the war would probably be over soon. That made us both very happy. Suddenly I remembered I hadn’t told Jack about mother. I tried to figure out how to tell him about mom.
He must have seen the look on my face because he said “What’s up kiddo?”
“I just forgot to tell you……..mom is very sick and almost dead. I did everything I could to help her but she isn’t getting better.”
The next year was filled with school, hanging out with my friends, and taking care of mom. After a little less than a year passed mother died. We held a very inexpensive funeral because we didn’t have much money. I cried for a week. The only people who could comfort me were Jack and Jason, but even they could only keep the grief away for short periods of time. The rest of the time passed as normal.
A few months later Jack, Jason, and I were hanging out at my house when my dad came home and told us that the war was finally over! I just couldn’t believe it was over because I had lost so much. I was so relieved that I kissed Jason! Then I pulled away. I was about to say that I was sorry when Jason kissed me back. I was really surprised. I thought that this must have been the most memorable first kiss ever.