Touchdown!

As you may have guessed I love tinkering with V8 engines. I guess most girls my age wouldn’t have a clue if they stuck their heads under the hood of a car about how it works, but I’m not most girls. Of course I blame dad. We’ve always been close, even more so since Mom died two years ago— 

Sorry zoned out there for a moment. I know this is a public blog, but it’s hard not to talk about my life without the personal bits creeping in. 

But like I was saying, Dad’s a fantastic mechanic and taught me everything I know about engines. I guess that was always going to happen when I grew up in the workshop and watching him work on car after car. I think I got hooked from the moment I was six and found my own toolbox waiting for me under the Christmas tree. Nowadays, the only mascara my face knows is the engine oil variety. Okay, I know what you’re thinking, but before you accuse me of being a Tomboy, I’ll have you know I do also have a girly side. I’ve even been known to wear a dress. Problem is everyone around here is to used to seeing me a grease monkey and not a lot more.

A good example happened today at school. I had a run in with one of personifications of everything I’m not, Carla, one of the cheerleading b-list celebrities. She made this comment to her friends, ‘Julia dresses like her dad picks out her wardrobe for her. Oh hang on – I guess that’s because her mom can’t do it anymore!’ Yeah, I know, I know. And of course she said it just loud enough for me to catch it as I walked past in the hallway. Normally, I would’ve let her nasty jibe slide, but any mention of Mom, hurts, really hurts, and I froze, like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

Anyway, then I noticed Dom by his locker just the other side of her. He’s heard everything and is shaking his head. Do you know what he went and did? It was priceless. If I knew he was going to do that I would have filmed it on my phone. Anyway, Dom as calmly as you like, strolls up to Clara. He looks her straight in the eye and says, “Nice shade of lipstick you’ve got there.” She gives him the whole dipped chin and eye fluttering routine. Of course all the girls fancy Dom rotten, loner or not. But it’s his next line that nailed it for me.

He just leans in close and whispers loud enough for the whole hallway to hear. “You can put lipstick on a pig…but it’s still a pig.”

Everyone fell about laughing. I even caught a few of her friends grinning. Clara stares at him, face the color of tomato soup, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, but no comeback in sight. And Dom as calmly as you like just turned and winked at me as he walked away. God, I could have kissed him! Today he definitely helped make school a fraction more tolerable. That’s what I call being a true friend.

Okay, time for me to get back to the serious nasty math that the teacher set us for homework. Jeez, thanks, Miss Malory. Just because I’m good at it, doesn’t give you permission to keep pushing me until my brain bleeds out of my ears.

So think of me whilst I’m suffering, peeps. Catch you soon.