Like some days you might say something stupid, and that's the part of you that's still ten., , Because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk., , Only today I wish I didn't have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid box., , It's an ugly sweater with red plastic buttons and a collar and sleeves all stretched out like you could use it for a jump rope., , I put one arm through one sleeve of the sweater that smells like cottage cheese., , I stand there with my arms apart like if the sweater hurts me and it does, all itchy and full of germs that aren't even mine., , My face all hot and spit coming out of my mouth because I can't stop the little animal noises from coming out of me., , That stupid Phyllis Lopez, who is even dumber than Sylvia Saldivar, says she remembers the red sweater is hers!, , I take it off right away and give it to her, only Mrs. Price pretends like everything's okay., , I'm eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one, but I wish I was one hundred and two., .

Eleven

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