Have Shoes Will Travel?

Day 18 - Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt.

We all have moments in our childhood where our instincts take over and any sense of reason we have at the age of six completely abandons us. At least I did. This is one of those stories. 

I was in first grade and had become a bit of a tomboy.  My close friend, at the time, was a girl named Jackie. She was so cool. She always had the coolest clothes and newest school supplies (haha). I, on the other hand, was sometimes lacking in the cool department and I realized it when she showed up to school in with the newest set of Air Jordan's on her feet. I was shoe-struck. She walked in and sat down at her desk with pride because everyone was staring at her shoes. 

My eyes glazed over as I stared, my heart pounding louder in my chest. “How awesome were those Jordan's?” I couldn’t get over it. The sleek black material was arranged to make the perfect shoe. The style looked so official, like the wearer was part of something infamous; like they were one with the phenomenon that was Michael Jordan, the hero of the 90's. I had to get myself a pair! 

In a moment of envy, I looked down at my own shoes- they were cheap white tennis shoes with Nala and Simba from the Lion King emblazoned on the sides. Oh, they were also from Payless. I slowly slid my feet farther under my chair in hopes that no one would see them.

As the day wore on, I was able to convince Jackie to switch shoes with me. I must have been able to turn a phrase or two, because she eventually gave up her precious Jordan's for my Lion King sneakers. The day ended and as I rode home on the bus, kids turned around in their seats to take a look at my "new" shoes. I felt so cool and so proud. 

When I got home, it was another story. My mom was on the phone, red faced and anxious. The minute she saw me walk through the door, she shot over to me and told the person on the other end, "she's here and yes, she's wearing the shoes." Apparently, Jackie's mother called the Superintendent of our elementary school district because she thought I was trying to steal her daughter's shoes. Jackie must have failed to mention that we were planning on getting our rightful shoes back to each other the next day.

My mom explained the "brevity" of the situation and that under no circumstances should I ever switch clothes with another kid at school. I nodded my head, embarrassment started to creep in. After calling Jackie's mom, we agreed to wear the shoes back to school so that we could switch them back during morning recess. 

The next morning, I donned the Jordan's and hopped on the bus. This time, my fellow student's stares seemed accusatory and I was no longer proud of my actions. I felt like everyone knew, so I hung my head. When I got to school, I immediately found Jackie, who explained her mother's anger about the switched shoes too. Her Jordan's were clearly more expensive than my Payless Shoe Source sneakers, and her mother had gotten worried and called the school. We were both embarrassed that we had betrayed out mother's trust and given away something special that they had bought for us. I apologized for having caused her any trouble, and we made the switch. 

Jackie handed me back my white Lion King sneakers and I gave up her glistening, black Air Jordan's. Even though my shoes didn't seem as cool to me, my feet slipped right back into the grooves inside the soles, and I knew I was right where I belonged. All was back the way it should be...