Chapter1 You Are My One Meter Sunshine你是我的一米陽光
當我的天空灰暗時，
你把快樂帶來，
你是我的陽光，
我唯一的陽光，
親愛的，你永遠都不會懂，
我有多麽愛你，
請，別讓我的陽光離開……
埃瑪麗·裏尼克 /Emmarie Lehnick
“Ow!Ow!” I shouted as I broke my jump rope rhythm and tangled my feet in the slack rope. “Something in my shoe is biting me.” I wailed.
The f irst graders waiting to jump and the two rope turners circled around me on the dirt playground. My teacher, Miss Bell, heard me and hurried over, leaving the other recess teacher in mid-conversation.
“It's still stinging me.” I cried as the circle of children opened for Miss Bell.
“Which foot is it?” she asked.
I stuck up my right foot as she stooped over to inspect it. Just then, feeling a new sting, I yelped in pain.
“Here. Let's take off your shoe.” instructed Miss Bell, squatting down to get the shoe.
Then, I remembered the holes in my socks. Welfare socks didn't last long. Holes in socks were a common thing for our family in the years following the Great Depression. Shoes got fresh paper inserted every Saturday to cover the holes in their soles. But socks with holes were just accepted. Socks with holes in the heels got pulled down so the hole wouldn't show. Where there was a hole, there would soon be a blister. Every week as she washed our clothes, Mama would say, “Even if we're poor and our clothes are worn out. We can still be clean.”
I began to cry from the pain in my foot, but I refused to let Miss Bell take off my shoe. I could not bear for her and the others to see the hole in my faded red sock.
“Come on, then. Let's go inside to the off ice.”
A trail of f irst graders followed after us until Miss Bell told them to stay on the playground. I did my best to curb my tears. Yet, each time the thing in my shoe stung me, I would let out a loud, “Oh, oh, oh!” Tears raced down my contorted face.