32 comments

Kids American

It was adorable, the way she sat there working her way through her letters with chalk on the antique ‘silent book slate’ I made for her from a mini chalkboard. She didn’t need to practice the alphabet; she had learned to read and write over two years ago, but her penmanship was improving, so I didn’t say anything. She was dressed in the white ‘nightdress’ I had made for her in the fashion of the seventeen hundreds.


My little Betty is lucky I like crafting. Oh, right. She asked to be called Elizabeth since that’s the name of the main character’s best friend in her favorite series, the American Girl Felicity books. It’s really nice to see someone so young interested in history, but no one her age does it quite like Elizabeth. She’s read every single Felicity book that American Girl has put out over the course of their three reboots, and she does her best to live them.


“Elizabeth, dear, it’s time for bed.” I tried to speak formally when I could because she loved it so much.


“Yes, Mother.” She jumped to her feet and did her best imitation of a curtsy, and then turned to erase her slate and put it and her chalk away. She picked up the small battery powered candle lamp that my mother somehow found for her seventh birthday last week, and balanced it carefully as she walked up the stairs. She had known better than to ask for a real candle holder, but this suited her just fine.


I briefly wondered how long this would last, and if I should be looking up renaissance camps just to see if my husband and I could afford the costs. I had previously thought that perhaps we could take her to a renaissance fair instead, but I didn’t like how they had turned into a ‘how low can I wear my dress without being indecent’ contest. Then again, perhaps the renaissance wouldn’t be exciting for her. After all, Felicity and Elizabeth weren’t born until the late seventeen hundreds.


The next morning, when Betty came downstairs, I was getting off the phone. Drew was making toast. Elizabeth looked from me to her father, smoothed out the yellow dress she had chosen to wear to school, and shook her head.


“You and your newfangled inventions.”


We all laughed. She learned that word from her grandmother, who liked to complain about how fast the world changes.


Elizabeth smiled proudly and sat down at the table. “Please pass the orange juice.”


“Are you sure you don’t want chocolate milk?” I was drinking some, and somehow it would feel less childish if my child had some too.


“Mother, the technology for that didn’t exist yet. Felicity and Elizabeth didn’t have chocolate milk. May I have orange juice?”


“Of course.” Drew answered for me. He got the carton from the fridge.


“What are we going to do with that child?” Drew asked as I walked back inside after dropping Betty off at school.


I shrugged. “She’ll probably grow out of it. At least she’s not obsessed with a time when they believed children should be seen and not heard.”


Drew nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe we should see about a camp for her. A normal one, where she can make friends that are both from this century and not fictional.”


We had heard a lot about her ‘best friend Felicity’, but she had also said she hadn’t met her yet because Felicity and Elizabeth don’t meet until they’re nine in the books.


“Perhaps we should.” I responded. “On that note, I think we both should be heading out now.”


When I picked Elizabeth up from school later that day, she was quiet the whole ride home. I had to keep checking the mirror to make sure she was still there, and hadn’t slipped away at the last stop sign. But she was still there, buckled despite the fact that they didn’t have cars, much less seatbelts, in the seventeen hundreds, and staring silently out the window.


“Elizabeth, how was your day?”


“Shannon said I’ll never meet Felicity. She said she’s not real.” She spoke quietly, as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to be heard. “Is Felicity real? Or is Shannon right?”


“Sweetheart, there are lots of people named Felicity in the world. Felicity Merriman may not have ever lived, but you’re not Elizabeth Cole. You’re Elizabeth Clark. So maybe in a couple years you will meet Felicity Morris, or Felicity something else. Maybe Felicity won’t even be her first name, but you will meet someone eventually who will be as good a friend to you as Felicity was to Elizabeth. Okay?” I pulled the car into the garage and then turned to look at my daughter. She nodded.


Over the course of the next week, I never once saw her writing on her little slate. She wore more modern pajamas, and she accepted chocolate milk and things like that that hadn’t existed in the eighteenth century. I thought perhaps her phase was over, that Shannon had forced Elizabeth to outgrow her cute olden day phase much too quickly. And then one day I was sewing a new skirt for Elizabeth in a simple modern style when she walked hesitantly into my office.


“Mother?” she began, “would you teach me to sew?”


“Elizabeth, you’re much too young to use a machine. Maybe in a few years if you’re still interested.”


“What about with just a needle and thread. They didn’t have machines yet back then.”


I smiled, oddly happy to have my daughter sound like she wished once again to be in the seventeen hundreds.


“Are you sure you won’t hurt yourself? Needles are very sharp.”


“So I’ll use a thimble,” she offered, “please?”


“Elizabeth, thimbles are extremely annoying to try to work with. I don’t know how to use a thimble.” I thought for a bit. “I can start you with crocheting or knitting, and then you could use a yarn needle to sew yarn patches together. Yarn needles are bigger and they’re not sharp because the holes already exist, but it’s the same technique. Would that do for a start?”


“Thank you, Mother. Can we get yarn in red, white, and blue?”


I smiled, “That’s very patriotic of you. Got a specific project in mind?”


My little girl nodded happily. “An American flag.”


“Okay, I’ll pick some up tomorrow. Do you have any homework today?”


She shook her head, and then headed for the doorway. Elizabeth stopped and turned back to face me. “One more thing,” she said. “Could you call me Betsy?”

September 30, 2020 21:42

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32 comments

Sia S
04:33 Oct 01, 2020

Wow! Good job on this! I loved the ending! It was superr cute! And Shannon, was slightly mean in my opinion, (no offence) I really liked the title too !

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Tessa Takzikab
04:38 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks! I just changed the title on the advice of Charles Stucker. You're right, Shannon was a bit mean, but she didn't mean to be mean. From my experience, little kids just say what they believe. Perhaps Shannon wanted to be friends with Elizabeth, but Elizabeth was waiting for Felicity, and refused to get to know Shannon. Maybe that's why she wanted Betty to focus on real people. (I hadn't actually figured out why Shannon said what she did, but you've made me think about it, so thanks.)

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Sia S
04:46 Oct 01, 2020

Oh nice! Ohh ya that makes sense now, but Elizabeth is soo cute!!

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Keerththan 😀
09:08 Oct 12, 2020

Wow! Amazing ending! Wonderful story! I like the names. Great work. Keep writing. Would you mind reading my new story "The royal fork?" Thanks.

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Tessa Takzikab
16:32 Oct 12, 2020

Thanks! It sounds interesting, so I will see if I can check it out.

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23:20 Oct 10, 2020

Nice story Tessa, I liked the mother-daughter relationship in this! The whole medieval or olden age acting of the child kinda reminds me of me cause sometimes I start talkking like how they used to sound, cause its just so fun! The ending- at first I was confused who is Betsy?? THEN! I put two and two together and I was like American flag?? Then I searched up who made the Flag cause I remembered that name and I found it! And I just felt really smart there.. But great job Tessa this was really nice!! And cute! Keep writing!!!

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Tessa Takzikab
16:39 Oct 12, 2020

Thanks! I definitely get the switch in speech thing. My older sister likes to do that too, and I use some old words in my day-to-day speech. Then again, I also use some Hebrew, Yiddish, or Spanish words in random sentences, and I talk pretty fast, so understanding me is complicated for some people. It's definitely more fun for me, but I enjoy being annoying. I'm glad I gave you the chance to prove to yourself that you have a good memory :) Thank you!

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18:19 Oct 12, 2020

Yeah I start talking in a British accent sometimes, and I am pretty sure I sound terrible. And wow! Thats coooool!! My sister talks fast too well not to me, to everybody else they say she talks fast! And could you check out my recent story if you want...THANSKS!

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Tessa Takzikab
18:29 Oct 12, 2020

My sister likes doing a British accent, and I thought it wasn't that accurate, but when she was cast as a British woman back in a high school play, one of the few actually British people in our community complimented her on it, so I guess I was wrong. :) I look forward to check out your stories; (I already have the tab with your profile open on my computer) I just have to find time... I'm a bit busy with schoolwork, especially since a 9 day Jewish holiday just ended yesterday, and since I couldn't do any over the holiday, I kind of have t...

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19:10 Oct 12, 2020

Ohhh cool your a Jewish!! Ive never talked to one before! And of course its fine, take your time. We all procrastinate a little sometimes as long as we get it done then its fine😊. You can read my storys whenever no rush. And a 9 day Jewish holiday! Wow that seems like a lot! But since its a holiday it musta been fun right?? Have a great day!!

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Tessa Takzikab
22:38 Oct 12, 2020

A Jew is Jewish. I am a Jew, or Jewess if you want to use the gender-specific term. It can be confusing. :) I am honored to be the first Jew you talked too. It's really nice, although this year was different because the last day is the day we celebrate completing and restarting the weekly Torah (that's the Old Testament), so usually there's a lot of singing and dancing, but we had to skip the dancing and cut down the singing a lot. But yeah, it was great. Thanks, you have an amazing day(or night) too!

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Rachel Macmorran
00:56 Oct 08, 2020

Well done, Tessa! I enjoyed the story as told from the mothers point of view; that provided some sweet and interesting insights, as well as shaped a nice relationship story. I thought the central conflict of Betty losing her passion due to the casual comments of a peer was solid. The only small critique I have is that Americans during the 1700’s were actually far more likely to drink chocolate milk (usually hot) than orange juice! I know this doesn’t really affect the arc of your story, but when historical accuracy is actually part of the st...

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Tessa Takzikab
13:43 Oct 08, 2020

Really? I had no idea. Thank you so much for pointing that out. Embarrassingly, most of my information about the 1700s is actually from the American Girl books my character is so fond of, and since they were mostly drinking tea, I was not aware of that. Plus, I haven't read them in a while, so... Now that you mention it, that actually makes sense, since chocolate was first discovered in America. I'll try to do more research next time, thanks for pointing that out!

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Shannon Ethel
18:54 Oct 05, 2020

I really liked how you used a child’s love of playing pretend to work into the theme. It’s familiar and plays out in a very heartwarming way.

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Tessa Takzikab
20:04 Oct 05, 2020

Thanks!

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Andrew Krey
16:23 Oct 03, 2020

Hi Tessa, I liked your story (even though Elizabeth sounded hard work for a parent lol). I love the part when her mother reassures her when she asks if she'll ever meet her fictional friend. It really expressed a loving relationship. I saw in the comments you gave the context for why Shannon had been so 'mean', which I think was endearing, so maybe as a further suggestion, this could be added as the mother speculating why Shannon had said that to her when reassuring her daughter. Lovely story :)

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Tessa Takzikab
00:50 Oct 05, 2020

Thanks! I honestly didn't think of that piece until later, so it's very likely that Elizabeth's mother wouldn't have thought of it until later either. Unfortunately, at this point it's too late to edit, so I cannot add a scene where Betty asks about it and her mother goes through the thought process then. I really appreciate your feedback, and I'm glad you liked my story. Thank you!

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Andrew Krey
01:20 Oct 05, 2020

Oh I totally understand, my stories would be so much better if we had two weeks for the deadline! Lol Yeah I suppose the mother would have to be quick to come up with that, hindsight is a powerful thing. And you're more than welcome :)

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Tessa Takzikab
02:00 Oct 05, 2020

Two weeks! Wow! I'm just imagining. I've had to redo a previous story because I missed the deadline, but I was able to adjust it for one of the new prompts. :)

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Andrew Krey
02:35 Oct 05, 2020

Tbh even if I had two weeks I'd still leave it till a couple of days before the deadline lol Well done at tweaking it for another prompt :) I had one I wrote in 24 hours (although I had already written out the premise/plan so I knew what I was going to say) because it suited the prompt, and I didn't want to role the dice in the hope the prompt gods would be kind :S

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Charles Stucker
03:27 Oct 01, 2020

Would that do for a start? ” extra space after ? You have excellent pacing and relatable characters. The tension in the plot is handled subtly and well. Everything speaks to a lot of experience and skill. I might suggest the title, "By Any Other Name" to play on Betty being the same person whatever she is called. Up to you- I'd leave all the rest as is unless someone finds another typo.

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Tessa Takzikab
04:14 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you! I am especially thankful that you suggested a different title, because I didn't love mine. I just wanted to add, that I have seen you comment on other stories, and your feedback is always helpful. Thank you so much for stopping by!

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Regina Perry
22:43 Sep 30, 2020

Ahhhh! This is so cute! I love how Elisabeth bounces back from being told her obsession is not real. Marvellous! There are a few small grammatical things I noticed. "She didn’t need to practice the alphabet, she had learned to read and write over two years ago," Change the comma after "alphabet" to a semicolon. "She asked to be called Elizabeth since that’s the name of the main character’s best friend in her favorite series. The American Girl Felicity books." Uncapitalise the t in "the" and use either a comma or a colon. "she spoke...

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Tessa Takzikab
02:11 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you! I have taken most of your suggestions and made one piece more clear about what it was supposed to mean. Thanks for catching those!

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Miriam P
22:36 Sep 30, 2020

This might be your best story yet! And the little girl is just precious.

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Tessa Takzikab
02:11 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks!

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Clara D Berry
03:10 Oct 01, 2020

So cute! I love how you used the name throughout the story. When I saw "Elizabeth" in the same paragraph that you first used the name "Betty," I was worried that Betty was gone already, but then the mother slipped up and called her Betty in her mind a few times, and I was relieved. I really like the way you had the mother explain to her about whether Felicity was real. I also like the way you referenced her new hero at the end, without explicitly stating who it is.

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Tessa Takzikab
03:26 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you! I know from experience that people who request to be called by something else tend to go through a transition phase, so I knew it wasn't realistic to just fully switch.

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The child being so passionate about that time is heartwarming.

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Tessa Takzikab
00:04 Nov 24, 2020

thanks!

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21:17 Oct 19, 2020

Enjoyable happy little story. ;) I agree with Charles, the subtle tension is excellent. I almost went back to look twice, but then realized I'd absorbed it naturally without even noticing. Keep on writing. :)

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Tessa Takzikab
21:47 Oct 19, 2020

Thanks!

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