Write about a woolen shawl

Tessie peered over the edge of the tree house ledge. Dobbs, Mikey, Will and the others looked like ants, scurrying around, staring up at her, daring her to do it. As usual, Dobbs was the ringleader. He taunted her, calling her chicken and wussy girl. He was sweating and breathing hard in the Tennessee summer sun. As he inhaled and exhaled, the perpetual gray-green mass of gooey snot in his left nostril heaved and hoed, threatening to finally dislodge and go flying across space. Mikey was a little more civilized. He and Will were brothers and lived down the road. Tessie’s mom and their mom were best friends, so the boys were decent to her, but when Dobbs came around, they had to show it up, strutting around like royal roosters, cocky and cool.

Today, they shaded their eyes, peering at her in the noontime glare. “Just call it quits and go home to your mama!” Mikey yelled up. “Everyone knows you were fibbing anyway!”

“Was not!” Tessie screamed back. “Gaga told me so and Gaga doesn’t lie!”

“You sound as crazy as that ol’ loon right about now! No wonder you got no friends. You as nuts as they come!” Dobbs spit at Tessie.

Tessie felt tears sting her eyes. Gaga had given her the magic shawl a few years ago, when Tessie went to school for the first time and was so scared. Gaga had wrapped her up in the shawl and told her the shawl would help her do wonderful things. With it, she said, Tessie could do anything she set her mind to.

Tessie did have her doubts. After all, the shawl was scratchy and smelled musty, like it had been sitting in a trunk down in the basement. It wasn’t even all that pretty, certainly not colors Tessie would have picked. Instead of purple and soft green and blue, the shawl was gray, brown and cream with zigzag stripes and several little holes where the yarn appeared to be falling apart.

But Gaga promised, and Gaga didn’t tell a lie. Tessie clung to that belief as kids poked fun at her for always wearing the shawl, even in the heart of summer. Her mama tried to coax her out of it, but she couldn’t leave it home. What if something extraordinary was supposed to happen that day, but she couldn’t do it because she didn’t have her shawl? Better to be safe than sorry.

The kids, lead by Dobbs, kept up the teasing until Tessie told them she would prove to them that the shawl was magic. She decided she would fly, jumping off the tree house, using the magic in her shawl to send her soaring. Word spread through the little town and soon about 15 kids showed up to see her feat.

It was now or never. And, it would be worth it to shut Dobbs up forever.

Tessie took a deep breath, whispered, “Gaga promised” and jumped.