She Likes Mardell

The Sunday after Christmas, I was sitting in my Sunday School class waiting for it to start. Mardell walked into the room and sat down beside me. He looked at me and I started smiling from ear to ear. He said, "I guess you got your keyboard for Christmas." I hugged him tightly and said, "Yes, thanks for praying." (I can't recall ever seeing Mardell smile since I have known him.) He responded, "To God be the glory." Mardell was like that. He was just deep. He was the deepest 10 years old I knew. I think it was because his grandparents who were 60 plus years older than him raised him. Mardell acted just like an old man. He even walked like an old man. He even spoke in old folks language. Some of the stuff he said could not possibly come from a ten year, even a mature ten year old. I sat there telling him about my keyboard. He sat there with his eyes closed, looking deep. After a few minutes, I stopped talking. He opened his eyes and said, "Why did you stop talking?" I frowned at him before I irately said, "You are supposed to look at me when I am talking to you!" He opened his eyes and said, "Women always want what they want." (What ten year-old would say something like that?) I rolled my eyes at him and then walked out of my Sunday School room. I came back in when my teacher came in. With us were several other kids. Mardell was in the room on his knees praying. The teacher called the class to order. She conducted the class as usual. All through out the class, Mardell kept looking at me. Every time he did, I rolled my eyes at him. (Which that caused a rumor to be spread that I liked him. I'll never really admit it, but I did think Mardell was kind of cute back then.) After Sunday School, Mardell tried to talk to me, but I walked off from him in a huff. Mardell thought he was smart and went and told my mother how I was acting. He thought that was going to get me into trouble. It got him into more trouble. My mother politely told him, "Boy, I know you think you are all deep and stuff, but you are still a child. If you want a 'woman' to treat you with respect, you must treat her with respect. And the next time a girl is talking to you, open up your eyes and pay attention to what she is saying!" Mardell tried to talk to me after church, but I was too upset to talk to him. I was really mad at him. Later on that Sunday, there was a knock on the front door. My mother answered the door and screamed my name. She didn't have to scream. I was in the living room playing the keyboard. I went to the front door. It was Mardell. I almost told my mother to close the door, but she gave me that don't be rude look. My mother invited Mardell in and escorted us both to the living room. My mother, Mardell, and I sat down in the living room. I stared at Mardell. Mardell stared at me. My mother looked at both of us smiling. She could tell that we liked each other. We were both stubborn. Mardell finally broke the ice. He said, "See, you are gonna miss your blessing." I looked at Mardell, then got up from the couch and walked out of the living room, leaving Mardell in the living room with my mother. Whatever the rumor was, at that moment, I couldn't stand Mardell Coleston.