New Goal:

I first fell in love when I saw her in the shop window. It was the last day of school then. Lyle and I were walking home when I turned my head to the left and came to a complete stop. I whistled aloud. Lyle paused and looked with me.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Look!” I yelped. He looked in the antique shop window with me. I saw him make a face in the window.

“So?” he asked.

“So?!? So?!?” I cried. “Look at it!” The body was made of pure ivory with little cherubs and doves craved into the front. The hands looked sleek and black. A third silver hand ticked around and around for the seconds. The numbers had a fancy style to them in black against a cool white face. I could tell this little beauty was hand-crafted. The maker gave it his or her all to make something so beautiful and simple sitting before us. I drooled as I breath fogged up the glass. My dumb brother didn’t get it.

“So? It’s a stupid clock,” he said. I whipped my head around to him.

“Stupid clock?!?” I cried. “It’s not a stupid clock! I mean, look at it!” Lyle put up his hands in defense.

“Okay, okay, it’s pretty! Geez!” he said. I turned back to the window, feeling satisfied.

“I want it,” I said in one breath. I noticed Lyle’s face in the reflection.

“What?” I asked.

“Why?” he asked.

“It’s pretty!” I said.

“But…why a clock?” my dumb brother asked.

“It’s beautiful!” I protested. “I must have it!”

“Can you even afford it?” Lyle asked.

“I could,” I said as my price trailed down to the price tag. “I mean, how expensive can it be…” My eyes widened when I saw the figures.

“84.50 Euros!” I cried. “I don’t have that kind of money!”

“Exactly,” Lyle replied. I pressed my forehead against the glass and breathed out. This is so unfair!

That evening at dinner, the inevitable question slipped out of my mouth. I lowered my fork over my potatoes.

“Kat, are we poor?” I asked. She looked up at me from her plate.

“Yes Claudia,” she said. “We are poor.”

“Oh,” I mumbled as I looked down at my plate.

“Why do you ask?” Kat asked. I shrugged my shoulders at her.

“No real reason,” I lied. It was then I made a resolution for myself. I decided I was going to save up all of my money and then buy that clock before Christmas came. From that moment on, I finally understood what Kat meant by investing my money in a better way. Claudia the sweets monster would be on holiday until the New Year.

But, my plan to buy my white clock would be put on hold starting this summer. For it was about the same time that Germany fell into another crisis.