All the cards had been handed out and opened. Squeals of delight
came from the girls who'd gotten something from the boy they thought
was cutest or had crushes on. Brightly decorated boxes held the
declarations of love.
After peeling off the red paper hearts on her box and leaving gobs of
glue in their wake, one girl calmly put the top on hers and pushed it
away.
"What are you planning to do with that thing?" Ten-year-old Mary
Alice scrunched her nose up at the messy box.
"I'm tossing it in the trash."
"Why? Didn't you get a Valentine from the boy you like."
The girl stood and placed her hands on her small hips. She didn't
want to participate in this dumb party to begin with. To her this
type of activity was suburban and boarding school was supposed to be
above those things. "None of them are worthy of me. Not one of them
owns their own country or is even the son of royalty. They're going
to have to come up with something better to impress me on Valentine's
Day. A piece of paper saying `Be My Valentine' won't work. Maybe if
they'd attached it to a jewelry box with something glittery inside,
I'd consider letting them be my beau." She tapped her manicured
fingertip to her lip. "For a little while anyway."
With that said Francine Desmond picked up the box of unwanted
Valentines and headed towards the trash. Valentine cards were for
people who were normal. And at ten years of age Francine new she was
unique and it would take a lot more than that to win her heart.
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