They slipped on perfectly, though I had to pull the back strap a tiny bit just to wiggle my heel in. They were the height of fashion, and looked good with any outfit. They were my favorite pair. Clear with sparkles, they glimmered in the sunlight. They had a silver clip on the side, and they covered my toes with a rounded tip. They were very strappy, multiple clear sparkled bands criss-crossing my size 5 third grade foot. They were my Jellies.
I was wearing them the day that we had a special music lesson in the gym. The lights turned down and my feet shimmered from any light that snuck into the darkened room. We all sat on the floor not particularly organized. Some next to friends, others close to the screen that would eventually play a movie. Jacob Bloomer sat next to me. A small part of me panicked, because Emily, my best friend and envier of my coveted Jellies, had just passed Jacob a note telling him I had a crush on him. He returned the note, it said "me too".
Jacob Bloomer and I grew up. He never knew that he was my first crush. He probably doesn't remember passing notes in the third grade. But it wasn't really about Jacob Bloomer. It was about being a third grader. Realizing I liked a boy, making friendships where we were jealous of each-others clothes, we learned to keep secrets, and told boys we liked them. It was about winning and losing in innocent love. It was about playing on the playground and going to music class. It was about my favorite pair of shoes. Shoes that I wore every day, and when the strap finally broke I cried. It is about a memory.
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