alphabet soup } j is for just

When I was in the seventh grade, my family was living in Damascus. One of our favorite treats returning to Kuwait for the holidays was the fast food restaurants. I think Hardees opened at around that time (old Salmiya) and I looked so forward to the Big Cookie. That Christmas I decided to buy ten cookies for my ten closest friends. The biggest mistake I made, however, was to buy the cookies at the beginning of our visit. Day by day I re-evaluated and re-assessed who my friends were with every cookie I couldn’t help devouring. Nigel Moriarty? We’re not that close. Candace MacWhirter? Her mom makes great desserts, she doesn’t need a Big Cookie. Adam Judge? He teases me all the time. By the end of our two week trip, I was left with one Big Cookie. Assigned to my very best friend Vera Semova. But if I gave her a cookie, everyone else would want a cookie. So I ate that one too.