Joy School

Katie is the younger daughter of a military man, growing up during the 1960s. Her mother has died, and her older sister has left home, unable to live with their father's strict discipline and undemonstrative nature. Katie keeps her mother's memory alive by imagining her, always wearing different outfits, giving her advice and support as she finds her way.

Katie's father has been transferred to a recruiting post in Missouri, and the two have left their home in Texas to start a new life. At the beginning of the story, Katie is 12 and just on the brink of becoming a teenager. This can be an especially traumatic time in the best of circumstances, but Katie is also faced with the n

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cares about her, but he is primarily concerned with maintaining order and decorum in the house. The Catholic priest at the neighborhood church is sympathetic and nonjudgmental, but he is an authority figure to whom she turns for guidance. Her teachers are distant figures, subjects of her intense analysis. Jimmy is different. He plays checkers with her, offers her hot chocolate, and makes her feel comfortable. With him, she can experiment with being an adult without running the risk of appearing foolish. Although they really have little in common, they enjoy each other's company, and Jimmy provides Katie with endless opportunities for fantasy. She tells her friends that her is her boyfriend, and Cherylanne sends her advice on how to woo him away from his young wife. Although Katie's crush is deep, she is too shy to actually embarrass herself. She tries to tell him of her feelings, but he remains the object of her fantasies, until the day that he announces that he is moving away. Pushed into a corner, she blurts out her feelings, then runs out of the station, expecting never to see him again. Yet Jimmy really is the gentleman she imagined. Just before he leaves, he finds her and gently thanks her for her feelings. A
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Approximate Word count = 1615
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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