Monday's Not Coming

“Like the color pink, somebody always sees the story different. Some see rose and magenta, and others see coral and salmon. When at the end of the day, it’s just regular old pink.” 

Claudia’s dyslexia makes her see the world differently. She summarizes people and emotions by comparing them to colors. In this quote, she acknowledges that just because one person interprets something one way doesn’t mean the next will see it similarly. 

“Mondays were Monday’s favorite day of the week, and not just ‘cause she was named after it. She loved the day itself. She’d be at school, early as ever, brighter than sunshine, even in the dead of winter with wind that could freeze our eyelids shut.” 

This passage reveals a lot about Monday’s personality, as well as Claudia’s naive interpretation of Monday’s life. She idolized her friend, seeing Monday as a shining light of positivity and strength. What she saw as enthusiasm for life, however, was also a reflection of Monday’s abuse: She was excited to go to school so that she didn’t have to be around her mother.

“Being the voice of our duo, she always spoke up first while I hung back. I mean, I’m not really shy or nothing, but Monday was just better at talking to strangers. Folks were just drawn to her, and I hated the idea of sharing her.” 

Monday’s outgoing personality traits were a foil to Claudia’s shyness, but Claudia resented the way Monday’s extraversion drew people to her. Claudia, who struggles to make friends, felt possessive of the one friend she had.