21 - spelling bee
In the sixth grade, Mallory competed in the spelling bee at Lincoln Elementary and was the champion of the whole school. Next, she competed in the district contest which included middle school students. Mallory was an excellent speller and well prepared when the big night arrived. Word after word she spelled correctly and competitor after competitor dropped by the wayside. There were just three contestants left and they competed for 23 rounds. She was finally eliminated when she misspelled the word, ostensible. This word became infamous in our family. Mallory can be seen smiling for the camera with her teacher, Mrs. Martin and the principal. Her eyes are swollen from crying; she was devastated. Mrs. Martin wrote about Mallory’s great accomplishment in the school newspaper. Mama and Daddy were also very proud of her!
22 - Middle school
The years fly by and soon our little girl becomes a middle school student at Corona Fundamental. Many of her friends from Lincoln went to CFIS, but Mallory continued to make many new friends. Of course Mom and Dad were still tolerated, but her friends were most important in her life. She and her friends spent most afternoons sprawled about her bedroom listening to music and laughing about some silliness. They were very nice young people and we loved having them around despite the escalating food bills Just like in grade school, Mallory excelled in middle school. She was a confident and competitive student and although she was working on being cool, she still brought home excellent good grades and was enrolled in the Gifted and Talented Education Program.
